Harry and Bess Truman
Harry and Bess Truman in their living room in Independence, Missouri. Harry S. Truman (1884-1972) was the 33rd President of the United States (1945-1953). He succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his unprecedented fourth term. During World War I, Truman served in combat in France as an artillery officer in his National Guard unit. He gained national prominence as head of the wartime Truman Committee and was selected as Roosevelt's running mate in 1944. He used executive orders to end racial discrimination in the armed forces and created loyalty checks that dismissed thousands of communist supporters from office. Truman's presidency was also eventful in foreign affairs, with the defeat of Nazi Germany and his decision to use nuclear weapons against Japan, the founding of the United Nations, the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe, the Truman Doctrine to contain communism, the beginning of the Cold War, the Berlin Airlift, the creation of NATO, the Chinese Civil War, and the Korean War. Truman, in sharp contrast to the imperious Roosevelt who kept personal control of all major decisions, was a folksy, unassuming president who relied on his cabinet. He popularized such phrases as The buck stops here and If you can't stand the heat, you better get out of the kitchen. His approval ratings in the polls started out very high, then steadily sank until he was one of the most unpopular men to leave the White House. In 1972 he was diagnosed with a case of pneumonia, severe lung congestion and multiple organ failure led to his death at the age of 88
