Throughout history, countless people have created their own identities instead of passively accepting the expectations bestowed upon them at birth or by others. Peoples identities are created by their actions, principles, and achievements, not by their social status or their name at birth. Although history is replete with such people, they were especially prevalent during the 20th century. Two of the most compelling examples are Vladimir Lenin and Harry S. Truman. During the October Revolution in Russia, an unlikely leader arose from the masses. That leader was Vladimir Lenin, a blue-collar worker, the progeny of generations of proletarians and peasants. Vladimir was expected to be no different. Yet, Lenin managed to from his own political party, the Bolsheviks, who later dominated all of Russia. Lenin overthrew the reigning Czar of Russia, Nicolas …show more content…
Unlike Lenin, this man was already of high rank the Vice President of the United States Harry S. Truman. Truman was seen as a clear subordinate to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Always seen conducting trivial tasks, he was never viewed as a prominent, self-motivated leader, unlike the charismatic Roosevelt. However, when Roosevelt died in office, the Presidency was bestowed upon Harry S. Truman. Through a series of monumental decisions, Truman proved himself to be every bit as effective, tough, and decisive as his predecessor. His resolution to drop the first atomic weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the successful conclusion of WWII, and the termination of discrimination in the military formed a new identity for Truman. Obviously, Trumans identity as a tough, resolute, and efficient President was created by his decisions during and after WWII, not existing since his inaugaration. Had Truman not actively made decisions, he wouldnt even have an identity he would be simply as the servile assistant who always existed in the shadow of his
The Cold War began and Truman worked to contain communism. The Soviets had put a containment around Berlin and therefore the American’s could not get in supplies to the democratic people there. Truman then got the daring idea to do an airlift to get supplies to the people there and it was highly successful. This was a brave action because of a few reasons. The nation was scared of another world war with the Soviet Union and Truman had the lowest approval ratings he had ever had. This action had a chance of causing retaliation from the Soviet Union and was therefore highly risky. He also had reelection coming up which required the public’s approval and this action could risk getting that approval. While this showed bravery for the previously stated reasons it also showed his compassion for people. He made sure these people were taken care of with very few excuses. This event also led to an expansion in the defense department in the United States. This growth of the defense department continued for several years and continued to provide some protection throughout the Cold War. While it can be difficult to see exactly how this effected the rest of the Cold War but it can be argued that it definitely helped the side of democracy in the world. Both bravery and compassion are great traits for a successful President, so it is no surprise that he was so
Emily Omakpokpose McCrary AP Lang – 4 3 December 2017 Create Your Own What influences a person’s identity? Does one get an identity when they are able to differentiate right from wrong, or are they born with it? There is not one thing that gives a person their identity, there are however, many different factors that contribute to one’s identity. From Contemplation in a World of Action written by Thomas Merton, Merton advocates identity by stating that “A person does not simply “receive” his or her identity. Identity is much more than the name or features one is born with.
Criticisms of Truman’s actions fail to consider that he entered a leadership position set on an ideological collision course, was forced to further an established plan for an atomic monopoly, and dealt with a legacy of US-Russian tensions mobilized by Roosevelt prior to his death, all while being influenced by an alarmist and aggressive cabinet. Upon reviewing criticisms of Truman’s negotiations with Soviet diplomat Vyacheslav Molotov and his involvement in the atomic bomb drop, the influence of Roosevelt’s legacy and Truman’s cabinet will be discussed in order to minimize his blame for starting the Cold War. History does not often remember President Harry Truman fondly, with many revisionist scholars characterizing him as an ornery and undiplomatic politico who severely damaged US and Soviet relations.... ... middle of paper ...
A revolution from 1917 to 1918. It came after the February Revolution. After Lenin, a Marxist and ruler of the Bolshevik group, gained power and moved power to the soviets and supported inflexible resistance to the Great War. The Bolsheviks also gained jurisdiction and soon power over the Petrograd soviet. The government continued to assert the extension of the war, starve the people, and not assume land improvement. The lower class then began to believe that only the soviets could help. Lenin then convinced the Bolsheviks to conquer the jurisdiction for the All-Russian National Congress of Soviets. In October, laborers, soldiers, and seamen stomped through the Winter Palace and gave power to Lenin and the Bolsheviks from the government.
The hyped hysteria of a possible threat to America by the Communist was known as the “Red Scare” and no one promoted the “Red Scare” more than Joe McCarthy, a Senator from Wisconsin. If for some reason Harry Truman is responsible for some of the hype, it was only because he was doing his job as Commander and Chief and as President of the United States of America. There was a great deal of concern after World War I that Russia would continue to spread Communism to other territories, threatening America itself. However, Truman acted responsibly when it came to the containment of Communism and did not fully indulge in unwarranted accusations, as did Joe McCarthy.
There have been many dictators through out history that have shaped the way we look at them now. Sometimes it’s the way that dictators came to power that people judge them on. Sometimes it’s how long they stayed in power, but it’s not just how long they stayed in power. It’s what they did to stay in power. These two men are some of the most infamous dictators for those reasons alone. These men are Joseph Stalin and Fidel Castro, and they played a huge part in shaping the way we look at dictators today.
In 1905 , Russia had a prerevolution that was put down of the Czar. Instead of learning from this prerevolution, Czar Nicholas II, made a very big mistake by in not introducing some reforms to correct the problems. So because of his actions, the situation grew worse. In 1917, the Russians were fighting in World War I. A good majority of the Russian people were weary and uncontent with the way the war was going and with the Czar's rule. This uncontent along with economic hardships caused riots and demonstrations to break out. The Czar called for the army to put down the revolution as they did in 1905. But the army joined the revolt and the Czar was kicked out of power soon afterwards. A temporary government was set up to decide on what kind of government Russia was gonna set up. Two political parties were set up. The Bolsheviks were one of the two. The leader of the Bolshevik party was a man named Lenin. Lenin was a firm believer of the theories and ideas of Karl Marx. So with his slogan of "Bread, Peace and Land", Lenin gained the support of the peasants and gained control of Russia and setup a communist state.
Isaac Murrin Mr. J. Pharion Freshman English 20 February 2013 The Similarities and Differences between Lenin and Stalin Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin were similar in what they claimed to be, but in actuality they were very different people. Although Stalin claimed that he followed Leninism, the philosophy that Lenin developed from Marxism, he often distorted it to follow what he wanted to do. While Lenin wanted to make a unified society without classes, with production in the hands of the people, while Stalin wanted to make Russia into a modern industrial powerhouse by using the government to control production. Lenin accomplished his goals through violence, because he thought achieving the Communist revolution was worth using violence, with a ‘The ends justify the means’ mentality. Stalin also used violence to accomplish his goals, however Stalin used much more violence than was often necessary to accomplish his goals.
Truman’s accomplishments in his domestic policy were impressive, considering the hardships the nation was experiencing as World War II came to an end, and the resistance of Congress (which was greatly made up of Republicans and conservatives) to liberalism. The president was able to pas...
In 1917, exhausted by World War One, Tsarist Russia was a wreck. It was the perfect chaos moment for Lenin to return home. Germany, in effort to destabilize Russia, helped send Lenin back to Russia. They hoped Lenin would undermine the Russian war efforts. Instead of arrested and exiled again, Lenin was warmly welcomed home and supported by other radical thinkers such as Leon Trotsky. He quickly became the leader of the Marxist movement and led the Bolsheviks in the bloody violent Red October Revolution. Lenin, much to his own surprise, effectively ended the Russian Empire rather easily and established the Soviet state. The Tsar had become incredibly unpopular and were willing to embrace Lenin's revolution.
The accumulation of these factors centred on Lenin's leadership helped stamp Bolshevik power across the Soviet Union. Lenin’s pragmatic leadership was the most considerable factor in helping to fortify Bolshevik power. His willingness to take power in October/November 1917 and the successes of the move, through his right-hand man, Trotsky, was critical as it helped give him unquestioned authority within the party despite members of the Central Committee i.e. Zinoviev and Kamenev suggested industrialisation needed to occur first. This highlighted Lenin’s communist ideology, which was essential to the Bolsheviks maintaining power. Following the failure of the Provisional Government, Lenin recognised that it was the Bolshevik’s priority to legitimise their government.
Truman, being a WWI veteran was prepared for the title, and initially deserved that position as Presidency. Truman made it clear that America would never surrender, and would always be a free country. In his first months in office he dropped the atomic bomb on Japan, ending World War II.
When WWII ended, Americans were left in the hands of Harry Truman. Known as an aggressive Cold War fighter, he led Americans against...
Although all presidents are expected to be confident, loyal, and dignified, the specific values a president embody depend greatly on the group or groups of people they preside over. In order to be presidential, they must not only be relateable to the general public, but admired by them for possessing qualities they value and holding opinions they share. For example, Teddy Roosevelt embodied the common men of his time, who were desperate for progressive labor reforms, by going against many corrupt politicians and limiting the power large corporations held in the government, especially in regard to labor laws. President Roosevelt is also notable because once in the seat of president, he transformed it from a primarily superficial position, with more power resting in monopolists and corporation CEO's, back into the powerful position it is today for the first time since the beginning of the industrial revolution. Through this and his reforms, he put power back into the hands of the people.
Over the next few years, Russia went through a traumatic time of civil war and turmoil. The Bolsheviks’ Red Army fought the white army of farmers, etc. against Lenin and his ways. Lenin and the Bolsheviks won and began to wean Russia of non-conforming parties eventually banning all non-communist as well as removing an assembly elected shortly after the Bolshevik’s gain of power. Lenin’s strict government, however, was about to get a lot stricter with his death in 1924.