1. He didn't make it to Westpoint Military Academy
As a child, his vision was very poor and he had to wear thick eyeglasses that prevented him from participating in sports. He had always dreamed of making it to Westpoint military academy, but was unfortunately denied.
After spending 10 years working on his father's farm, Truman enlisted in the National Guard and was shipped off to France. He was quite successful in world war i, and became captain of his artillery unit.
Since Truman never earned a college degree, he had time on his hands to explore other ventures. In 1919, the same year as Truman's marriage to Elizabeth Wallce, he tried to open a mens' clothing store with his friend, but it failed miserably in the slow economy just 3 years later.
In 1922, Truman was elected district judge in Jackson County, Missouri, with the help of a Kansas boss (Thomas Pentergast), who rigged the election. Perhaps Truman wasn't such a "true man" after all...
5. He worked his way up the political ladder
After his first role, he kept getting reelected to bigger roles, until he eventually became state senator. As senator, he helped make progress on Roosevelt's New Deal Program. His work became fundamental on acts such as the Aeronautics act of 1938 and the Transportation Act of 1940, establishing regulations on the new aviation industry, which passed new regulations on railroad industries. He worked to reduce military spending and make the military more efficient by serving in the Senate Special Committee to Investigate the National Defense Program from '41 to '44.
Truman replaced Roosevelt's old running mate for Roosevelt's fourth term in office. He was nicknamed the "Second Missouri Compromise" because 1. he is from Missouri and 2. His selection was Roosevelt's compromise to the moderate democrats of America (Truman was, in fact, a moderate Democrat).
7. He never expected to be the president
It was a shock to all that Roosevelt, who suffered from polio, was going to die only 3 months after being sworn in to office. The stress of war as well as his disease had taken a huge toll on the man, but clearly Truman never foresaw that it would really happen. He was quoted saying that, after finding out, it was like "the moon, the stars, and the planets all fell down on me." Was he ready for the job?
When Truman was first sworn in, it wasn't the case that the war was completely over. Yes, the Nazis had surrendered to America and the rest of Europe, and Truman attended Potsdam with the three victors, but the war in the Pacific still raged on. Despite this, the A-bomb was a very private matter. Truman soon learned that the bomb existed, and took action. He approved of both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bomb droppings as a way to end the war as quickly as possible. Was that the best decision? It was victory, but at a steep price. The war was over, but 220,000 innocent people died, the land was ruined, and those who survived suffered from the intense radiation. Whatever the decision, it was a controversial one, that can't possibly be seen as good without use of the word "if". Here is a photo montage:
9. He ran for a second term
Truman's approval ratings flailed in the distress of a war time economy. Though the economy was miles above Europe's, America had its fair share of labor strikes, along with an apparent shortage of consumer goods, and a national railroad strike. Still, Truman campaigned hard and landed himself in his second term. He immediately proposed the "Fair Deal" which was a social security act designed to expand on Roosevelt's New Deal program by helping farmers, laborers, and ensuring new civil rights reforms. The congress blocked most of these reforms, except for his Housing Act of 1949 and prohibition of discrimination in federal government jobs. Because racism was still evident in WWii with acts such as the 1940 Selective Service Act of WWII, Truman passed an act that eliminated segregation in U.S. armed forces.
Note: that newspaper was incorrect.
10. He led us in the Cold WarTruman supported the creation of NATO in 1949. In the same year, a revolution in China brought communists to power, another threat for America. Coincidentally, there was rumored to be communist spies spying on Truman around this time, but the accusations were not proven to be true.
The American policy of Containment was born with Truman in 1948 the day that he promised to contain Greece and Turkey of threats from the Soviet Union. Congress gave financial aid to the victim countries, while Truman created the "Truman Doctrine" which basically said that America would help other states threatened by Soviet Communism, which would shape American foreign policy for the next 30 years.
11. Truman always loved books, especially writing them.
Truman spent his last two decades after office in Missouri, building up a presidential library and writing his memoirs. He died at age 88.
"Not everyone who is a reader is a leader, but everyone who is a leader is a reader." - Harry Truman (referring to past leaders, not our current leader in America)
https://www.trumanlibrary.org/hst-bio.htm
https://www.google.com/search?q=westpoint&espv=2&biw=812&bih=626&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjDlKDP0e3RAhXBjlQKHW-7BjsQ_AUIBygC#tbm=isch&q=harry+truman+business
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&ved=0ahUKEwjj1_bK1O3RAhVFzlQKHXuQD5IQjBwIBA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fs-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com%2F736x%2Fc8%2F69%2Fbe%2Fc869be2c5564b7e2adeefba1816ee46f.jpg&bvm=bv.146073913,bs.2,d.cGw&psig=AFQjCNEuWBCjtGbpC08P3jhdDbX48hfCAw&ust=1485995791535749
http://www.history.com/
It is really interesting to learn about Truman's life and his policies as President, especially that he experienced multiple big failures in his life before becoming the President. As you mentioned, Truman's decision to use the atomic bomb was very controversial. While some believe that the bomb was immoral and unnecessary as the Japanese would have surrendered anyway, others believed that the bomb saved more lives for both sides. More information about this can be found on http://www.ushistory.org/us/51g.asp
ReplyDeleteGreat post! It was really fun to read about Truman's past and his good traits, instead of just learning about the wrong decisions that he made. I also liked reading about his own background and that even if there were many failures in his past, he still managed to run a country in his future.
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