| An Overview of Harry Truman's
Administration Harry
Truman became President at one of the most critical
moments in American history. He had been Vice-President
for only 83 days when President Franklin D. Roosevelt died on April 12, 1945. World War II still had
to be won, and plans to establish the United Nations
organization had just been started. The Missouri Democrat
met the challenges of his presidency with courage,
determination, and imagination. During the first few
weeks of his administration, the Allies won victory in
Europe. Truman then made one of the most difficult
decisions ever considered by one man -- to use the
powerful new atomic bomb against Japan to end World War
II.
| Election
of 1948 |
| Place of Nominating
Convention |
Philadelphia |
| Ballot on Which
Nominated |
1st |
| Republican Opponent |
Thomas E. Dewey |
| Dixiecrat Opponent |
Strom Thurmond |
| Progressive Opponent |
Henry A. Wallace |
| Electoral Vote |
303 (Truman) to 189 (Dewey) to
39 (Thurmond) to 0 (Wallace) |
| Popular Vote |
24,105,695 (Truman) to
21,969,170 (Dewey) to 1,169,021 (Thurmond) to
1,156,103 (Wallace) |
| Age at Inauguration |
64 |
| His
Vice-President and Cabinet |
| Vice-President |
Alben W. Barkley |
| Secretary
of State |
Edward R. Stettinius, Jr.
James F. Byrnes (1945)
George C.
Marshall (1947)
Dean G.
Acheson (1949) |
| Secretary of the
Treasury |
Henry Morgenthau, Jr.
Frederick M. Vinson (1945)
John W. Snyder (1946) |
| Secretary of War |
Henry L. Stimson
Robert P. Patterson (1945)
Kenneth C. Royall (1947) |
| Secretary of Defense |
James V. Forrestal (1947)
Louis A. Johnson (1949)
George C. Marshall (1950)
Robert A. Lovett (1951) |
| Attorney General |
Francis Biddle
Tom C. Clark (1945)
J. Howard McGrath (1949)
James P. McGranery (1952) |
| Postmaster General |
Frank C. Walker
Robert E. Hannegan (1945)
Jesse M. Donaldson (1947) |
| Secretary of the Navy |
James V. Forrestal |
| Secretary of the
Interior |
Harold L. Ickes
Julius A. Krug (1946)
Oscar L. Chapman (1950) |
| Secretary of Agriculture |
Claude R. Wickard
Clinton P. Anderson (1945)
Charles F. Brannan (1948) |
| Secretary of Commerce |
Henry A. Wallace
Averell Harriman (1946)
Charles Sawyer (1948) |
| Secretary of Labor |
Frances
Perkins
Lewis B. Schwellenbach (1945)
Maurice J.Tobin (1948) |
| Major
Domestic Events of His Administration |
| Population
in 1953: 159,700,000 |
| July 16, 1945 |
American forces tested the
world's first atomic bomb. |
| 1946 |
Congress created the Atomic
Energy Commission. |
| May 15, 1947 |
Congress approved the Truman
Doctrine. |
| June 1947 |
Congress passed the
Labor-Management Relations Act (Taft-Hartley Act)
over Truman's veto. |
| July 1947 |
The armed forces were unified
under a single Secretary of Defense. |
| April 2, 1948 |
Congress approved the Marshall
Plan. |
| June 27, 1950 |
Truman announced that U.S.
planes and ships had been sent to help South
Korea fight off communists. |
| November 1, 1950 |
Two Puerto Rican nationalists
tried to invade Blair House and assassinate
Truman. |
| 1951 |
The 22nd Amendment to the
Constitution, limiting the President to two
four-year terms, was adopted. |
| 1951 |
A Senate committee investigated
U.S. crime. |
| April 1951 |
Truman relieved General Douglas
MacArthur as U.N. commander in Korea. |
| 1951 |
Americans saw the first
nationwide telecast. |
| 1952 |
Puerto
Rico became a commonwealth. |
| November 1, 1952 |
American scientists tested the
world's first hydrogen bomb. |
| |
| Major
World Events of His Administration |
| April 25, 1945 |
The first United Nations
conference met in San Francisco. |
| May 7, 1945 |
Germany surrendered to the
Allies. |
| August 6, 1945 |
An American bomber dropped an
atomic bomb -- "Little
Boy" -- on Hiroshima, Japan. |
| August 9, 1945 |
An atomic bomb -- "Fat
Man" -- was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan. |
| August 14, 1945 |
Japan
surrendered to the United States. |
| 1946 |
The
Philippines became a republic. |
| 1947-1948 |
India,
Pakistan,
and Ceylon won independence in the British
Commonwealth; Burma became a republic. |
| 1948-1949 |
An Allied airlift supplied
blockaded West Berlin. |
| 1948 |
Israel
became a republic in Palestine. |
| 1949 |
The United States, Canada, Great
Britain, France, and eight other nations signed
the North
Atlantic Treaty. |
| June 25, 1950 |
Communist forces from North
Korea invaded South Korea. |
| 1952 |
Elizabeth
II became Queen of England. |
WEB SOURCE
The American President www.millercenter.virginia.edu
SEE ALSO
President Franklin D.
Roosevelt
World War II
Secretary
of State
George C. Marshall
Dean G. Acheson
Frances
Perkins
Douglas MacArthur
Puerto
Rico
"Little
Boy"
"Fat
Man"
Japan's
Surrender
The
Philippines
India
Pakistan
Israel
North
Atlantic Treaty
Elizabeth
II
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