Harry S. Truman (8 May 1884 - 26 Dec. 1972)
Truman was a senator for most of the war, and ran the Truman Committee to fight waste and mismanagement during the war effort. The success of this committee is believed to have saved $15billion. It was initially feared by the government as a morale-hurting committee, but Truman would later reply that the committee supported the government 100%. His common sense techniques earned him attention, appearing on the cover of Time magazine in 1943.
In 1944 he was elected Vice-President as Roosevelt’s running mate. It was a fairly uneventful role, with Roosevelt meeting him infrequently. However, on April 12 1945, Truman was summoned to the White House to be informed of the President’s death. He was now the President of the United States of America.
Truman kept the Roosevelt administration, and was relatively uninformed about many of the important military initiatives, including the Manhattan Project. On May 8 1945, Truman oversaw Allied victory in Europe. He was informed of the Manhattan Project by Stimson the day after Roosevelt died and in August, following Japan’s refusal to surrender, Truman authorised the use of the atomic bomb against Japan on 6th August. Truman would later warn of further attacks if Japan did not surrender. Having no reply from the Japanese, American bombers dropped a bomb on Nagasaki on August 9th. Japan would surrender on August 14th. Because of his use of the atomic bombs, Truman’s decision, and the morality of it, has been tenaciously debated by historians ever since.
For more information on Harry S. Truman:
Ferrell, Robert H. Harry S. Truman: A Life (Columbia, MI: University of Missouri Press), 1994.
McCullough, David. Truman (New York: Simon & Schuster), 1992.
In 1944 he was elected Vice-President as Roosevelt’s running mate. It was a fairly uneventful role, with Roosevelt meeting him infrequently. However, on April 12 1945, Truman was summoned to the White House to be informed of the President’s death. He was now the President of the United States of America.
Truman kept the Roosevelt administration, and was relatively uninformed about many of the important military initiatives, including the Manhattan Project. On May 8 1945, Truman oversaw Allied victory in Europe. He was informed of the Manhattan Project by Stimson the day after Roosevelt died and in August, following Japan’s refusal to surrender, Truman authorised the use of the atomic bomb against Japan on 6th August. Truman would later warn of further attacks if Japan did not surrender. Having no reply from the Japanese, American bombers dropped a bomb on Nagasaki on August 9th. Japan would surrender on August 14th. Because of his use of the atomic bombs, Truman’s decision, and the morality of it, has been tenaciously debated by historians ever since.
For more information on Harry S. Truman:
Ferrell, Robert H. Harry S. Truman: A Life (Columbia, MI: University of Missouri Press), 1994.
McCullough, David. Truman (New York: Simon & Schuster), 1992.