Harry S. Truman

602 pp. 8vo. Index follows text. Black & white photographs. A biography of the former President by his daughter, also famous for her mystery novels set in Washington D.C. Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884 - December 26, 1972) was the thirty-third President of the United States (1945-1953); as Vice President, he succeeded to the office upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt. In domestic affairs, Truman faced challenge after challenge: a tumultuous reconversion of the economy marked by severe shortages, numerous strikes, and the passage of the Taft-Hartley Act over his veto. After confounding all predictions to win re-election in 1948, he was able to pass almost none of his Fair Deal program. He used executive orders to begin desegregation of the U.S. armed forces and to launch a system of loyalty checks to remove thousands of Communist sympathizers from government office. He was nevertheless under continuous assault for much of his term for supposedly being "soft on Communism." Corruption in his administration reached the cabinet and senior White House staff, and 166 of his appointees were fired for financial misbehavior in the Internal Revenue Service alone. Republicans made corruption a central issue in the 1952 campaign. Truman's presidency was eventful in foreign affairs, starting with victory over Germany, the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the surrender of Japan and the end of World War II, the founding of the United Nations, the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe, the Truman Doctrine to contain Communism, the beginning of the Cold War, the creation of NATO, and the Korean War. The war became a frustrating stalemate, with over 30,000 Americans killed. Highlighting what he considered to be Truman's failures ("Korea! Communism! Corruption!"), Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower ended 20 years of Democratic rule in 1952 by defeating Adlai Stevenson, Truman's choice to lead his party's ticket. In retirement, Truman wrote his well-regarded Memoirs. Truman, whose demeanor was very different from that of the patrician Roosevelt, was a folksy, unassuming president. He popularized such phrases as "The buck stops here" and "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen." He overcame the low expectations of many political observers who compared him (unfavorably) to his highly regarded predecessor. Truman was forced out of his re-election campaign in 1952 after losing the first primary. His public opinion ratings were the lowest on record, but some US scholars today rank him among the top ten Presidents, while others put him at the bottom of the list. His legendary upset victory in 1948 is routinely invoked by underdog presidential candidates.