I shall be referring to this week's web log topic as the Tru-man.
Background
Harry Truman was born on May 8th of 1884 in Missouri. As a child, the brilliant Tru-man aspired to be a great soldier someday. He fell in love with and married Virginia "Bess" Wallace, having their only child, Mary, a year later. The Tru-man joined the National Guard and was shipped off to fight in WWI. I was suprised to find out that after the war, he and a buddy started a men's furnishing store, selling ties, socks, shirts and underwear.
This is a picture of Harry Truman as a soldier (taken in France in 1918)
Politics
He found his way into politics when a friend, Thomas Penderghast, asked him to run for a judgeship of the county court. He managed the county's finances during the great depression, and received a wonderful reputation, despite being involved with the corrupt Penderghast. The Tru-man was elected into the Senate in 1934. He didn't do much until he started the "Tru-man Commitee" which was designed to investigate government defense spending. This made him become a national figure.
Presidency
He ran for vice-president alongside FDR. It was an easy win, as people were unhappy with the Republican Herbert Hoober's methods for solving the Great Depression. The Tru-man, however, came into power rather quickly, as FDR died of some sort of brain damages (not my president to research). Thus, the Tru-man became both president and VP for a while. Two weeks into his presidency, Hitler committed suicide, ending the war in Germany.
On the other hand, the war in Japan was just getting started. Truman had permitted the dropping of the atomic bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima, killing hundreds of thousands of people. Several months later, we had declared victory in Japan as well. The Cold War followed shortly after. The tensions started between the USSR and the US because of economic and political differences. As we all know, the USSR was Commie.
Truman would struggle some to adjust the economy from war-time to peace time. During the war, the US might as well have been Communist as the government controlled the prices, wages and production of nearly everything on the market. Truman wanted to stick with this system for a brief time after the war, but Conservative Democrats attacked this strategy come time for mid-term elections. Even more peple were skeptical of Truman when inflation quickly rose, displeasing all consumers.
This cartoon depicts a fearful Truman about to jump into the ocean, with sharks labeled "Budget" "Cold War" "Economics" and so forth. This just even moreso shows how people felt about him back then.
In the election of 1948, few people expected people to even win the democratic nomination. When he hardly won over the hearts of the Democratic party, he went up against Republican Thomas Dewey, whom was New York's governor. Whenever the opponent would push any conservative programs, the Tru-man would counter with his extreme wit, making the subjects look foolish. Truman topped off his endless campaigning with a "W," completing what is now considered one of the most insane political comebacks in US history.
During his next term as President, the Tru-man thought he should change more, in lou (sp?) of FDR. "The Fair Deal" (clever, right?) was presented to the Congress. Most of it was turned down by both parties to Truman's suprise. However, the expansion of Social Security and the increasing of minimum wage were passed. Truman and his administration were constantly being criticized for their lack of "Anti-Communism," which was trending amongst patriots during this time.
In 1950, North Korea invaded it's southern neighbor. South Korea, being an ally, looked to us for help, which Truman was committed to giving. China entered the war later in the year, and the massacres wouldn't end until 1953, the last of Truman's presidency. The Korean War sent us into a Cold War with North Korea as well, this one being a nuclear arms race.
Lastly, Truman was very unappreciated in his time. People had no idea of the challenges a world war and a cold war bring to a president of a major nation. Nowadays, people look back on Truman's career with an optimistic eye, which I personally think they should do, as I believe he did just fine replacing FDR.
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