Harry Truman

Harry Truman

Harry Truman, a president who witnessed and was a part of some of the most

memorable events in U.S. and world history, is said to have had a reputation for being an

honest and efficient man. Born in the town of Lamar, Missouri on May 8, 1884, Truman

was used to living a humble life. Growing up as a Baptist on a farm near Independence,

Missouri, Truman was the eldest of three children. His parents were John and Martha

Truman.

As a youth, Truman had weak eyesight which resulted in keeping him out of the

regular army. Truman, in 1905, then decided to join the Missouri National Guard. He

ended up serving in World War I as the commander of an artillery battle. Upon his return

in 1919, Truman married his best childhood friend Elizabeth “Bess” Virginia Wallace. The

two married at the ages of 35 and 34, respectively. Eventually, they had one daughter,

Mary Margaret, in 1924. Around the time of his marriage, Truman went into business

with an army friend and opened a men’s clothing store in Kansas City. The stored failed

due to the farm economy.

Later on in his career, Truman, a Democrat, ran for Missouri county judge and

spent more than a decade doing that. In 1934 he was elected U.S. Senator and was

re-elected in 1940. During this time his reputation began to grow as an honest and

efficient man. Truman served as Vice President in 1944, underneath Franklin Delano

Roosevelt, who was in his fourth term as President. Truman’s running mate for this race

was Alben Barkley of Kentucky.

On April 12, 1945, Franklin Delano Roosevelt died, leaving Harry Truman as

America’s next president. Unfortunately, Roosevelt’s untimely death left Truman in the

position of president during the closi...

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... the controversial decisions that he made during his previous three

years as president. Another reason was that, at that time, the Democratic had split into

two separate parties, the Progressive party and the Dixiecrats.

During his second term foreign affairs dominated, causing the USA’s involvement

in the Korean War, which lasted from 1950 to 1953. Also, in 1949, the North Atlantic

Treaty was signed by the U.S., Canada, and ten other countries to form NATO, a

multinational defense plan.

After his presidency, Truman retired to Independence, Missouri to live out his last

years. With his time, he served as the elder statesmen of the Democratic Party, worked on

his memoirs, Years of Decision and Years of Trial and Hope, and helped to plan the Harry

S. Truman Library. After his death on December 26, 1972, he was buried in the courtyard

of the library.