Harry S. Truman / Harry S. Truman - Key Events

President Franklin D. Roosevelt dies in Warm Spring, Georgia; Harry S. Truman becomes the thirty-third President of the United States.

Germany surrenders, ending World War II in Europe.

Representatives from the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union attend the Potsdam Conference.

The United States drops an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan.

On the morning of August 6, 1945, the United States dropped the first atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. A second atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki three days later. It is estimated that more than 200,000 Japanese, primarily civilians, were killed in the two bombings. Following the second bombing, the Japanese requested an armistice agreeing to the Allied terms of surrender on August 15; the Empire of Japan formally surrendered in a ceremony on September 2. World War II was over, brought to a close with a weapon Truman had called “the most terrible bomb in the history of the world.”

Truman first learned of the program to develop an atomic bomb, known as the Manhattan Project, shortly after becoming President in April 1945. He expressed his support for the program but continued with plans to invade Japan to force surrender. It was estimated that an Allied invasion of Japan would prolong the war for at least another year and cost an estimated 200,000 additional casualties.

While at the Potsdam Conference in Germany, the President received word of the successful test of the bomb, including details of the massive damage the detonation had wrought. Truman was told that the bomb could be ready to be dropped by early August. In a statement that became known as the Potsdam Declaration, the United States, Britain, and China called for Japan to surrender unconditionally or face “prompt and utter destruction.” This was the only warning the Japanese received before the dropping of the first bomb.

Truman was at sea returning from Germany when he received news of the successful bombing of Hiroshima. The following morning, Truman announced the bombing to the American people and again warned Japan of the destruction they would face if they did not surrender. After the United States dropped the second bomb, Japan surrendered.

The use of the atomic bomb was extremely popular, and ending the war without losing additional America lives bolstered the President's popularity. Still, the effects of the atomic bomb left some Americans, including Truman, with a feeling of horror.

The United States drops an atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan.

Japan surrenders, ending World War II in Asia.

Truman presents Congress with his 21-point plan for Reconversion.

Truman signs the Employment Act of 1946, placing increased responsibility for economic stability on the federal government.

State Department official George Kennan, serving in the Soviet Union, sends his “Long Telegram,” in which he analyzes the sources of Soviet conduct and Moscow's geopolitical intentions, and suggests American responses.

Winston Churchill delivers his “Iron Curtain” speech at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, condemning the Soviet Union’s policies of expansion and calling for strengthening the U.S-Britain alliance.

Secretary of Commerce Henry Wallace criticizes U.S. foreign policy in a speech in New York City.

Truman asks for, and receives, Wallace's resignation.

In the midterm elections, the Republican Party wins control of Congress.

Truman delivers his “Truman Doctrine” speech to Congress, asking for a $400 million appropriation to fight the spread of Communism in Greece and Turkey.

Truman Doctrine Announced

On March 12, 1947, President Harry S. Truman appeared before a joint session of Congress to request military aid for the countries of Greece and Turkey. During the course of his remarks, Truman described the United States as engaged in an ideological conflict with the forces of totalitarianism-a thinly veiled reference to the Soviet Union. The President observed that every nation had to choose between a way of life “based upon the will of the majority,” and a way of life “based upon the will of a minority forcibly imposed upon the majority.” Setting America on a new course in world affairs, Truman proclaimed that “it must be the policy of the United State to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures.” The United States would thenceforth provide aid to countries fighting the forces of Communism. Truman did not advocate sending troops around the world to fight against Communist insurgents, however. Instead, starting with Greece and Turkey, he asked Congress for financial aid to support those nations facing Communist threats.

Truman's aid request did not mark a dramatic shift in the policies of his administration. The President's advisers on foreign policy had long advocated that Truman adopt a tougher stance against the Soviet Union. Nevertheless, the address did signify a shift in how Truman characterized the Soviet Union and the menace it represented to the American public. In framing the issues as a conflict between two irreconcilable ideologies, Truman sharpened the tone of his rhetoric, asking for a global commitment to contain a ruthless foe.

Truman's speech prompted criticism from both the left and right of the American political spectrum. Liberals, such as Henry Wallace, continued to call for cooperation with the Soviet Union. Conservatives, including powerful Republican Senator Robert Taft, spoke out against further American involvement in Europe. The administration, however, was able to mobilize support from moderates in both parties who recognized in Communism a threat of increasing proportions. Congress passed Truman's aid package to Greece and Turkey in May 1947 with clear majorities in both the House and the Senate.

To read President Truman's entire speech, click here.

Truman creates the Federal Employee Loyalty Program, known as the “Loyalty Order,” via Executive Order 9835. This order’s purpose was to ensure loyalty against communism in the federal government.

Jackie Robinson plays his first game with the Brooklyn Dodgers and integrates major league baseball.

Truman signs the “Truman Doctrine” appropriation approved by Congress for Greece and Turkey.

Secretary of State George Marshall proposes economic aid to Europe in an address at Harvard University. Officially titled the European Recovery Program, the package aids Western Europe in rebuilding their economies, and becomes known as the “Marshall Plan.”

Marshall Plan Announced

On June 5, 1947, Secretary of State George C. Marshall announced a plan to provide economic assistance to the devastated nations of Europe after World War II. He presented what became known as the Marshall Plan during a commencement speech at Harvard University. The administration of President Harry S. Truman hoped the plan would encourage both political and economic stability in Europe and help reduce the attraction of Communism to Europe's suffering populations.

In his speech, Secretary Marshall implied that funding would be available for all of Europe, including Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, but the Soviet Union refused to participate. Administration officials recognized that Soviet rejection of aid would likely solidify the emerging division of the continent and were eager to pin the blame for that development on Moscow. Had the Soviets agreed to participate in the plan, its passage through Congress would have been much more difficult. The likelihood of Soviet participation, however, was slim. Marshall had made disbursal of American funds contingent upon European nations presenting a coordinated proposal to the United States, an approach designed to encourage greater cooperation among countries in Europe.

In July, representatives from sixteen European nations attended a conference in Paris, France, to draw up a proposal for U.S. aid. The Soviets had sent a delegation to an initial meeting, but it soon departed under orders from Moscow. And despite the interest expressed by Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Romania in the aid plan, no East European nation was a recipient of American funds. In August 1947, representatives from the European nations presented a proposal for more than $20 billion of aid over four years. The Truman administration trimmed the amount to $17.8 billion before sending it Congress as the European Recovery Plan (ERP). President Truman insisted on associating the plan with Secretary Marshall not only because he believed Marshall deserved the credit, but because, given his political difficulties with Congress, he wanted to distance himself from the plan. The Marshall Plan's enormous cost led to opposition in Congress, but Stalin's aggressive actions in Eastern Europe, particularly in Czechosvakia, helped secure the first appropriation of $6.8 million in April 1948. By the time the Marshall Plan had come to an end in 1952, it had provided more than $13 billion in aid to Western Europe.

Some historians have criticized the plan for increasing tension with the Soviet Union or as a program designed to create markets for American goods in Europe. Despite these negative connotations, the Marshall Plan provided financial and humanitarian aid which fostered economic growth and political stability for the peoples of Western Europe.

Truman vetoes the Taft-Hartley Act.

Congress overrides Truman's veto of the Taft-Hartley Act.

Truman addresses the NAACP, the first President to do so.

The National Security Act passes Congress, creating the National Security Council, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Department of Defense, and the National Security Resources Board.

Truman sends a message to Congress asking for legislation to secure the civil rights of the nation's minorities.

Congress passes the European Recovery Program (the “Marshall Plan”).

The United States recognizes the state of Israel.

Governor Thomas Dewey of New York accepts the Republican Party nomination for President.

The Soviet Union blockades the overland access routes to West Berlin.

Soviets Begin Berlin Blockade

On June 24, 1948, the Soviet Union halted all transportation by road and rail into the areas of Berlin controlled by the United States, Britain, and France. The American and British forces immediately initiated an airlift of supplies to relieve the western-controlled portions of the city. After 321 days and 272,000 flights, the airlift succeeded when the Soviets reopened the borders on March 12, 1949.

After World War II, Britain, France, the United States, and the Soviet Union had partitioned Germany and its capital city of Berlin. The city lay entirely within the Soviet zone of Eastern Germany but was still divided between the four allies. In June 1948, the Western powers introduced new currency into their occupation zones, initiating the formation of a self-governing Germany.

After the Soviets began the blockade of Berlin, President Harry S. Truman made the decision that the United States would “stay in Berlin” and not concede the city as part of the Soviet sphere of influence. He rejected, however, proposals to send a military convoy through the Soviet zone to Berlin, which would have most likely led to war. Instead, he chose to maintain the airlift. Some advisers doubted that an airlift would succeed in supplying the people of West Berlin with food and fuel, but Truman risked both his foreign policy objectives and his political future on supplying the city without initiating war. From the perspective of the Truman administration, losing Berlin would have undermined U.S. credibility around the world.

The crisis over Berlin demonstrated a high point in the tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union. Nevertheless, the airlift garnered wide public support in the United States, allowing Truman to emphasize his administration's anti-Soviet credentials during the 1948 presidential campaign. By this point, the Cold War had become a major issue both internationally and in the domestic political arena.

In conjunction with the British, Truman orders the airlifting of supplies into West Berlin.

Truman accepts the Democratic Party nomination for President and calls for a special session of Congress.

At the opening of a special session of the 80th Congress, Truman asks for legislation on housing, civil rights, and price controls. The same day, the President signs Executive Order 9981, which desegregates the Armed Forces.

Truman Orders Desegregation of Armed Forces

On July 26, 1948, President Harry S. Truman issued an executive order to desegregate the armed forces. Executive Order 9981 created the Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Services.

There was great resistance to this order among Army officers. Army chief of staff Omar Bradley declared that “the Army is not out to make any social reform.” It was Bradley's contention that the Army “will not put men of different races in the same companies.” The armed forces did not seriously implement Truman's order until the Korean War began in 1950, and desegregation of the Army was not completed until 1954. Even then, however, the Army's officer corps remained predominantly white.

In 1946, Truman first attempted to create a permanent Fair Employment Practices Commission (FEPC), which had originally formed under President Franklin D. Roosevelt. After this proposal failed, the President appointed a committee to advise him on civil rights. In February 1948, he demonstrated his support for the committee's proposals by sending a message to Congress calling for measures such as anti-lynching laws and legislation to end poll taxes and discrimination in interstate travel. He also pledged to issue executive orders to end discrimination in the armed forces and civil service.

Still, Truman remained cautious in supporting civil rights as there was considerable opposition within his own party. At the July 1948 Democratic Convention, liberals challenged the party's vague civil rights platform, replacing it with a more activist program. This led delegates from Alabama and Mississippi to walk out of the convention and form the States' Rights Democratic or “Dixiecrat” party. After the convention, Truman issued the executive orders desegregating the armed forces and the civil service, his strongest actions in support of civil rights.

There was good political reason for Truman to desegregate the armed forces: he needed black votes to win reelection in November. As the Dixiecrat revolt demonstrated, there were also political risks involved in his support of civil rights. Truman's actions, while minor in light of the broad-based oppression suffered by African Americans, amounted to an important symbolic endorsement of civil rights and helped secure the allegiance of black Americans to the Democratic Party-a process begun during the presidency of Truman's predecessor, Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Truman campaigns for the presidency throughout the nation (except for the South) and attacks the record of the “do nothing” Republican-controlled Congress.

Truman is elected President. The Democratic Party retakes both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Truman proposes the “Fair Deal” in his State of the Union address.

Truman Announces Fair Deal Program

On January 5, 1949, just weeks before the start of his second term as President, Harry S. Truman delivered his State of the Union Address. The speech contained a series of measures that Truman recommended for congressional action. Truman closed his address by citing the philosophy behind this domestic program. “Every segment of our population and every individual,” he explained, “has a right to expect from our government a fair deal.” His list of demands thus became known as the “Fair Deal,” an attempt by Truman to augment Roosevelt's New Deal. Nevertheless, where Roosevelt had met with great success in implementing his proposals, Truman struggled to pass his program. Of all the goals he presented, only three-increasing public housing programs, raising the minimum wage, and expanding Social Security-were fulfilled by the end of the congressional session in 1950.

Truman's Fair Deal included a wide ranging group of proposals: economic controls to halt inflation, a more progressive tax structure, the raising of the minimum wage, repeal of the Taft-Hartley Act, agricultural reform, resource development and public power, national medical insurance, expansion of Social Security, federal housing programs, aid to education, and civil rights protections. The President, however, faced numerous difficulties in passing his liberal legislative program. Despite the election of Democratic majorities to both the House and the Senate, a coalition of Republicans and conservative Democrats from the South continued to dominate both chambers of Congress. For example, Truman proposed cloture reform-reducing the number of votes necessary to end a filibuster in the Senate-to facilitate the passage of civil rights legislation. Conservative Senators narrowly defeated this proposal, shutting down the possibility of more liberal legislation. Other aspects of Truman's program met with opposition from powerful interest groups. The administration's agricultural reform bill was defeated through the influence of the Farm Bureau Federation; likewise, the American Medical Association lobbied against national healthcare. These forces limited Congress's ability to pass substantial parts of the Fair Deal.

Those programs that were enacted barely made it through Congress. Even with the support of conservative Senator Robert Taft, the Housing Act of 1949 passed an important vote in the House by a margin of only five representatives; the act was weakened version of the public housing bill the President proposed, but it still promised to build 810,000 housing units over the next six years. Congress also raised the minimum wage in 1949 from 40 to 75 cents. Finally, the Social Security Act of 1950 expanded significantly the coverage offered in the original 1935 act. While Truman failed to implement most of his Fair Deal, the passage of these three acts and other smaller pieces of legislation were significant victories for the President and liberals in Congress.