Harry S. Truman S Presidency

Harry S. Truman’s presidency:

Harry Truman faced and made some of the most difficult decisions in the 20th century-arguably throughout all of US history. The atom bomb, Joseph Stain, the fall of Eastern Europe, the rebuilding of Western Europe, the start of the Cold War, the rise of communist China under Mao, the fall of South Korea-and then the regain of South Korea and then the fall again, the rebuilding of post WW2 America, segregation, the closing of Berlin, the rebuilding of Japan and oh yeah, the hydrogen bomb are just a few events that Truman faced tough decisions on. In this packet, you are going to look at a variety of documents, events and decisions made by Truman.

1. Describe the post-WW2 America Pres. Truman faced using the following terms in your 1 paragraph response: baby boom, GI Bill, suburban growth, Sun Belt, Red Scare #2, and 1946 Employment Act, & Taft-Hartley Act.

1948 Election Results: / Popular Vote / Electoral Vote
Truman, Dem. / 50% / 303
Dewey, Rep. / 45 / 189
Thurmond, Dixiecrat / 2% / 39
Wallace, Progressive / 2% / 2

1. Using the data from the table above, state one issue that divided the American people in voting for president in 1948.
2. Using the data from the table above, write one conclusion about the 1948 election.
3. Who were the Dixiecrats?

1. Executive Order 9981-Establishing the President's Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity In the Armed Forces.

WHEREAS it is essential that there be maintained in the armed services of the United States the highest standards of democracy, with equality of treatment and opportunity for all those who serve in our country's defense:

NOW THEREFORE, by virtue of the authority vested in me (Truman) as President of the United States, by the Constitution and the statutes of the United States, and as Commander in Chief of the armed services, it is hereby ordered as follows:

1. It is hereby declared to be the policy of the President that there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion or national origin. This policy shall be put into effect as rapidly as possible, having due regard to the time required to effectuate any necessary changes without impairing efficiency or morale.

2. There shall be created in the National Military Establishment an advisory committee to be known as the President's Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Services, which shall be composed of seven members to be designated by the President.

a. What is the historical significance of the excerpt above? What is the context?

6. What was the promise that Stalin made to Roosevelt at Yalta in regards to Eastern Europe?

7. State 2 motivations Stalin would have for securing Eastern Europe.

8. Which nation in Eastern Europe did the US, Great Britain and France feel needed to have free elections because when it was invaded, WW2 began?

9. Iron Curtain Speech-British PM Winston Churchill: March 1946 Fulton, MO--“A shadow has fallen upon the scenes so lightly lit by the Allied victory. Nobody knows what Soviet Russia and its Communist international organization intends to do in the immediate future, or what are the limits, if any, to their expansive and proselytizing tendencies. From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic an iron curtain has descended across the Continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe. Warsaw, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest and Sofia, all these famous cities and the populations around them lie in what I must call the Soviet sphere, and all are subject in one form or another, not only to Soviet influence but a very high and, in some cases, increasing measure of control from Moscow. Athens alone-Greece with its immortal glories-is free to decide its future at an election under British, American and French observation.The safety of the world, ladies and gentlemen, requires a new unity in Europe, from which no nation should be permanently outcast.

a. How does Churchill view Russia?

b. What is the effect Churchill is trying to convey by using the terms, “iron curtain?”

c. What does the safety of the world depend upon?

d. How might this speech increase tensions in the Cold War? Why do some historians say the Cold War started at this moment?

10. In dealing with the Soviet Union’s rise in power, especially in Eastern Europe, Truman’s administration proposed CONTAINMENT. What did this mean?

11. Truman Doctrine-President Harry S. Truman Addressing Congress, 1947: “At the present moment in world history nearly every nation must choose between alternative ways of life. The choice is too often not a free one. One way of life is based upon the will of the majority, and is distinguished by free institutions, representative government, free elections, guarantees of individual liberty, freedom of speech and religion, and freedom from political oppression. The second way of life is based upon the will of a minority forcibly imposed upon the majority. It relies upon terror and oppression, a controlled press and radio, fixed elections, and the suppression of personal freedoms. I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures. I believe that we must assist free peoples to work out their own destinies in their own way. I believe that our help should be primarily through economic and financial aid which is essential to economic stability and orderly political processes.”

a. What are the 2 choices every nation must decide between, according to the document?

b. Each choice is based on specific ideals—listtwo for each choice.

c. What foreign policy is Truman adopting for America?

d. What are America’s responsibilities towards non-democratic and democratic nations?

12. The end result of the above speech was the Truman Doctrine-which gave $400 million in economic and military aid to Greece and Turkey due to a communist-led uprising in Greece and Soviet demand for control of the Dardanelles Strait. But Truman and Congress weren’t done there. They decided to aid in the rebuilding of Western Europe through the Marshall Plan.

Marshall Plan-Secretary of State George Marshall’s Speech at Harvard University, 1947:The truth of the matter is that Europe's requirements for the next three or four years of foreign food and other essential products - principally from America - are so much greater than her present ability to pay that she must have substantial additional help or face economic, social, and political deterioration of a very grave character.

Aside from the demoralizing effect on the world at large and the possibilities of disturbances arising as a result of the desperation of the people concerned, the consequences to the economy of the United States should be apparent to all. It is logical that the United States should do whatever it is able to do to assist in the return of normal economic health in the world, without which there can be no political stability and no assured peace. Our policy is directed not against any country or doctrine but against hunger, poverty, desperation and chaos. Its purpose should be the revival of a working economy in the world so as to permit the emergence of political and social conditions in which free institutions can exist.

1. What does Marshall say Congress should do for Europe? And why?
2. What arguments does Marshall set forth as to why America should help Europe?
3. Why do you think Marshall says “our policy is not directed against any country…”
4. What does this say about American foreign policy?
5. The Marshall Plan ended up with the US sending $13 billion to aid Western Europe-was it successful in rebuilding Europe and avoiding a worldwide depression like seen after WW1?

13. Another crisis Truman had to face was the Berlin crisis. As you know, Berlin was in East Germany, under Soviet control. The Soviets wanted all of Berlin, but like Germany itself, Berlin was divided into West and East. Truman wanted to maintain democracy, peace and freedom in West Berlin. Stalin cut off all land access to Berlin in June 1948. It seemed war was imminent. But ingeniously, Truman decided to fly in supplies to the people of West Berlin. The world held its breath to see if Stalin would shoot down the planes; he didn’t. In what is considered one of the greatest moments in US history and one of the greatest moments of humanitarian aid, 1534 TONS of food was needed per day for the 2 million people living in Berlin. The airlift ended 15 months later in September 1949; the US “lifted”1,783,573 tons!

a. How did the Berlin airlift affect the world’s view of the US? of the Soviet Union?

b. How does Berlin become the symbol of the Cold War?

14. Washington DC, 4th April 1949-NATO--The Parties to this Treaty reaffirm their faith in the purposes and principles of theCharter of the United Nationsand their desire to live in peace with all peoples and all governments. They are determined to safeguard the freedom, common heritage and civilisation of their peoples, founded on the principles of democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law. They seek to promote stability and well-being in the North Atlantic area. They are resolved to unite their efforts for collective defence and for the preservation of peace and security. They therefore agree to this North Atlantic Treaty:

ARTICLE 1-The Parties undertake, as set forth in theCharter of the United Nations, to settle any international dispute in which they may be involved by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security and justice are not endangered, and to refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force in any manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations.

ARTICLE 2-The Parties will contribute toward the further development of peaceful and friendly international relations by strengthening their free institutions, by bringing about a better understanding of the principles upon which these institutions are founded, and by promoting conditions of stability and well-being. They will seek to eliminate conflict in their international economic policies and will encourage economic collaboration between any or all of them…

1. NATO breaks with what US foreign policy tradition?
2. What is NATO’s purpose? Who is the audience? Describe the historical context of the document.
3. What was Truman hoping to do with this alliance? And was he successful? How is this a policy of containment?

15. Stalin responded with the Warsaw Pact in 1955. Identify nations in the Warsaw Pact and NATO. What were the connections between NATO, the Warsaw Pact, the Iron Curtain and containment?

16. The National Security Act of 1947-In enacting this legislation, it is the intent of Congress to provide a comprehensive program for the future security of the US by providing for a Secretary of Defense, to provide for the establishment of integrated policies and procedures for the departments, agencies, and functions of the Government relating to the National security, to provide three military departments for the operation and administration of the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force, with their assigned combat and service components…there is hereby established a council to be known as the National Security Council…there is hereby established under the NSC a Central Intelligence Agency with a Director of Central Intelligence…

a. Name all the entities this act created.

b. State a specific example of how this act impacts the US today.

17. The Soviets detonated their first atom bomb in the fall of 1949. Americans were horrified and scared. The Cold War just got more intense. Arguably, because the US was the only nation to have the a-bomb, we could keep Stalin “in check;” this was not the case now. Not surprisingly, Truman authorized the development of the hydrogen bomb—a thousand times more powerful than the a-bomb; it was test in 1952. In 1950, a very important, SECRET report known as NSC-68 outlined our measures for fighting in the Cold War. The 58 page memorandum is among the most influential documents composed by the US Government during the cold War, and was not declassified until 1975. They argued that the best course of action was to respond to the Soviet’s build-up of weapons in kind. The arms race began. The US officially rejected isolationism with this document, fearing isolationism would lead to Soviet domination of Europe and Asia.

a. State two reasons why several State and Defense department leaders would oppose NSC-68.

b. Connect NSC-68 to our involvement in the Middle East today.

18. We, the Japanese people, acting through our duly elected representatives in the National Diet, determined that we shall secure for ourselves and our posterity the fruits of peaceful cooperation with all nations and the blessings of liberty throughout this land, and resolved that never again shall we be visited with the horrors of war through the action of government, do proclaim that sovereign power resides with the people and do firmly establish this Constitution. Government is a sacred trust of the people, the authority for which is derived from the people, the powers of which are exercised by the representatives of the people, and the benefits of which are enjoyed by the people. This is a universal principle of mankind upon which this Constitution is founded. We reject and revoke all constitutions, laws, ordinances, and rescripts in conflict herewith. We, the Japanese people, desire peace for all time and are deeply conscious of the high ideals controlling human relationship, and we have determined to preserve our security and existence, trusting in the justice and faith of the peace-loving peoples of the world. We desire to occupy an honored place in an international society striving for the preservation of peace, and the banishment of tyranny and slavery, oppression and intolerance for all time from the earth. We recognize that all peoples of the world have the right to live in peace, free from fear and want. We believe that no nation is responsible to itself alone, but that laws of political morality are universal; and that obedience to such laws is incumbent upon all nations who would sustain their own sovereignty and justify their sovereign relationship with other nations. We, the Japanese people, pledge our national honor to accomplish these high ideals and purposes with all our resources.

CHAPTER I.--THE EMPEROR---Article 1. The Emperor shall be the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people, deriving his position from the will of the people with whom resides sovereign power.

1. What is the above document?
2. What message is being sent and clearly stated to the world?
3. If the Japanese were allowed to retain their emperor, did the US demand unconditional surrender from them ending WW2? Explain the US’s decision in allowing for this and how it connects to the usage of the a-bombs.

19. The Philippines were granted independence in 1946-finally-but China was falling to the communists. The US supported the Nationalists under Chiang Kai Shek and in 1946 Truman sent a US representative to negotiate the end of China’s civil war; the compromise fell apart and Truman seemed unsure of what to do. Were we really going to go to war with China? The Nationalists fled to Taiwan and Chiang claimed control of China from there but Mao Zedong had control of the mainland. China had fallen to the communists. Truman was nearly ruined. And then Stalin and Mao signed a pact together. It seemed the entire world was falling to communists, including Korea. We couldn’t lose again! The Korean War is often referred to as the “Forgotten war.” Under UN approval, the US sent troops to South Korea. It had been previously split between North and South at the 38th parallel line and now the North was invading the south. We had to contain the communist spread!

Captain William Dickson, Army Aerial Observer, Chunchon, Korea--March 1952-Another month started. This is the beginning of the 9th month away from home and Lelyn. It can’t last forever – I keep telling myself!Bad news today. Started off with air raid alert at 0630 – 6 planes in 40th Div area. 1 man killed – then Hammer Baker 1 went down at 0815 – I was on the radio and got the May Day. He’d been hit – wingman saw splinter flying off his cowl as he went down. The guy who brought the L-19 into K-47 with 5 foot of his wing shot off, Capt. Loach, I believe, cracked up another L-19 on the 2ndDiv MSR late yesterday. I took first flight today – got off at 0945, back at 1030 – closed in above bomb line, air rough as a cob, almost got sick.One flight this morning. Got shot at quite a bit today. God, the strain is awful on the nerves. St. Patrick’s Day again! How time flies. Had a flight this a.m. with Fochtman. I like to fly with him, no nerves at all. Only thing is, he has absolutely no idea of there he’s going. He can’t read a map! This afternoon we had a report that there was a large body of troops moving south out of the East sector. I was alerted, briefed, and out of the air office in 2 minutes. It was like a movie, people helping get my chute adjusted, handing me my map, strapping me in, adjusting my headphones, then off we go into the wild blue, 9000 feet, farther North than I’ve ever been before, right off the map. Saw a lot of new stuff but no troops. When I got back, the General himself de-briefed me!