USS Harry Truman (CVN 75) - Naval Cruise Book

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The atomic bomb had been perfected in the New Mexico desert, and it was a weapon Truman knew could end the war quickly. It was a single bomb, capable of eradicating an entire city. On July 26, 1945, Truman issued what became known as the Potsdam Declaration. It stated simply that the Japanese armed forces were to surrender unconditionally. The alternative was that Japan would face prompt and utter destruction. No mention was made about the bomb. On July 31, with Japan ' s silence a sign that nothing would come of the declaration, Truman sent a coded message to his secretary of war in Washington: Release when ready but not before August 2. On August 6, the Enola Gay dropped the world ' s first atomic bomb over the city of Hiroshima. It was not an easy decision to make, Truman said. I did not like the weapon. But I had no qualms if in the long run millions of lives could be saved. The one bomb was not enough to compel Japan to surrender. A second atomic strike was completed on Nagasaki on August 9. Japan formally surrendered on the USS MISSOURI (BB 63) in Tokyo Bay September Postwar policies On the home front, Truman was confronted with the task of reconversion - the retooling of the nation from a wartime to peacetime economy. On Sept. 6, he presented a 16,000 word message to Congress, calling for a 21 -point domestic program including unemployment compensation, an immediate increase in minimum wage, and tax reform, among others things. Congress fought with Truman over issues, as varying interests fought for their pet projects. Much of what he demanded would come to pass, although some not until years after he left office. Truman also did much for the reorganization of national defense. In July 1947, he signed the National Security Act, which placed all branches of the military under one department and created the Department of the Air Force. The act also created the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Council. In 1948, one of the first initiatives by the federal government against segregation was achieved when Truman signed Executive Order 9981. This established the Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Services. This significant accomplishment ended segregation within the military. Along with his Secretary of State George C. Marshall, Truman developed an extensive $12 billion aid package for Western Europe known as the Marshall Plan. On April 3, 1 948, he signed the Foreign Assistance Act of 1 948, creating the European Recovery Program (ERP) to implement the Marshall Plan for U.S. aid to European recovery. The Ikonomic Cooperation Administration was established to administer the program. The Berlin Airlift Berlin was divided between the allied

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1 945. while posing for a portrait during a spring acation at Warm Springs, Ga., Roosevelt complained of a severe headache and then collapsed. He never regained consciousness. Vice President Truman received a call summoning him to come quickly to the White House. Twenty minutes later, he was ushered into a room where Eleanor Roosevelt told him simply, Harry, the president is dead. Truman stood silent for several seconds before asking at last: Is there anything I can do for you? Is there anything wc can do for you? ' ' she replied. For you are the one in trouble At 7:09 p.m. in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Supreme Court Chief Justice Harlan Fiske Stone administered the oath of office to Truman, making him the 33 ' president of the United States. Talking to reporters the following day, Truman said, I don ' t know ifyou fellows ever had a load of hay fall on you, but when they told me what had happened, I felt like the moon, the stars and all the planets had fallen on me. The baby is born Truman ' s demand for a speedy end to the War in Europe was fulfilled when word was announced that Germany had surrendered unconditionally. But the victory was tempered with concerns about the war in the Pacific. Japan was determined not to surrender, and military observers estimated that Japan could go on fighting for at least another year, even though their chances of victory had all but diminished. ., - . j» While Truman was at Potsdam, Germany for the conference to determine the future of postwar Europe, he received an important message: The baby is born. 7b the best of my ability ... - Presi- dent Truman is sworn in as the 33rd president of the United States after Franklin D. Rooseve lt died in 1945. i.V.« ' -iir i-SiiiSMBI Wi A . 1. V .i ii A r ■.w= rvi- ?. ' . ' ife «»nsBBS»sa?

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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