Harry S. Truman

Harry S. Truman grew up in Independence, Missouri, and belonged to the Democratic Party. In 1945 President Franklin Roosevelt died, and Truman was vice president, so the hardest job in the country landed on his desk. Almost nobody expected the man from Missouri to hold it. He served from 1945 to 1953. Crowds nicknamed him Give 'Em Hell Harry because he was blunt and fought hard. The “S” in his name is not a single middle name — it honors both of his grandfathers.

Truman's first huge choice ended World War II. He ordered atomic bombs used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and Japan surrendered in August 1945. He believed the bombs stopped the war without a full invasion of Japan. Then a new fight began: containing communism so it would not spread. The Truman Doctrine in 1947 told the world America would help free countries resist a communist takeover. He asked Congress to aid Greece and Turkey, and the Marshall Plan — named for Secretary of State George Marshall — sent help so Western Europe could rebuild and stay free. In 1947 he also signed a law that created the CIA and the National Security Council, tools America needed for the Cold War.

When the Soviets blocked roads into West Berlin, Truman answered with the Berlin Airlift. Cargo planes fed a whole city for almost a year, and West Berlin stayed free. In 1950 communist North Korea invaded the South and the Korean War began. Truman sent U.S. forces under the United Nations to stop the invasion. In 1948 he recognized the new nation of Israel almost immediately — the United States was first, minutes after independence. A sign on his desk said the president can hand off work, not blame.