Harry S. Truman
A president between war’s ending and a divided world
President of the United States 1945–1953
Harry S. Truman assumed the presidency after Roosevelt’s death in April 1945, before the war ended in Europe or Asia. He took part in the Potsdam negotiations and his administration shaped American postwar policy. His story connects the last months of fighting with reconstruction and growing conflict with the Soviet Union.
Becoming president during war
Truman served in France as an artillery captain in the First World War. He was elected to the Senate in 1934 and gained national recognition by investigating waste in wartime contracts.
He moved from the vice-presidency to the presidency after Roosevelt died in April 1945. He had not led the United States throughout the war, but now faced decisions about its ending and the peace.
Victory and an unfinished peace
In summer 1945 he negotiated with Stalin and Britain’s leaders at Potsdam. The discussions concerned Germany’s occupation and competing visions of Europe. His presidency also encompassed the American atomic attacks on Japan; their necessity and possible alternatives remain subjects of historical debate.
Hiroshima consequently concerns political decisions and their effects on inhabitants. The sequence of attacks and surrender does not by itself settle the argument about necessity.
From cooperation to Cold War
In 1947 he requested aid for Greece and Turkey, presenting it as resistance to coercion and authoritarianism. The Truman Doctrine expressed the direction of American policy as relations with the Soviet Union worsened.
His administration also established the Marshall Plan to aid Western European recovery. His presidency connects the war’s ending with economic assistance and renewed rivalry.