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Truman

Harry S Truman

33rd President of the United States

Nomination for Vice President

Truman was selected as Franklin Roosevelt's vice presidential candidate in 1944

Advisors to Roosevelt said that the incumbent VP, Henry Wallace, was too liberal

In contrast, James Byrnes of NC was too conservative

Truman was nicknamed the ‘Missouri Compromise’ because of his appeal to the party center

Truman did not want to serve as VP, but he reluctantly did so anyway because he felt it was his duty to the country

In the presidential race of 1944, the Roosevelt/Truman team easily won against Republican candidates Dewey/Brickler (432 to 99 electoral votes)

Vice President…

Sworn in on January 20, 1945

Vice Presidency was relatively uneventful

As VP, he presided over the Senate, attended parties and receptions, and shook endless numbers of hands

Thought he wouldn’t like being VP, however, he actually loved the ‘round of social engagements’

Only met twice with President Roosevelt

Roosevelt didn’t keep him informed- domestic affairs, how things were unfolding in Russia, the Manhattan Project, etc.

Didn’t even meet Secretary of State (Stettinius)

Vice President for only 82 days…

…To President

On April 12, 1945, Roosevelt died of a massive cerebral hemorrhage (Roosevelt’s health had been deteriorating for months)

Truman was completely uninformed about world affairs or domestic policies- Roosevelt had told him practically nothing

Upon assuming the presidency, Truman asked all of Roosevelt’s Cabinet to remain in place

“I felt like the moon, the stars, and all the planets had fallen on me”

-Truman to reporters on becoming President

Surrender of Germany & The Potsdam Conference

On May 7, 1945 German forces surrendered to Allied forces- V-E (Victory in Europe) Day

In July & August of 1945, Truman attended the Potsdam Conference, which was a meeting of the US, England & the Soviet Union to establish post-WWII order

The results of this conference are detailed in the Potsdam Agreement

The Potsdam Declaration was issued on July 26, 1945 by Truman, Churchill (England) and Chiang Kai-shek (China). It outlined the terms of surrender for Japan (who we were at war with). It also said if Japan didn’t surrender, they would be subject to “inevitable & complete destruction of the Japanese armed forces.”

Russia wasn’t at war w/Japan, thus didn’t participate in the Potsdam Declaration

Hiroshima & Nagasaki

However, the Japanese government dismissed the Potsdam Declaration and chose to ignore it.

In the end, Truman made the decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan. His intention was to bring about a quick resolution to the war by inflicting destruction and to basically shock Japan into surrendering.

August 6th, 1945- Hiroshima 140,000 dead

August 9th, 1945- Nagasaki 80,000 dead

On August 15th, Japan announced its surrender to the Allied Powers.

Some say the bombs probably saved hundreds of thousands of lives that would’ve been lost in an invasion of mainland Japan that was also being planned.

Eleanor Roosevelt supported this view

However, many critics have argued that the use of the bombs was immoral.

“I knew what I was doing when I stopped the war…I have no regrets, and under the same circumstances I would do it again.”

-Truman on the decision to authorize the use of the atomic bomb

The Truman Doctrine

A set of international policies put forth by Truman

Arose from a speech Truman gave to Congress

Declared that the U.S., as the leader of the free world, must support democracy worldwide and fight against communism

Requested $4 million in aid to both Turkey & Greece to help rebuild their countries (from WWII) and to fight against (the Soviet Union’s) Communism

“ I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures.

I believe that we must assist free peoples to work out their own destinies in their own way.

I believe that our help should be primarily through economic and financial aid which is essential to economic stability and orderly political processes.” – Truman, March 12 1947, before a Joint Session of Congress

The Marshall Plan

A.k.a. the European Recovery Plan (ERP)

Named after Secretary of State at that time, George Marshall

Enacted in June 1947 by US as a way to help rebuild Europe after WWII

Another goal of the ERP was to prevent communism from gaining a stronghold in war-torn countries

In total, the US spent $13 billion on this

Ended abruptly in 1951 when we became involved in the Korean conflict

Secretary of State Marshall

The Fair Deal

Was a broad legislative agenda of Truman’s & a major push to transform the U.S.’ wartime economy to a peacetime one

Called for national health insurance

Influenced LBJ’s enactment of Medicare

Called for the repeal of the anti-union Taft- Hartely Act

Instigated an aggressive civil rights program

Integrated the armed forces

First president to address the NAACP

The Fair Deal wasn’t too successful- only the Housing Act of 1949 was ever enacted

"Every segment of our population, and every individual, has a right to expect from his government a fair deal.”

-Truman, 1949 State of the Union address to Congress

The Berlin Airlift

On June 24, 1948, the Soviet Union blocked all access to 3 sectors of Berlin

On June 25, Truman approved a plan to supply the blockaded city with food and other supplies by air.

The airlift worked- ground access was granted again on May 11, 1949

It was one of Truman’s greatest foreign-policy achievements, and it significantly helped his presidential campaign in 1948

1948 Election

In the spring of 1948, Truman’s public opinion rating stood at 36%

However, Truman still decided to run again

The ‘New Dealers’ in the Democratic Party tried to give the nomination to General Eisenhower, who was very popular, but Eisenhower refused

The other candidates included:

Strom Thurmond – Dixiecrat Party

Henry Wallace – Progressive Party

Thomas Dewey- Republican Party

In almost unanimous predictions by pollsters and the press, Dewey was projected to be the winner. He seemed unstoppable…

Meet the Candidates…

Top Left: Harry Truman -Democrat

Bottom Left: Thomas E. Dewey -Republican

Bottom Middle: Strom Thurmond -Dixiecrat

Bottom Right: Henry Wallace -Progressive

What’s the Use?

A popular cartoon from the election of 1948. Dewey was projected by most to easily win the presidency.

Victory!!

In his campaign for the presidency, Truman traveled 21,928 miles on his ‘whistle-stop campaign’- making brief appearances at a number of small towns over a small amount of time

At the end of the election, Truman was the winner:

Truman- 303 electoral votes

Dewey- 189 electoral votes

Thurmond- 39 electoral votes

Wallace- no electoral votes

The country was flabbergasted. Not a single polling organization, radio commentator, journalist, or political “expert” had predicted a Truman victory.

Truman’s Second Term

NATO- Truman was a strong supporter of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It established a formal military peacetime alliance with Canada and many European nations that hadn’t fallen under Soviet control during WWII

Truman successfully guided the treaty through the Senate in 1949

People’s Republic of China- On December 21, 1949, Chiang Kai-Shek fled to Taiwan from Mao Zedong’s Communist Army

In June 1950, Truman ordered the U.S. Navy into the Taiwan Strait to prevent conflict between the warring Communist government and government-in-exile

McCarthyism

Throughout his presidency, Truman had to deal with accusations that the federal government was harboring Soviet spies at the highest levels.

These accusations were largely propagated by Senator Joseph McCarthy of WI. McCarthy was never able to substantiate his claims, yet much of the U.S. was still swept up by Communist hysteria.

“…the best asset the Kremlin has.”

- Truman, on Senator McCarthy

The Korean War & General MacArthur

On June 25, 1950, the North Korean People’s Army invaded South Korea, and the South Korean Army was quickly pushed out of their capital, Seoul. This precipitated the Korean War.

Truman promptly urged the UN to intervene, which it did. With UN forces, General MacArthur led a counterattack, scoring a stunning but extremely risky surprise victory at the Battle of Inchon.

By 1951 the war had become a stalemate at the 38th parallel.

On April 11, 1951, Truman fired General MacArthur from all his posts in Korea and Japan because MacArthur had disregarded Truman’s explicit orders. This was a hugely unpopular decision by Truman- after this, many called for his impeachment.

An armistice was signed on July 27,1953, ‘ending’ the conflict.

…Most Famous Balcony in History

In 1948, Truman ordered that a balcony be added to the White House’s second floor, arguing that it would ‘balance’ the look of the White House. This decision was largely unpopular.

A short while later, engineering experts concluded that the building was in a dangerously dilapidated condition. These findings weren’t released until after the 1948 election. Ironically, the only safe place was Truman’s new balcony (“Doesn’t that beat all!” he said.)

The decision was made to demolish and rebuild the whole interior of the White House, while retaining the famous exterior of the structure.

The work lasted from December 1949 to March 1952.

Meanwhile, Truman lived across the street at Blair House.

Assassination Attempt

On November 1, 1950, Puerto Rican nationalists Griselio Torresola and Oscar Collazo attempted to assassinate Truman at Blair House.

Truman wasn’t harmed, but White House policeman Leslie Coffelt was mortally wounded.

Torresola was also shot and died on the spot.

Collazo was sentenced to death, but was later commuted to life in prison.

Ironically, Truman had done a lot more for Puerto Rico than other Presidents. He appointed the first the first native to serve as governor, allowed Puerto Rico to determine its relationship status with the United States, and extended Social Security to them.

After the Presidency

Truman decided to worked to raise private donations to build a presidential library.

After his presidency, Truman was practically broke- if weren’t for his army pensions and some property he had inherited from his mother, he would have been broke.

As it was, Truman was forced to take out a loan.

He decided to publish memoirs of his life; these proved to be great successes.

In 1956, Truman decided to take a trip to Europe with his wife. In Britain, he received an honorary degree in Civic Law from Oxford University.

On December 26, 1972, Truman died from multiple organ failure. Bess Truman died 10 years later, on October 18, 1982.

Fun Facts

Truman’s vice-presidential acceptance speech was less than a minute long

Truman was a key figure in the establishment & recognition of Israel

Truman’s mother, a Confederate sympathizer, refused to sleep in Lincoln’s bed during a visit to the White House

Truman’s middle initial, S , doesn’t actually stand for anything. It was actually a compromise between both of his grandfathers’ middle names, Shippe and Solomon.

The Eisenhower Era

1952 - 1960

Election of 1952

Dem – Adlai E. Stevenson

Rep – Dwight D. Eisenhower

Running mate – Richard Nixon

Richard Nixon did most of the campaigning

Nixon was accused of corruption

“Checkers speech” on national TV – gained support

Demonstrated the impact of TV on politics

“I Like Ike”

Eisenhower wins easily

Promised to go personally to Korea to end the war

Dec 1952 – Eisenhower went to Korea

7 months later, after threatening to use atomic weapons, an armistice was finally signed (repeatedly violated)

1953 – Korea War ended

Bought only a return to the conditions of 1950

Korea remained divided at the 38th parallel

Eisenhower happy

Like a benign grandfather, Dwight D. Eisenhower provided a reassuring presence in the White House in the 1950s. His moderation, balanced judgment, and apparent aloofness from partisanship appealed to as many as did his fondness for bridge and poker, bourbon, fishing and hunting, and golf. (Courtesy Dwight D. Eisenhower Library)

Eisenhower happy

Problems for African Americans

Jim Crow Laws – separate social arrangements for blacks & whites

Schools, public toilets, drinking fountains, waiting rooms

Violence broke out

14-year old Emmett Till was lynched in 1955 for leering at a white woman

Jackie Robinson – 1st AA to break the racial barrier in sports

Drink Coca Cola--White Customers Only!

Signs like this were common in the South prior to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. (Library of Congress)

Drink Coca Cola--White Customers Only!

Desegregating the South

African Americans started demanding more rights after WWII

1944 – Supreme Court ruled that the “white primary” was unconstitutional

Sweatt v. Painter – separate professional schools for black were not equal

Thurgood Marshall, future Supreme Court Justice

Dec 1955 – Rosa Parks was arrested & started the Montgomery bus boycott

Martin Luther King Jr. followed the principles of Gandhi

Nonviolent protest

Seeds of Civil Rights Revolution

1948 – Truman ended segregation in the military

Congress still resisted passing civil rights legislation

Eisenhower showed no real signs of interest in the racial issue

Chief Justice Earl Warren – attacked social taboo items

Brown v. The Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas (1954)

Ruled that segregation was unequal & unconstitutional

Reversed Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) – separate but equal doctrine

Desegregation with “all deliberate speed”

Ike is Forced to Act

Sept 1957 – Little Rock, Arkansas

Governor Orval Faubus organized the National Guard to prevent 9 black students from enrolling in Central High School

Eisenhower was forced to send troops to escort the students to class

1957 – Congress passed the Civil Rights Act

Set up a Civil Rights Commission to investigate violations of civil rights & authorized federal injunctions to protect voting rights

Little Rock--white student yelling at Elizabeth Eckford, September 4, 1957

Elizabeth Eckford, age 15, one of the nine black students to desegregate Central High School, endures abuse on her way to school. Forty years later, the young white woman shouting insults asked for forgiveness. (Wide World)

Little Rock--white student yelling at Elizabeth Eckford, September 4, 1957

The Movement Starts

1957 – Martin Luther King Jr. formed the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)

Aimed to mobilize the power of black churches

Feb 1, 1960 – “sit-in” movement

4 black college students in Greensboro, NC started a sit-in at Woolworth’s lunch counter

Movement spread very quickly across the South

April 1960 – SNCC is formed

Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee

Sit-in--Jackson, Mississippi, May 28, 1963

The sit-ins of 1960 initiated the student phase of the civil-rights movement. Across the south, young black activists challenged segregation by staging nonviolent demonstrations to demand access to public facilities. Their courage and commitment reinvigorated the movement, leading to still greater grass-roots activism. (World Wide)

Sit-in--Jackson, Mississippi, May 28, 1963

Eisenhower’s Domestic Policy

New Republicanism

Strove to balance the federal budget & guard against “creeping socialism”

Extended Social Security benefits & raised minimum wage

Launched the largest public works program ever

Highway Act – created interstates

Failed to solve the economic problems of the 1950’s: low farm prices

Operation Wetback (1954) – sent 1 million Mexicans back

Sought to cancel the Indian New Deal

Indian boy protesting, April 18, 1958

One of Eisenhower's goals was to reduce federal spending and controls. In line with this policy, he tried to turn Indian affairs over to the states and liquidate federal services and reservations. Between 1954 and 1960, sixty-one tribes were affected. This picture shows a 4-year-old Tuscarora boy protesting state and federal policies that attacked Indian rights. (Wide World Photos, Inc.)

Indian boy protesting, April 18, 1958

Eisenhower’s Foreign Policy

Sec of State John Dulles

Pledged to “roll back” communism & “liberate captive peoples”

Wanted to build up a air fleet of superbombers carrying nuclear bombs (Strategic Air Command or SAC)

Massive retaliation policy – you attack us we will attack you

Girl in front of dome atomic bomb shelter

As the Cold War intensified and the Soviets became a nuclear power, the government began to consider methods to survive a nuclear war. One "solution" was to encourage people to build backyard bomb shelters. Pictured here is one family's atomic bomb shelter that slept six. The cost was $1,250 in 1951. (Corbis-Bettmann)

Girl in front of dome atomic bomb shelter

The Vietnam Nightmare

1954 – US was financing 80% of the French colonial war in Indochina at $1 billion/year

March 1954 – Dien Bien Phu

25,000 French troops were trapped at this French base

Pleaded with the US for assistance but Ike refused

1954 – Geneva Accords

Communist & Democratic powers agree to divide Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh’s Communist would control the north

Non-communist forces supported by the US would control the South

1956 – Vietnam would unify after national elections

SEATO

1954 - Sec Dulles helped start the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO)

Included US, Great Britain, France, & others

Nations pledged joint action against any aggressor

Cold War Thaws

Nikita Khrushchev

Becomes leader of USSR when Stalin dies

Hope for better relationship with USSR arises

Soviets agreed to end their occupation of Austria // ends with Hungarian Revolution in 1956

July 1955 – Geneva Summit

Policy of peaceful coexistence emerges

Menaces in the Middle East

CIA engineered a political coup

1953 – Installed a youthful Shah of Iran as a pro-western dictator who guaranteed Iranian oil for the West

Us intervention led to a legacy of resentment

Suez Crisis – 1956

Egyptian leader, Nasser, nationalized the Suez Canal owned chiefly by British & French stockholders

led to a joint British-French attack on Egypt that was condemned by the US

Eisenhower Doctrine – 1957

Pledged US military & economic aid to Middle Eastern nations threatened by communist aggression

OPEC is formed – 1960

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries

Election of 1956

Candidates:

Republican – Eisenhower & Nixon

Democrat – Adlai Stevenson

Eisenhower’s Second Term

Labor legislation – Teamsters Union

“Dave” Beck – sent to prison for embezzlement

Replaced by James Hoffa – AF of L / CIO expelled the Teamsters

Landrum-Griffin Act (1959)

Prevent bullying tactics & would make labor leaders keep accurate financial records

The Race for Space

Oct 4, 1957 – Soviets launched the first satellite into space called Sputnik I & was followed by Sputnik II a month later

US’s confidence was shattered by the “missile-Gap”

Congress authorized the National Defense & Education Act (1958) to improve the teaching of science & languages

“The Spirit of Camp David”

Khrushchev invited in 1959 to America to met with the U.N. General Assembly

Discussed disarmament

Result was a meeting at Camp David in Maryland

Follow-up meeting was planned for Paris in May, 1960

Eve of conference, American U-2 spy plan was shot down over Soviet Union

Ended hope of peaceful coexistence

Problems in Latin America

Cuba

Dictator – Fulgencio Batista - some support from US

Fidel Castro engineered a revolution in 1959 & was not friendly to the US

US stopped importing Cuban sugar & broke relations in 1961

Cuba became a Soviet satellite

Soviet Union set up a communist base in Cuba

Khrushchev threatened an attack if the US attacked Cuba

Ike’s Legacy

22nd Amendment (1951)

Presidents can serve only 2 terms or a total of 10 years

Passed under Truman, prevented Ike from running again.

1959 – Alaska & Hawaii become states

No moral crusade for civil rights

Exercised restraint on using military power

Prosperity in the 1950s

Surge of home construction

Computers were developed – IBM

Commercial airlines & “Air Force One” – Boeing

“White collar” workers outnumbered “blue collar” workers

Clerical & service work filled by mostly women

“Cult of domesticity” emerged – “Ozzie & Harriet”

Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique (1963) started the women’s movement

Consumer Culture

Expansion of the middle class

Diner’s Club – first credit card in 1950

1954 – McDonalds opened in California

1955 – Disneyland opened in California

TV were in almost every home

Televangelists – Billy Graham, Oral Roberts, Fulton J. Sheen

Commercialized professional sports

Rock ‘n’ Roll – mix of black rhythm & blues, country, & gospel

Elvis Presley

Marilyn Monroe – Playboy in 1955

Elvis

In 1954, Elvis Presley's first record was released and within a year a new rock'n'roll star had burst onto the music scene. Elvis's style blended rhythm and blues, country, and gospel into a unique sound that, along with his body language, created an American icon. (Michael Barson Collection/Past Perfect)

Elvis

Host Dick Clark and teenagers on American Bandstand

In the 1950s the teenage culture of the baby boomers became a national phenomenon through such outlets as Dick Clark's American Bandstand, where teens danced in front of a national TV audience. (Library of Congress)

Host Dick Clark and teenagers on American Bandstand