Truman and World War II

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Truman was born on May 8, 1884 in Lamar, Missouri. Truman was a member of the National Guard. In 1917, his unit was called up into regular service during World War I. He served from August 1917 until May 1919. He was made a commander of a Field Artillery unit in France. In 1944, Truman became nominated for vice president against Henry Wallace, a very unpopular candidate for vice president to Franklin D. Roosevelt. On January 20, 1945, Truman was sworn in as Vice President of the United States. Sadly, his vice presidency only lasted for just 82 days before Roosevelt suffered a massive stroke. On April 12, 1945, Truman was brought up to govern the world, and to somehow end World War II.

Despite not having any prior experience with foreign policy, Truman had managed to end the war in the first six months of his term. The first example of Truman’s contribution to the war was in 1941, while he was Senator of Missouri. Truman created the Senate Special Committee To Investigate The National Defense Program, or as it’s commonly referred to as, the Truman Committee. This saved the government $15 billion dollars, exposed corruption in the defense industry, shed light on shortages of rubber, aluminum, and other strategic war materials, called manufacturers to account for bad work, prodded labor leaders to discourage strikes, and streamlined federal contract practices. The panel staged 732 hearings on a wide range of subjects—steelmaking, shipping losses, housing construction, labor shortages, camp construction, etc. They also produced 51 committee reports, each one unanimously approved by Democrats and Republicans on the panel. Truman's skillful handling of the panel, which managed to be critical of the Roosevelt administration withou...

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...rkforce than ever before. The Soviet Union gained their strength through the Allied victory of the world, and so they dominated Europe. This is what ultimately causes the Cold War, and this also causes an increase in Communist threats in the United States.

Works Cited

"Harry S. Truman Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2013.

Poole, Robert M. "When Everybody Loved Congress." American History (2012): 54-59. Academic Search Premier. 16 Nov. 2013.

Hamby, Alonzo L. "Truman And The Bomb." History Today 45.8 (1995): 18. Academic Search Premier. 16 Nov. 2013.

Dunar, Andrew J. "Harry S. Truman And The Issue Of Amnesty For Conscientious Objectors." Peace & Change 16.3 (1991): 285. Academic Search Premier. 16 Nov. 2013.

"Harry S. Truman - Thirty-Third President of the United States." About.com American History. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Nov. 2013.

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