USS Harry Truman (CVN 75) - Naval Cruise Book

“T^m ' ^fmm ' fmsmmmm^smmKmmmmBm who was sure to lose in the next election. ' U .» !•• On July 15, 1948, Truman was nominated the Democratic candidate for president at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. The Republican challenger was New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey. Confident that victory was inevitable, Dewey was quoted as saying, " All I have to " ^ " lis not rock the boat. " Truman embarked on a 2 1 ,928- mile " whistle stop " rail tour. He delivered more than 300 speeches in 33 days to an estimated six million citizens. No president before had gone to such lengths to meet the people. He spoke plainly and largely " off the cuff, " assailing his old enemies, " the do nothing 80 " ' Congress. " In Seattle, Truman was holding an enthusiastic campaign rally when someone cried, " Give ' em Hell, Harry! " i!ai8aaiiK ' a3»«aiiaai«ea8!ig« ' -MsgwtBWfca victors; here, the sector was surrounded on all sides by Soviet forces. On June 24, 1 948, the Russians blockaded all routes into the city. The only way in or out of Berlin was air. Truman ordered a massive airlift of food and supplies into Berlin. The Berlin Airlift became known as one of the most brilliant achievements of the postwar era. OnMay 12, 1949, the block! was lifted. Before it was over, th would be 277,804 flights, and ' 2,325,809 tons of food and supplies delivered into Berlin. fate, Truman wanted nothing more than to win an election in his own right. The political pendulum was swinging more toward a republican government, and Truman was being scoffed in the press as a temporary expedient Truman later wrote, " 1 have never deliberately given anybody hell. 1 just tell the truth on the opposition and they think it ' s hell. Truman was elected president in his own right, contrary to the forecasts of newspapers The Truman Doctrine On March 12, 1947, Truman requested appropriation for $400 million before a joint session of Congress to fight the spread of communism in Greece and Turkey. This act was the start of what became known as the Truman Doctrine. 1 cornerstone of American forei policy during these times, it was also known as the policy of containment. The Whistle Stop Pushed into the Oval Office by ”