Harry Truman
Best known as: 33rd president of the USA
Occupation: Politician
Full name: Harry S Truman
Nationality: American
Religion: Baptist
Political party: Democrat
Born: May 8, 1884 in Lamar, Missouri
Died: December 26, 1972 in Kansas City, Missouri
Remains: buried at the Truman Library, Independence, Missouri
Education: Independence High School, Kansas City Law School (no degree)
Military service: major during World War I
Offices held:
- Judge, Jackson County Court, Missouri (1922-1924)
- Presiding judge, Jackson County Court, Missouri (1926-1934)
- U.S. Senator from Missouri (1935-1945)
- Vice President of the U.S. (1945)
- President of the U.S. (1945-1953)
Short biography:
Truman became president upon the death of Franklin Roosevelt as World War II was drawing to a close. Germany surrendered soon after Truman took office, and he made the decision to drop two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which brought the war in Japan to an end that September. Truman supported the creation of the United Nations in 1945 and garnered support at home for the Truman Doctrine, a policy to contain Communism, and the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe. Truman's domestic policies, which were collectively known as the Fair Deal, included support for national health insurance, civil rights, and the repeal of the Taft-Hartley Act, which limited the power of labor unions. He was re-elected as a long shot in 1948. During his second term, the U.S. joined NATO in 1949 and the Korean War began in 1950. Truman ordered a naval blockade of Communist North Korea and urged the U.N. to send troops into the war. In one of the least popular decisions in presidential history, he fired General Douglas MacArthur for publicly disagreeing with the president's strategy. He decided not to run for re-election in 1952.
Wife: Bess Truman
Vice president: Alben Barkley (1949-1953)
Parents: John and Martha Truman
