Harry S. Truman

== Presidency (1945–1953) ==
{{Main|Presidency of Harry S. Truman}}
{{Further|Foreign policy of the Harry S. Truman administration}}
At the White House, Truman replaced Roosevelt holdovers with old confidants. The White House was badly understaffed with no more than a dozen aides; they could barely keep up with the heavy workflow of a greatly expanded executive department. Truman acted as his own [[White House Chief of Staff|chief of staff]] on a daily basis, as well as his own liaison with Congress—a body he already knew very well. He was not well prepared to deal with the press, and never achieved the jovial familiarity of FDR. Filled with latent anger about all the setbacks in his career, he bitterly mistrusted journalists. He saw them as enemies lying in wait for his next careless miscue. Truman was a very hard worker, often to the point of exhaustion, which left him testy, easily annoyed, and on the verge of appearing unpresidential or petty. In terms of major issues, he discussed them in depth with top advisors. He mastered the details of the federal budget as well as anyone. Truman was a poor speaker reading a text. However, his visible anger made him an effective [[Stump speech|stump speaker]], denouncing his enemies as his supporters hollered back at him "Give Em Hell, Harry!"<ref>Alonzo Hamby, "Truman, Harry S." in ''The Encyclopedia of the American Presidency'' edited by Leonard Levy and Louis Fisher (vol 4 1994) pp. 1497–1505.</ref>

Truman surrounded himself with his old friends and appointed several to high positions that seemed well beyond their competence, including his two secretaries of the treasury, [[Fred Vinson]] and [[John Wesley Snyder (US Cabinet Secretary)|John Snyder]]. His closest friend in the White House was his military aide [[Harry H. Vaughan]], who knew little of military or foreign affairs and was criticized for trading access to the White House for expensive gifts.{{sfn|McCullough|1992|p = 366}}{{sfn | Hamby |1995|pp=301–302, 472}} Truman loved to spend as much time as possible playing poker, telling stories and sipping bourbon. [[Alonzo Hamby]] notes that:

{{Blockquote|... to many in the general public, gambling and bourbon swilling, however low-key, were not quite presidential. Neither was the intemperant "give 'em hell" campaign style nor the occasional profane phrase uttered in public. Poker exemplified a larger problem: the tension between his attempts at an image of leadership necessarily a cut above the ordinary and an informality that at times appeared to verge on crudeness.{{sfn | Hamby |1995|pp=474}}{{sfn|McCullough|1992|p = 511}}}}

=== First term (1945–1949) ===

==== Assuming office ====
{{Further|Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki}}
[[File: Bundesarchiv Bild 183-29645-0001, Potsdamer Konferenz, Stalin, Truman, Churchill.jpg|thumb|alt=Three men in suits standing with several men in the background|[[Joseph Stalin]], Harry S. Truman, and [[Winston Churchill]] in Potsdam, July 1945]]

On his first full day, Truman told reporters: "Boys, if you ever pray, pray for me now. I don't know if you fellas ever had a load of hay fall on you, but when they told me what happened yesterday, I felt like the moon, the stars, and all the planets had fallen on me."{{sfn|McCullough|1992|p = 436}}

Truman asked all the members of Roosevelt's cabinet to remain in place, but he soon replaced almost all of them, especially with old friends from his Senate days.{{sfn|McCullough|1992|p=348}}

==== Dropping atomic bombs on Japan ====
Truman benefited from a honeymoon period from the success in defeating Nazi Germany in Europe and the nation celebrated {{Nowrap|[[V-E Day]]}} on May 8, 1945, his 61st birthday.{{sfn|McCoy|1984|pp=21–22}}

Although Truman was told briefly on the afternoon of April 12 that he had a new, highly destructive weapon, it was not until April 25 that [[United States Secretary of War|Secretary of War]] [[Henry Stimson]] told him the details:{{sfn|Dallek|2008|pp=19–20}}

{{Blockquote|We have discovered the most terrible bomb in the history of the world. It may be the fire destruction prophesied in the Euphrates Valley Era, after Noah and his fabulous Ark.|Harry Truman, writing about the atomic bomb in his diary{{sfn|Reynolds|2005}} on July 25, 1945<ref>{{cite book |last=Alexrod |first=Alan | title=The Real History of the Cold War: A New Look at the Past | publisher=Sterling |page= 56}}</ref>}}

Truman journeyed to Berlin for the [[Potsdam Conference]] with [[Joseph Stalin]] and the British leader [[Winston Churchill]]. He was there when he learned the [[Trinity (nuclear test)|Trinity test]]—the first atomic bomb—on July 16 had been successful. He hinted to Stalin that he was about to use a new kind of weapon against the Japanese. Though this was the first time the Soviets had been officially given information about the atomic bomb, Stalin was already aware of the bomb project—having learned about it through [[atomic spies|atomic espionage]] long before Truman did.{{sfn|PBS|2012}}{{sfn|Truman|1955|p=416}}{{sfn|McCoy|1984|p= 37}}

In August, the Japanese government refused surrender demands as specifically outlined in the [[Potsdam Declaration]]. With the [[Operation Downfall|invasion of Japan]] imminent, Truman approved the schedule for dropping the two available bombs. Truman maintained the position that attacking Japan with atomic bombs saved many lives on both sides; a military estimate for the invasion of Japan submitted to Truman by Herbert Hoover indicated that an invasion could take at least a year and result in 500,000 to 1,000,000 Allied casualties.<ref>{{cite book | last = Frank | first = Richard B. | author-link =  Richard B. Frank | year = 1999 | title = Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire | pages = 122 | publisher = Random House | location = New York | isbn = 978-0-679-41424-7}}</ref> A study done for the staff of Secretary of War [[Henry L. Stimson]] by William Shockley estimated that invading Japan would cost 1.7–4 million American casualties, including 400,000–800,000 fatalities, and five to ten million Japanese fatalities if Japanese civilians participated in the defense of Japan.<ref>{{cite book | last = Frank | first = Richard B. | author-link =  Richard B. Frank | year = 1999 | title = Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire | pages = 340 | publisher = Random House | location = New York | isbn = 978-0-679-41424-7}}</ref> The U.S. Army Service Forces estimated in their document "Redeployment of the United States Army after the Defeat of Germany," that between June 1945 and December 1946 the Army would be required to furnish replacements for 43,000 dead and evacuated wounded every month during this period.<ref>[https://cgsc.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p4013coll8/id/1800 History of Planning Division, Army Service Forces vol. 9] Part 7, p. 330. Retrieved 11/15/2023</ref> From analysis of the replacement schedule and projected strengths in overseas theaters, it suggested that Army losses alone in those categories, excluding the Navy and Marine Corps, would be approximately 863,000 through the first part of 1947, of whom 267,000 would be killed or missing.<ref>[https://cgsc.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p4013coll8/id/1800 History of Planning Division, Army Service Forces vol. 9] Part 8, pp. 372-374, 391. Retrieved 11/15/2023</ref>
[[File:Atomic bombing of Japan.jpg|thumb|The [[atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki]] on August 6 and 9, 1945 respectively, were authorized by President Truman at the end of World War II]]
Hiroshima was bombed on August 6, and Nagasaki three days later, leaving 105,000&nbsp;dead.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.atomicarchive.com/Docs/MED/med_chp10.shtml|title=Total Casualties – The Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki|work=atomicarchive.com|access-date=December 16, 2016}}</ref> The Soviet Union [[Soviet–Japanese War|declared war on Japan]] on August 9 and [[Soviet invasion of Manchuria|invaded Manchuria]]. Japan [[Surrender of Japan|agreed to surrender]] the following day.{{sfn|Miller|1974|pp=227–231}}{{sfn|Dallek|2008|pp= 24–28}}

[[File: Photograph of President Truman in the Oval Office, reading the announcement of Japan's surrender to assembled... - NARA - 199171.jpg|thumb|Truman announces Japan's surrender, August 14, 1945.]]

Supporters{{efn|For example, see {{cite book| last1 = Fussell | first1=Paul | title = Thank God for the Atomic Bomb and Other Essays | chapter = Thank God for the Atomic Bomb | publisher = New York Summit Books | year = 1988 | author-link = Paul Fussell}}}} of Truman's decision argue that, given the tenacious Japanese defense of the outlying islands, the bombings saved hundreds of thousands of lives of Allied prisoners, Japanese civilians, and combatants on both sides that would have been lost in an invasion of Japan. Some modern criticism has argued that the use of nuclear weapons was unnecessary, given that conventional attacks or a demonstrative bombing of an uninhabited area might have forced Japan's surrender, and therefore assert that the attack constituted a crime of war.<ref>{{Citation | first1 = Ronald C | last1 = Kramer | first2 = David | last2 = Kauzlarich | title = Nuclear weapons, international law, and the normalization of state crime | editor1-first = Dawn | editor1-last = Rothe | editor2-first = Christopher W | editor2-last = Mullins | work = State crime: Current perspectives | year = 2011 | pages = 94–121|isbn=978-0-8135-4901-9}}.</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/11650752/US-museum-must-call-Hiroshima-and-Nagasaki-war-crimes-say-Japanese.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/11650752/US-museum-must-call-Hiroshima-and-Nagasaki-war-crimes-say-Japanese.html |archive-date=January 10, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=US museum must call Hiroshima and Nagasaki 'war crimes', say Japanese|first=Julian|last=Ryall|date=June 4, 2015|access-date=June 8, 2018|work=The Daily Telegraph}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://iwj.co.jp/wj/open/archives/254448|title=「なんであんな殺され方をしたのか、私は知りたい。あの世で、ちゃんとお兄ちゃんに説明できるように」――原爆投下から70年。広島の被爆者が語った原爆被害と戦争への思い – IWJ Independent Web Journal|date=August 6, 2015|website=iwj.co.jp|access-date=June 8, 2018}}</ref> In 1948 Truman defended his decision to use atomic bombs:

{{Blockquote|As President of the United States, I had the fateful responsibility of deciding whether or not to use this weapon for the first time. It was the hardest decision I ever had to make. But the President cannot duck hard problems—he cannot pass the buck. I made the decision after discussions with the ablest men in our Government, and after long and prayerful consideration. I decided that the bomb should be used to end the war quickly and save countless lives—Japanese as well as American.<ref>October 14, 1948 address in {{cite web|url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=13049|title=Harry S. Truman: Address in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.|website=www.presidency.ucsb.edu|access-date=June 8, 2018}}</ref>}}

Truman continued to strongly defend himself in his memoirs in 1955–1956, stating many lives could have been lost had the United States invaded mainland Japan without the atomic bombs. In 1963, he stood by his decision, telling a journalist "it was done to save 125,000&nbsp;youngsters on the U.S. side and 125,000 on the Japanese side from getting killed and that is what it did. It probably also saved a half million youngsters on both sides from being maimed for life."<ref>{{cite book |title=Nuclear Weapons |page=11 |date=May 30, 2006 | first =William | last = Lambers |publisher=William K Lambers |isbn= 0-9724629-4-5}}</ref>

==== Labor unions, strikes and economic issues ====
{{See also|Strike wave of 1946}}
The end of World War II was followed by an uneasy transition from war to a peacetime economy. The costs of the war effort had been enormous, and Truman was intent on diminishing military services as quickly as possible to curtail the government's military expenditures. The effect of demobilization on the economy was unknown, proposals were met with skepticism and resistance, and fears existed that the nation would slide back into depression. In Roosevelt's final years, Congress began to reassert legislative power and Truman faced a congressional body where Republicans and conservative southern Democrats formed a powerful "conservative coalition" voting bloc. The New Deal had greatly strengthened labor unions and they formed a major base of support for Truman's Democratic Party. The Republicans, working with big business, made it their highest priority to weaken those unions.<ref>Daniel DiSalvo, "The politics of a party faction: The Liberal-Labor alliance in the Democratic Party, 1948–1972." ''Journal of Policy History'' 22.3 (2010): 269–299.</ref> The unions had been promoted by the government during the war and tried to make their gains permanent through large-scale strikes in major industries. Meanwhile, price controls were slowly ending, and inflation was soaring.{{sfn |Miller Center| 2012}} Truman's response to the widespread dissatisfaction was generally seen as ineffective.{{sfn |Miller Center| 2012}}

[[File:President Truman with Greek sponge divers..jpg|thumb|Truman with [[Greek Americans|Greek American]] sponge divers in Florida, 1947]]
When a national rail strike threatened in May 1946, Truman seized the railroads in an attempt to contain the issue, but two key railway unions struck anyway. The entire national railroad system was shut down, immobilizing 24,000&nbsp;freight trains and 175,000&nbsp;passenger trains a day.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/1946-05-23_Rail_Strike_Paralyzes_Entire_US|title=Rail Strike Paralyzes Entire U.S.|publisher=Universal Studios|date=May 23, 1946}}</ref> For two days, public anger mounted. His staff prepared a speech that Truman read to Congress calling for a new law, whereby railroad strikers would be drafted into the army. As he concluded his address, he was handed a note that the strike had been settled on presidential terms; nevertheless, a few hours later, the House voted to draft the strikers. The bill died in the Senate.{{sfn |McCullough|1992| pp=501–506}}<ref>{{cite book|author=Acacia, John|title=Clark Clifford: The Wise Man of Washington|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=63hJMGqu2YMC&pg=PT22|year=2009|page=22|publisher=University Press of Kentucky |isbn=978-0813139258}}</ref>

==== Approval rating falls; Republicans win Congress in 1946====
The president's approval rating dropped from 82&nbsp;percent in the polls in January 1946 to 52&nbsp;percent by June.{{sfn|McCoy|1984|pp=64–65}} This dissatisfaction led to large Democratic losses in the 1946 midterm elections, and Republicans took control of Congress for the first time since 1930. When Truman dropped to 32&nbsp;percent in the polls, Democratic Arkansas Senator [[William Fulbright]] suggested that Truman resign; the president said he did not care what Senator "Halfbright" said.{{sfn|Dallek|2008|pp=48–50}}{{sfn|McCoy|1984|p=91}}

Truman cooperated closely with the Republican leaders on foreign policy but fought them bitterly on domestic issues. The power of the labor unions was significantly curtailed by the [[Taft–Hartley Act]] which was enacted [[veto override|over Truman's veto]]. Truman twice vetoed bills to lower income tax rates in 1947. Although the initial vetoes were sustained, Congress overrode his veto of a tax cut bill in 1948. In one notable instance of bipartisanship, Congress passed the [[Presidential Succession Act of 1947]], which replaced the secretary of state with the Speaker of the House and the president pro tempore of the Senate as successor to the president after the vice president.{{sfn|McCoy|1984|pp=96–102}}

==== Proposes "Fair Deal" liberalism ====
As he readied for the 1948 election, Truman made clear his identity as a Democrat in the [[New Deal]] tradition, advocating for [[national health insurance]],<ref>{{Citation | first = Howard | last = Markel | title = 'Give 'Em Health, Harry' | journal = Milbank Quarterly | year = 2015 | volume = 93 | number = 1 | pages = 1–7 | doi=10.1111/1468-0009.12096| pmid = 25752341 | pmc = 4364422 }}.</ref> and repeal of the Taft–Hartley Act. He broke with the New Deal by initiating an aggressive civil rights program which he termed a moral priority. His economic and social vision constituted a broad legislative agenda that came to be called the "[[Fair Deal]]."{{sfn |Dallek|2008| pp=84–86}} Truman's proposals were not well received by Congress, even with renewed Democratic majorities in Congress after 1948. The Solid South rejected civil rights as those states still enforced segregation. Only one of the major Fair Deal bills, the [[Housing Act of 1949]], was ever enacted.{{sfn |Binning|Esterly|Sracic|1999| p =417}}<ref>{{Citation | first1 = Charles M | last1 = Lamb | first2 = Adam W | last2 = Nye | title = Do Presidents Control Bureaucracy? The Federal Housing Administration during the Truman-Eisenhower Era | journal = Political Science Quarterly | year = 2012 | volume = 127 | number = 3 | pages = 445–467 | jstor = 23563185 | doi=10.1002/j.1538-165x.2012.tb00734.x}}.</ref> Many of the New Deal programs that persisted during Truman's presidency have since received minor improvements and extensions.{{sfn|Neustadt|1954|pp=349–381}}

==== Marshall Plan, Cold War, and China ====
[[File: Charles Griffith Ross.jpg|thumb|Truman's press secretary was his old friend [[Charles Griffith Ross]]. He had great integrity but, says Alonzo L. Hamby, as a senior White House aide he was, "A better newsman than news handler, he never established a policy of coordinating news releases throughout the executive branch, frequently bumbled details, never developed&nbsp;... a strategy for marketing the president's image and failed to establish a strong press office."{{sfn | Hamby |1995|p=310}}]]

As a [[Wilsonian]] internationalist, Truman supported Roosevelt's policy in favor of the creation of the United Nations and included [[Eleanor Roosevelt]] on the delegation to the first [[UN General Assembly]].{{sfn|Roosevelt|1961}} With the Soviet Union expanding its sphere of influence through Eastern Europe, Truman and his foreign policy advisors took a hard line against the USSR. In this, he matched U.S. public opinion which quickly came to believe the Soviets were intent upon world domination.{{sfn | Dallek|2008|pp=56–57}}

Although he had little personal expertise on foreign matters, Truman listened closely to his top advisors, especially [[George Marshall]] and [[Dean Acheson]]. The Republicans controlled Congress in 1947–1948, so he worked with their leaders, especially Senator [[Arthur H. Vandenburg]], chairman of the powerful Foreign Relations Committee.<ref>{{cite journal|first1=James M. |last1=McCormick|first2=Eugene R.|last2=Wittkopf|title=Bipartisanship, partisanship, and ideology in congressional-executive foreign policy relations, 1947–1988|journal=[[The Journal of Politics]]|publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]]|location=Chicago, Illinois|volume=52|issue=4 |date=November 1990|pages=1077–1100|doi=10.2307/2131683 |jstor=2131683 |s2cid=154839304 |url=https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1026&context=pols_pubs }}</ref> He won bipartisan support for both the [[Truman Doctrine]], which formalized a policy of Soviet containment, and the [[Marshall Plan]], which aimed to help rebuild postwar Europe.{{sfn | Freeland|1970|p=90}}{{sfn|Roberts|2000}}

To get Congress to spend the vast sums necessary to restart the moribund European economy, Truman used an ideological argument, arguing that communism flourishes in economically deprived areas.{{sfn| Holsti | 1996 | p=214}} As part of the U.S. [[Cold War]] strategy, Truman signed the [[National Security Act of 1947]] and reorganized military forces by merging the [[United States Department of War|Department of War]] and the [[United States Department of the Navy|Department of the Navy]] into the National Military Establishment (later the [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]]) and creating the [[United States Air Force|U.S. Air Force]]. The act also created the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] (CIA) and the [[United States National Security Council|National Security Council]].{{sfn|Dallek|2008|pp=62–63}} On November 4, 1952, Truman authorized the official, though at the time, confidential creation of the [[National Security Agency]] (NSA).<ref>{{Cite web |title=National Security Agency/Central Security Service > Helpful Links > NSA FOIA > Declassification & Transparency Initiatives > Historical Releases > Truman |url=https://www.nsa.gov/Helpful-Links/NSA-FOIA/Declassification-Transparency-Initiatives/Historical-Releases/Truman/ |access-date=August 28, 2023 |website=www.nsa.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Glass |first=Andrew |date=November 4, 2010 |title=The National Security Agency is established, Nov. 4, 1952 |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2010/11/the-national-security-agency-is-established-nov-4-1952-044671 |access-date=August 28, 2023 |website=POLITICO |language=en}}</ref>

Truman did not know what to do about China, where the [[Kuomintang|Nationalists]] and [[Chinese Communist Party|Communists]] were fighting a large-scale [[Chinese Civil War|civil war]]. The Nationalists had been major wartime allies and had large-scale popular support in the United States, along with a powerful lobby. [[Marshall Mission|General George Marshall spent most of 1946 in China]] trying to negotiate a compromise but failed. He convinced Truman the Nationalists would never win on their own and a very large-scale U.S. intervention to stop the Communists would significantly weaken U.S. opposition to the Soviets in Europe. By 1949, the Communists under [[Mao Zedong]] had won the civil war, the United States had a new enemy in Asia, and Truman came under fire from conservatives for [[Loss of China|"losing" China]].<ref>May, Ernest R. (2002) "1947–48: When Marshall Kept the U.S. out of War in China." ''Journal of Military History'' 66#4: 1001–1010. [http://www.marshallfoundation.org/newsroom/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2016/01/May-2002.pdf online]</ref>

==== Berlin airlift ====
{{Further|Berlin Blockade}}
On June 24, 1948, the Soviet Union blocked access to the three [[Berlin Soviet Zone|Western-held sectors]] of Berlin. The Allies had not negotiated a deal to guarantee supply of the sectors deep within the Soviet-occupied zone. The commander of the U.S. occupation zone in Germany, General [[Lucius D. Clay]], proposed sending a large armored column across the Soviet zone to [[West Berlin]] with instructions to defend itself if it were stopped or attacked. Truman believed this would entail an unacceptable risk of war. He approved [[Ernest Bevin]]'s plan to supply the blockaded city by air.

On June 25, the Allies initiated the [[Berlin Airlift]], a campaign to deliver food, coal and other supplies using military aircraft on a massive scale. Nothing like it had ever been attempted before, and no single nation had the capability, either logistically or materially, to accomplish it. The airlift worked; ground access was again granted on May 11, 1949. Nevertheless, the airlift continued for several months after that. The Berlin Airlift was one of Truman's great foreign policy successes; it significantly aided his election campaign in 1948.{{sfn|Truman Library|1988a}}

==== Recognition of Israel ====
[[File:Truman receives menorah.jpg|thumb|Truman in the Oval Office, receiving a [[Hanukkah]] [[Menorah (Hanukkah)|Menorah]] from the prime minister of Israel, [[David Ben-Gurion]] (center). To the right is [[Abba Eban]], ambassador of Israel to the United States.]]

Truman had long taken an interest in the history of the Middle East and was sympathetic to Jews who sought to re-establish their ancient homeland in [[Mandatory Palestine]]. As a senator, he announced support for [[Zionism]]; in 1943 he called for a homeland for those Jews who survived the Nazi regime. However, State Department officials were reluctant to offend the Arabs, who were opposed to the establishment of a Jewish state in the large region long populated and dominated culturally by Arabs. Secretary of Defense [[James Forrestal]] warned Truman of the importance of Saudi Arabian oil in another war; Truman replied he would decide his policy on the basis of justice, not oil.{{sfn |McCullough|1992| pp=595–597}} U.S. diplomats with experience in the region were opposed, but Truman told them he had few Arabs among his constituents.{{sfn|McCullough|1992|p=599}}

Palestine was secondary to the goal of protecting the "Northern Tier" of Greece, Turkey, and Iran from communism, as promised by the Truman Doctrine.{{sfn|Ottolenghi|2004|pp=963–988}} Weary of both the convoluted politics of the Middle East and pressure by Jewish leaders, Truman was undecided on his policy and skeptical about how the Jewish "underdogs" would handle power.<ref>Baylis, Thomas. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=6T_Ff6Ra57sC&pg=PA55 How Israel was Won: A Concise History of the Arab-Israeli Conflict]'', p. 55 (Lexington Books, [[Rowman and Littlefield]], 1999).</ref><ref>Holmes, David. ''[https://archive.org/details/faithsofpostwarp0000holm/page/17 The Faiths of the Postwar Presidents: From Truman to Obama]'', pp. 16–17. (U. Georgia Press, 2012).</ref> He later cited as decisive in his recognition of the Jewish state the advice of his former business partner, Eddie Jacobson, a non-religious Jew whom Truman absolutely trusted.{{sfn|McCullough|1992|p=599}}

Truman decided to recognize Israel over the objections of Secretary of State [[George Marshall]], who feared it would hurt relations with the populous Arab states. Marshall believed the paramount threat to the United States was the Soviet Union and feared Arab oil would be lost to the United States in the event of war; he warned Truman the United States was "playing with fire with nothing to put it out".{{sfn|McCullough|1992|pp=604–605}} Truman recognized the [[Israel|State of Israel]] on May 14, 1948, eleven minutes after [[Israeli Declaration of Independence|it declared itself a nation]].{{sfn|Lenczowski|1990|p=26}}{{sfn|Truman Library|1948}} Of his decision to recognize the Israeli state, Truman said in an interview years later: "Hitler had been murdering Jews right and left. I saw it, and I dream about it even to this day. The Jews needed some place where they could go. It is my attitude that the American government couldn't stand idly by while the victims [of] Hitler's madness are not allowed to build new lives."{{sfn|Berdichevsky|2012}}

====Calls for Civil Rights====
Under his predecessor, Franklin D. Roosevelt, the [[Fair Employment Practices Committee]] was created to address racial discrimination in employment,<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Fair Employment Practices Committee |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |date=March 20, 2023 |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Fair-Employment-Practices-Committee |language=en}}</ref> and in 1946, Truman created the [[President's Committee on Civil Rights]]. On June 29, 1947, Truman became the first president to address the [[National Association for the Advancement of Colored People]] (NAACP). The speech took place at the [[Lincoln Memorial]] during the NAACP convention and was carried nationally on radio. In that speech, Truman laid out the need to end discrimination, which would be advanced by the first comprehensive, presidentially proposed civil rights legislation. Truman on "civil rights and human freedom", declared:<ref>{{Cite news |last=Glass |first=Andrew |date=June 29, 2018 |title=Truman addresses NAACP, June 29, 1947 |language=en |work=Politico |url=https://politi.co/2Mz2C4K |access-date=July 27, 2021}}</ref>

{{blockquote|It is my deep conviction that we have reached a turning point in the long history of our country's efforts to guarantee freedom and equality to all our citizens … it is more important today than ever before to ensure that all Americans enjoy these rights. … [And] When I say all Americans, I mean all Americans … Our immediate task is to remove the last remnants of the barriers which stand between millions of our citizens and their birthright. There is no justifiable reason for discrimination because of ancestry, or religion, or race, or color. We must not tolerate such limitations on the freedom of any of our people and on their enjoyment of basic rights which every citizen in a truly democratic society must possess. Every man should have the right to a decent home, the right to an education, the right to adequate medical care, the right to a worthwhile job, the right to an equal share in making the public decisions through the ballot, and the right to a fair trial in a fair court. We must ensure that these rights – on equal terms – are enjoyed by every citizen. To these principles I pledge my full and continued support. Many of our people still suffer the indignity of insult, the harrowing fear of intimidation, and, I regret to say, the threat of physical injury and mob violence. Prejudice and intolerance in which these evils are rooted still exist. The conscience of our nation, and the legal machinery which enforces it, have not yet secured to each citizen full [[freedom from fear]].}}

In February 1948, Truman delivered a formal message to Congress requesting adoption of his 10-point program to secure civil rights, including anti-lynching, voter rights, and elimination of segregation. "No political act since the [[Compromise of 1877]]," argued biographer [[Taylor Branch]], "so profoundly influenced race relations; in a sense it was a repeal of 1877."<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Milkis |first1=Sidney M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bW9KEAAAQBAJ&dq=en&pg=PA1946 |title=The American Presidency: Origins and Development, 1776–2021 |last2=Nelson |first2=Michael |date=2021 |publisher=CQ Press |isbn=978-1-0718-2463-4 |language=en |page=1946}}</ref>

=== 1948 election ===
{{Main|Harry S. Truman 1948 presidential campaign}}
{{Further|1948 United States presidential election}}
[[File:President Truman with Governor Dewey at dedication of the Idlewild Airport (cropped).jpg|thumb|President Truman (left) with Governor [[Thomas E. Dewey|Dewey]] (right) at dedication of [[Idlewild Airport]] in New York City on July 31, 1948, This was their first meeting since being nominated as presidential candidates by their parties.]]

The [[1948 United States presidential election|1948 presidential election]] is remembered for Truman's stunning come-from-behind victory.{{sfn|Hechler|Elsey|2006}} In the spring of 1948, Truman's public approval rating stood at 36&nbsp;percent,{{sfn|Burnes|2003|p=137}} and the president was nearly universally regarded as incapable of winning the general election. At the [[1948 Democratic National Convention]], Truman attempted to unify the party with a vague civil rights plank in the party platform. His intention was to assuage the internal conflicts between the northern and southern wings of his party. Events overtook his efforts. A sharp address given by Mayor [[Hubert Humphrey]] of [[Minneapolis]]—as well as the local political interests of a number of urban bosses—convinced the convention to adopt a stronger civil rights plank, which Truman approved wholeheartedly.<ref>Harvard Sitkoff, "Harry Truman and the election of 1948: The coming of age of civil rights in American politics." ''Journal of Southern History'' 37.4 (1971): 597–616.</ref> Truman delivered an aggressive acceptance speech attacking the 80th Congress, which Truman called the "Do Nothing Congress,"{{sfn|Miller Center|2012}} and promising to win the election and "make these Republicans like it."{{sfn|Hamby|2008}}

{{Blockquote|Republicans approve of the American farmer, but they are willing to help him go broke. They stand four-square for the American home—but not for housing. They are strong for labor—but they are stronger for restricting labor's rights. They favor minimum wage—the smaller the minimum wage the better. They endorse educational opportunity for all—but they won't spend money for teachers or for schools. They think modern medical care and hospitals are fine—for people who can afford them&nbsp;... They think American standard of living is a fine thing—so long as it doesn't spread to all the people. And they admire the Government of the United States so much that they would like to buy it.|author=Harry S. Truman|source=October 13, 1948, St. Paul, Minnesota, Radio Broadcast<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/address-st-paul-the-municipal-auditorium|title=Harry S. Truman: Address in St. Paul at the Municipal Auditorium.|website=presidency.ucsb.edu|access-date=October 29, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/97983-republicans-approve-of-the-american-farmer-but-they-are-willing|title=A quote by Harry Truman|website=goodreads.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.snopes.com/politics/quotes/trumangop.asp|title=President Harry Truman on Republicans|date=October 5, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/24/opinion/republican-taxes-healthcare.html|title=Opinion – When a Tax Cut Costs Millions Their Medical Coverage|author=The Editorial Board|date=November 24, 2017|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref>}}

Within two weeks of the 1948 convention Truman issued [[Executive Order 9981]], ending racial discrimination in the Armed Services, and Executive Order 9980 to end discrimination in federal agencies.<ref>Morris J. MacGregor, Jr., ''Integration of the Armed Forces 1940–1965'' (Center of Military History, 1981) ch 12 [https://web.archive.org/web/20120824185554/http://www.history.army.mil/books/integration/IAF-12.htm online].</ref><ref>Jon Taylor, ''Freedom to Serve: Truman, Civil Rights, and Executive Order 9981'' (Routledge, 2013).</ref> Truman took a considerable political risk in backing civil rights, and many seasoned Democrats were concerned the loss of [[Dixiecrat]] support might seriously weaken the party. South Carolina Governor [[Strom Thurmond]], a segregationist, declared his candidacy for the presidency on a Dixiecrat ticket and led a full-scale revolt of Southern "[[states' rights]]" proponents. This rebellion on the right was matched by one on the left, led by Wallace on the [[Progressive Party (United States, 1948)|Progressive Party]] ticket. The Democratic Party was splitting three ways and victory in November seemed unlikely.{{sfn|McCoy|1984|pp=153–158}} For his running mate, Truman accepted Kentucky Senator [[Alben W. Barkley]], though he really wanted Justice [[William O. Douglas]], who turned down the nomination.{{sfn|Pietrusza|2011|pp=226–232}}

Truman's political advisors described the political scene as "one unholy, confusing cacophony." They told Truman to speak directly to the people, in a personal way.<ref>{{cite web|title=Footnotes on Political Battles of 1948|url=http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/1948campaign/large/docs/documents/index.php?pagenumber=1&documentdate=1948-00-00&documentid=6-13&studycollectionid=Election|website=Truman's Library|access-date=January 28, 2016|archive-date=February 5, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205041046/http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/1948campaign/large/docs/documents/index.php?pagenumber=1&documentdate=1948-00-00&documentid=6-13&studycollectionid=Election|url-status=dead}}</ref> Campaign manager William J. Bray said Truman took this advice, and spoke personally and passionately, sometimes even setting aside his notes to talk to Americans "of everything that is in my heart and soul."<ref name=Bray>{{cite web|last1=Bray|first1=William J.|title=Recollections of the 1948 Campaign|url=http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/1948campaign/large/docs/documents/index.php?pagenumber=1&documentdate=1964-08-00&documentid=1-3&studycollectionid=Election|website=Truman's Library|access-date=January 28, 2016|archive-date=February 5, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205040911/http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/1948campaign/large/docs/documents/index.php?pagenumber=1&documentdate=1964-08-00&documentid=1-3&studycollectionid=Election|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The campaign was a {{convert|21928|mi|km|adj=on}} presidential odyssey.{{sfn|McCullough|1992|p=654}} In a personal appeal to the nation, Truman crisscrossed the United States by train; his "[[whistle stop train tour|whistle stop]]" speeches from the rear platform of the presidential car, ''[[Ferdinand Magellan Railcar|Ferdinand Magellan]]'', came to represent his campaign. His combative appearances captured the popular imagination and drew huge crowds. Six stops in [[Michigan]] drew a combined half-million people;{{sfn|McCullough|1992|p=657}} a full million turned out for a New York City ticker-tape parade.{{sfn|McCullough|1992|p=701}}

[[File:ElectoralCollege1948.svg|thumb|upright=1.15|1948 electoral vote results]]
[[File:Dewey Defeats Truman.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Truman holding Chicago Tribune that says "Dewey Defeats Truman"|Truman was so widely expected to lose the 1948 election that the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' had printed papers with this erroneous headline when few returns were in.]]

The large crowds at Truman's whistle-stop events were an important sign of a change in momentum in the campaign, but this shift went virtually unnoticed by the national press corps. It continued reporting Republican [[Thomas Dewey]]'s apparent impending victory as a certainty. The three major polling organizations stopped polling well before the November 2 election date—[[Elmo Roper|Roper]] in September, and Crossley and [[The Gallup Organization|Gallup]] in October—thus failing to measure the period when Truman appears to have surged past Dewey.{{sfn|Bennett|2012}}{{sfn|Truman Library|1971}}

In the end, Truman held his progressive Midwestern base, won most of the Southern states despite the civil rights plank, and squeaked through with narrow victories in a few critical states, notably Ohio, California, and Illinois. The final tally showed the president had secured 303&nbsp;electoral votes, Dewey&nbsp;189, and Thurmond only 39. Henry Wallace got none. The defining image of the campaign came after Election Day, when an ecstatic Truman held aloft the erroneous front page of the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' with a huge headline proclaiming "[[Dewey Defeats Truman]]."{{sfn|Jones|2020}}

=== Full elected term (1949–1953) ===
[[Second inauguration of Harry S. Truman|Truman's second inauguration]] was the first ever televised nationally.{{sfn |United States Senate| 2005}}

==== Hydrogen bomb decision ====
The Soviet Union's [[Soviet atomic bomb project|atomic bomb project]] progressed much faster than had been expected,{{sfn|McCullough|1992|pp=747–749}} and they detonated [[RDS-1|their first bomb]] on August 29, 1949. Over the next several months there was an intense debate that split the U.S. government, military, and scientific communities regarding whether to proceed with the development of the far more powerful [[hydrogen bomb]].{{sfn|Young|Schilling|2019|pp=1–2}} The debate touched on matters from technical feasibility to strategic value to the morality of creating a massively destructive weapon.{{sfn|Young|Schilling|2019|pp=152–159}}{{sfn|McCullough|1992|pp=756–758}} On January 31, 1950, Truman made the decision to go forward on the grounds that if the Soviets could make an H-bomb, the United States must do so as well and stay ahead in the nuclear arms race.{{sfn|Young|Schilling|2019|p=165}}{{sfn|McCullough|1992|pp=762–764}} The development achieved fruition with the [[Ivy Mike|first U.S. H-bomb test]] on October 31, 1952, which was officially announced by Truman on January 7, 1953.{{sfn|Atomic Archive|1953}}

==== Korean War ====
{{Further|Korean War}}
[[File:Truman initiating Korean involvement.jpg|thumb|President Truman signing a proclamation declaring a national emergency and authorizing U.S. entry into the Korean War]]

On June 25, 1950, the [[Korean People's Army|North Korean army]] under [[Kim Il-sung]] invaded South Korea, starting the Korean War. In the early weeks of the war, the North Koreans easily pushed back their southern counterparts.{{sfn|McCoy|1984|pp=222–27}} Truman called for a naval blockade of Korea, only to learn that due to budget cutbacks, the U.S. Navy could not enforce such a measure.{{sfn|Truman Library, Memo|1950}}

Truman promptly urged the United Nations to intervene; it did, authorizing troops under the UN flag led by U.S. General [[Douglas MacArthur]]. Truman decided he did not need formal authorization from Congress, believing that most legislators supported his position; this would come back to haunt him later when the stalemated conflict was dubbed "Mr. Truman's War" by legislators.{{sfn|McCoy|1984|pp=222–27}} Rockoff writes that "[[President Truman]] responded quickly to the June invasion by authorizing the use of U.S. troops and ordering air strikes and a [[naval blockade]]. He did not, however, seek a declaration of war, or call for full mobilization, in part because such actions might have been misinterpreted by Russia and China. Instead, on July 19 he called for partial mobilization and asked Congress for an appropriation of $10 billion for the war."<ref name="rockoff09">{{cite book |doi=10.1017/CBO9780511600999.008 |chapter=The Korean War |title=Drastic Measures |date=1984 |pages=177–199 |isbn=978-0-521-24496-1 }}</ref> Cohen writes that: "All of Truman's advisers saw the events in Korea as a test of American will to resist Soviet attempts to expand their power, and their system. The United States ordered warships to the [[Taiwan Strait]] to prevent Mao's forces from invading [[Taiwan]] and mopping up the remnants of [[Chiang Kai-shek]]'s army there."<ref name="cohen13">{{cite book |doi=10.1017/CHO9781139032513.006 |chapter=The Korean War and Its Consequences |title=The New Cambridge History of American Foreign Relations |date=2013 |pages=58–78 |isbn=978-1-139-03251-3 }}</ref>

However, on July 3, 1950, Truman did give Senate Majority Leader [[Scott W. Lucas]] a draft resolution titled "Joint Resolution Expressing Approval of the Action Taken in Korea". Lucas stated Congress supported the use of force, the formal resolution would pass but was unnecessary, and the consensus in Congress was to acquiesce. Truman responded he did not want "to appear to be trying to get around Congress and use extra-Constitutional powers," and added that it was "up to Congress whether such a resolution should be introduced."<ref>{{Citation | author-link = John Dean| last = Dean | first = John | title = Broken Government: How Republican Rule Destroyed the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branches | pages = 257, 315 | publisher = Penguin | year = 2007}}.</ref>

By August 1950, U.S. troops pouring into South Korea under UN auspices were able to stabilize the situation.{{sfn|Dallek|2008|p=107}} Responding to criticism over readiness, Truman fired his secretary of defense, [[Louis A. Johnson]], replacing him with the retired General Marshall. With UN approval, Truman decided on a "rollback" policy—liberation of North Korea.{{sfn|Matray|1979|pp=314–333}} UN forces led by General [[Douglas MacArthur]] led the counterattack, scoring a stunning surprise victory with an amphibious landing at the [[Battle of Inchon]] that nearly trapped the invaders. UN forces marched north, toward the [[Yalu River]] boundary with China, with the goal of reuniting Korea under UN auspices.{{sfn|Stokesbury|1990|pp=81–90}}

China surprised the UN forces with a large-scale invasion in November. The UN forces were forced back to below the [[38th parallel north|38th parallel]], then recovered.{{sfn|Cohen|Gooch|2006|pp=165–195}} By early 1951 the war became a fierce stalemate at about the 38th parallel where it had begun. Truman rejected MacArthur's request to attack Chinese supply bases north of Yalu, but MacArthur promoted his plan to Republican House leader [[Joseph William Martin Jr.|Joseph Martin]], who leaked it to the press. Truman was gravely concerned further escalation of the war might lead to open conflict with the Soviet Union, which was already supplying weapons and providing warplanes (with Korean markings and Soviet aircrew). Therefore, on April 11, 1951, Truman fired MacArthur from his commands.{{sfn|Stokesbury|1990|pp=123–129}}

{{quote box | width = 20em | align = left
| quote = I fired him [MacArthur] because he wouldn't respect the authority of the President&nbsp;... I didn't fire him because he was a dumb son of a bitch, although he was, but that's not against the law for generals. If it was, half to three-quarters of them would be in jail.{{sfn|''Time''|December 3, 1973}}
| source = —Truman to biographer [[Merle Miller]], 1972, posthumously quoted in ''Time'' magazine, 1973 }}

The [[President Truman's relief of General Douglas MacArthur|dismissal of General Douglas MacArthur]] was among the least politically popular decisions in presidential history. Truman's approval ratings plummeted, and he faced calls for his [[impeachment]] from, among others, Senator [[Robert A. Taft]].{{sfn |Strout|1999}} Fierce criticism from virtually all quarters accused Truman of refusing to shoulder the blame for a war gone sour and blaming his generals instead. Others, including Eleanor Roosevelt and all of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, publicly supported Truman's decision. MacArthur meanwhile returned to the United States to a hero's welcome, and addressed a joint session of Congress, a speech the president called "a bunch of damn bullshit."{{sfn|Weintraub|2000}}

Truman and his generals considered the use of nuclear weapons against the Chinese army, but ultimately chose not to escalate the war to a nuclear level.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.airspacemag.com/military-aviation/how-korean-war-almost-went-nuclear-180955324/ |title=How the Korean War Almost Went Nuclear |date=July 2015 |website=Air & Space Magazine |publisher=Smithsonian Magazine |first=Carl A. |last=Posey }}</ref> The war remained a frustrating stalemate for two years, with over 30,000&nbsp;Americans killed, until an armistice ended the fighting in 1953.{{sfn|Chambers II|1999|p=849}} In February 1952, Truman's approval mark stood at 22&nbsp;percent according to [[Gallup poll]]s, which is the all-time lowest approval mark for a sitting U.S. president, though it was matched by Richard Nixon in 1974.{{sfn|Roper|2010}}<ref name="presidency.ucsb.edu">{{cite web |url-status=dead |url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/data/popularity.php?pres=37 |title=Presidential Job Approval {{!}} Richard Nixon |website=American Presidency Project |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180623170018/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/data/popularity.php?pres=37 |archive-date=June 23, 2018 }}</ref>

==== Worldwide defense ====
[[File:Photograph of President Truman and Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, with Nehru's sister, Madame Pandit, waving... - NARA - 200154.jpg|thumb|Truman and Indian Prime Minister [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] during Nehru's visit to the United States, October 1949]]

The escalation of the Cold War was highlighted by Truman's approval of [[NSC 68]], a secret statement of foreign policy. It called for tripling the defense budget, and the globalization and militarization of containment policy whereby the United States and its NATO allies would respond militarily to actual Soviet expansion. The document was drafted by [[Paul Nitze]], who consulted State and Defense officials and was formally approved by President Truman as the official national strategy after the war began in Korea. It called for partial mobilization of the U.S. economy to build armaments faster than the Soviets. The plan called for strengthening Europe, weakening the Soviet Union, and building up the United States both militarily and economically.{{sfn|Wells|1979|pp=116–158}}

[[File:Photograph of the Shah of Iran speaking at Washington National Airport, during ceremonies welcoming him to the United... - NARA - 200143.tif|thumb|left|Truman and Shah of Iran [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi]] speaking at [[Washington National Airport]], during ceremonies welcoming him to the United States]]

Truman was a strong supporter of the [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]] (NATO), which established a formal peacetime military alliance with Canada and democratic European nations of the [[Western Bloc]] following World War II. The treaty establishing it was widely popular and easily passed the Senate in 1949; Truman appointed General Eisenhower as commander. NATO's goals were to contain Soviet expansion in Europe and to send a clear message to communist leaders that the world's democracies were willing and able to build new security structures in support of democratic ideals. The United States, Britain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Norway, Denmark, Portugal, Iceland, and Canada were the original treaty signatories. The alliance resulted in the Soviets establishing a similar alliance, called the [[Warsaw Pact]].{{sfn|McCoy|1984|pp=197–199, 232}}{{sfn|Dallek|2008|pp=89–91}}

General Marshall was Truman's principal adviser on foreign policy matters, influencing such decisions as the U.S. choice against offering direct military aid to [[Chiang Kai-shek]] and his nationalist Chinese forces in the Chinese Civil War against their communist opponents. Marshall's opinion was contrary to the counsel of almost all of Truman's other advisers; Marshall thought propping up Chiang's forces would drain U.S. resources necessary for Europe to deter the Soviets.{{sfn |May|2002|pp=1001–1010}} When the communists took control of the mainland, establishing the People's Republic of China and driving the nationalists to [[Taiwan]], Truman would have been willing to maintain some relationship between the United States and the new government, but Mao was unwilling.{{sfn|Ferrell|1994|pp=217–218, 224}} Truman announced on January 5, 1950, that the United States would not engage in any dispute involving the Taiwan Strait, and that he would not intervene in the event of an attack by the PRC.<ref>{{cite web|title=Harry S. Truman, "Statement on Formosa," January 5, 1950|url=http://china.usc.edu/harry-s-truman-%E2%80%9Cstatement-formosa%E2%80%9D-january-5-1950|publisher=[[University of Southern California|US-China Institute {{!}} University of Southern California]]|access-date=April 2, 2019}}</ref>

On June 27, 1950, after the outbreak of fighting in Korea, Truman ordered the U.S. Navy's [[United States Seventh Fleet|Seventh Fleet]] into the [[Taiwan Strait]] to prevent further conflict between the communist government on the China mainland and the Republic of China (ROC) in Taiwan.{{sfn|Donovan|1983|pp=198–199}}<ref>{{Cite web |url = http://www.history.navy.mil/colloquia/cch3c.htm |title = The Seventh Fleet in Chinese Waters |author = Marolda, Edward J. |access-date = December 5, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140526013317/http://www.history.navy.mil/colloquia/cch3c.htm |archive-date = May 26, 2014 |website=Naval History and Heritage Command }}</ref>

Truman usually worked well with his top staff – the exceptions were Israel in 1948 and Spain in 1945–1950. Truman was a very strong opponent of [[Francisco Franco]], the right-wing dictator of Spain. He withdrew the American ambassador (but diplomatic relations were not formally broken), kept Spain out of the UN, and rejected any Marshall Plan financial aid to Spain. However, as the Cold War escalated, support for Spain was strong in Congress, the Pentagon, the business community and other influential elements especially Catholics and cotton growers.

Liberal opposition to Spain had faded after the Wallace element broke with the Democratic Party in 1948; the CIO became passive on the issue. As Secretary of State Acheson increased his pressure on Truman, the president stood alone in his administration as his own top appointees wanted to normalize relations. When China entered the Korean War and pushed American forces back, the argument for allies became irresistible. Admitting he was "overruled and worn down," Truman relented and sent an ambassador and made loans available.<ref>Mark S. Byrnes, {{" '}}Overruled and Worn Down': Truman Sends an Ambassador to Spain". ''Presidential Studies Quarterly'' 29.2 (1999): 263–279.</ref>

==== Soviet espionage and McCarthyism ====
[[File:HarryTruman.jpg|thumb|left|Official portrait of President Truman by [[Greta Kempton]], {{circa|1945}}]]

In August 1948, [[Whittaker Chambers]], a former spy for the Soviets and a senior editor at ''Time'' magazine, testified before the [[House Un-American Activities Committee]] (HUAC). He said an underground communist network had worked inside the U.S. government during the 1930s, of which Chambers had been a member, along with [[Alger Hiss]], until recently a senior State Department official. Chambers did not allege any spying during the Truman presidency. Although Hiss denied the allegations, he was convicted in January 1950 for perjury for denials under oath.

The Soviet Union's success in exploding an atomic weapon in 1949 and the fall of the nationalist Chinese the same year led many Americans to conclude subversion by Soviet spies was responsible and to demand that communists be rooted out from the government and other places of influence.{{sfn |Dallek|2008| pp =87–88}}{{sfn|McCoy|1984| pp =194, 217–218}} Hoping to contain these fears, Truman began a "loyalty program" with [[Executive Order 9835]] in 1947.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hogan|first=Michael J.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hd4C3cY7Y7IC&pg=PA254|title=A Cross of Iron: Harry S. Truman and the Origins of the National Security State, 1945–1954|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2000|isbn=9780521795371|location=New York|pages=254–5}}</ref> However, Truman got himself into deeper trouble when he called the Hiss trial a "red herring".<ref>{{cite book|last=Kirkendall|first=Richard S.|title=The Civil Liberties Legacy of Harry S. Truman|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ndWVAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA124|year=2012|publisher=Truman State UP|page=124|isbn=9781612480848}}</ref>{{Sfn |Evans|2007|p = 321}} Wisconsin Senator [[Joseph McCarthy]] accused the State Department of harboring communists and rode the controversy to political fame,{{sfn|Weinstein|1997| pp =450–451}} leading to the Second [[Red Scare]],{{Sfn |Evans|2007|p = 324}} also known as [[McCarthyism]]. McCarthy's stifling accusations made it difficult to speak out against him. This led Truman to call McCarthy "the greatest asset the [[Moscow Kremlin|Kremlin]] has" by "torpedo[ing] the bipartisan foreign policy of the United States."<ref>{{Cite web|title=President Harry S. Truman Responds to Senator Joseph R. McCarthy's Accusations of Disloyalty|url=http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/8078|access-date=June 12, 2021|website=historymatters.gmu.edu}}</ref>

Charges that Soviet agents had infiltrated the government were believed by 78&nbsp;percent of the people in 1946 and became a major campaign issue for Eisenhower in 1952.{{sfn|Troy|2008|p=128}} Truman was reluctant to take a more radical stance, because he felt it could threaten civil liberties and add to a potential hysteria. At the same time, he felt political pressure to indicate a strong national security.{{sfn|McCoy|1984|pp=217}} It is unclear to what extent President Truman was briefed of the [[Venona project|Venona intercepts]], which discovered widespread evidence of Soviet espionage on the atom bomb project and afterward.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Did Truman Know about Venona?|url=https://fas.org/irp/eprint/truman-venona.html|access-date=June 12, 2021|website=fas.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Moynihan|first=Daniel Patrick|url=https://archive.org/details/secrecyamericane00moyn|title=Secrecy: The American Experience|publisher=Yale University Press|year=1998|isbn=978-0-300-08079-7|page=[https://archive.org/details/secrecyamericane00moyn/page/70 70]|url-access=registration}}</ref> Truman continued his own loyalty program for some time while believing the issue of communist espionage was overstated.<ref name=":0" /> In 1949, Truman described American communist leaders, whom his administration [[Smith Act trials of Communist Party leaders|was prosecuting]], as "traitors".{{sfn|McCoy|1984|pp=217}} Truman would later state in private conversations with friends that his creation of a loyalty program had been a "terrible" mistake.{{sfn|McCullough| 1992 |p= 553}}

In 1950, Truman vetoed the [[McCarran Internal Security Act]], which was passed by Congress just after the start of the Korean War and was aimed at controlling communists in America.{{sfn |McCoy|1984| pp =216–217, 234–235}} Truman called the Act, "the greatest danger to freedom of speech, press, and assembly since the [[Alien and Sedition Acts|Alien and Sedition Laws]] of 1798," a "mockery of the Bill of Rights" and a "long step toward totalitarianism".<ref name=trumanveto>Harry S. Truman, [http://trumanlibrary.org/publicpapers/viewpapers.php?pid=883 Veto of the Internal Security Bill] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070301113033/http://trumanlibrary.org/publicpapers/viewpapers.php?pid=883 |date=March 1, 2007 }}, Harry S. Truman Library and Museum.</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Text of President's Veto Message Vetoing the Communist-Control Bill |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1950/09/23/113171737.pdf|access-date=April 23, 2013 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=September 23, 1950}}</ref> His veto was immediately overridden by Congress and the Act became law.{{sfn |McCoy|1984| pp =216–217, 234–235}} In the mid-1960s, parts of the Act were found to be unconstitutional by the [[United States Supreme Court]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Belknap |first=Michael R.|title=The Vinson Court: Justices, Rulings, and Legacy|year=2004|publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]]|location=Santa Barbara, California |page=171|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oeFRJj8dVAUC&pg=PA171|isbn=9781576072011}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Belknap |first=Michael R.|title=The Supreme Court Under Earl Warren, 1953-1969|year=2005|publisher=[[University of South Carolina]]|location=Columbia, South Carolina|page=79|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7zNAzo_xJEMC&pg=PA79|isbn=9781570035630}}</ref>

==== Blair House and assassination attempt ====
{{Main|White House Reconstruction|Attempted assassination of Harry S. Truman}}
[[File:White-house-1950-interior-shell.jpg|thumb|alt=Inside of a building being renovated, with scaffolding|View of the interior shell of the White House during renovation in 1950]]

In 1948, Truman ordered an addition to the exterior of the [[White House]]: a second-floor balcony in the south portico, which came to be known as the ''[[Truman Balcony]]''. The addition was unpopular. Some said it spoiled the appearance of the south facade, but it gave the First Family more living space.{{sfn|White House Museum|1952}}{{sfn|Truman Library, Balcony|2012}} {{sfn|Truman Library, Balcony II|2012}} Meanwhile, structural deterioration and a near-imminent collapse of the White House led to a comprehensive [[White House Reconstruction|dismantling and rebuilding of the building's interior]] from 1949 to 1952. Architectural and engineering investigations during 1948 deemed it unsafe for occupancy. Truman, his family, and the entire residence staff were relocated across the street into [[Blair House]] during the renovations. As the newer [[West Wing]], including the [[Oval Office]], remained open, Truman walked to and from his work across the street each morning and afternoon.{{sfn|McCullough|1992|pp=593, 652, 725, 875ff}}

{{external media|float=center|video1=[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wGYoU50uks Newsreel scenes in English of the assassination attempt on U.S. President Harry S. Truman]}}
On November 1, 1950, [[Puerto Rico|Puerto Rican]] nationalists [[Griselio Torresola]] and [[Oscar Collazo]] attempted to assassinate Truman at Blair House. On the street outside the residence, Torresola mortally wounded a White House policeman, [[Leslie Coffelt]]. Before he died, the officer shot and killed Torresola. Collazo was wounded and stopped before he entered the house. He was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death in 1952. Truman commuted his sentence to life in prison. To try to settle the question of Puerto Rican independence, Truman allowed a [[1952 Puerto Rican constitutional referendum|plebiscite in Puerto Rico in 1952]] to determine the status of its relationship to the United States. Nearly 82&nbsp;percent of the people voted in favor of a new constitution for the ''[[Estado Libre Asociado]]'', a continued 'associated free state.'<ref name= N1>{{cite book | author-link = Dieter Nohlen| last = Nohlen | first = Dieter | year = 2005 | title = Elections in the Americas: A Data Handbook | volume = I | page = 556 | publisher = OUP Oxford | isbn = 978-0-19-928357-6}}.</ref>

==== Steel and coal strikes ====
{{Further|1952 steel strike}}
In response to a labor/management impasse arising from bitter disagreements over wage and price controls, Truman instructed his [[United States Secretary of Commerce|Secretary of Commerce]], [[Charles W. Sawyer]], to take control of a number of the nation's steel mills in April 1952. Truman cited his authority as commander in chief and the need to maintain an uninterrupted supply of steel for munitions for the war in Korea. The Supreme Court found Truman's actions unconstitutional, however, and reversed the order in a major [[separation of powers|separation-of-powers]] decision, ''[[Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer]]'' (1952). The 6–3&nbsp;decision, which held that Truman's assertion of authority was too vague and was not rooted in any legislative action by Congress, was delivered by a court composed entirely of justices appointed by either Truman or Roosevelt. The high court's reversal of Truman's order was one of the notable defeats of his presidency.<ref>Chong-do Hah, and Robert M. Lindquist, "[https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/bitstream/handle/2152/29312/1952SteelSeizureRevisited.pdf?sequence=1 The 1952 steel seizure revisited: A systematic study in presidential decision making]". ''Administrative Science Quarterly'' (1975): 587–605.</ref>

==== Scandals and controversies ====
[[File:Harry S Truman - NARA - 530677 (2).jpg|thumb|Truman in an official portrait]]

In 1950, the Senate, led by [[Estes Kefauver]], investigated numerous charges of corruption among senior administration officials, some of whom received fur coats and deep freezers in exchange for favors. A large number of employees of the [[Internal Revenue Service|Internal Revenue Bureau]] (today the IRS) were accepting bribes; 166&nbsp;employees either resigned or were fired in 1950,{{sfn|Smaltz|1998}} with many soon facing indictment. When Attorney General [[J. Howard McGrath]] fired the special prosecutor in early 1952 for being too zealous, Truman fired McGrath.{{sfn|Smaltz|1996}} Truman submitted a reorganization plan to reform the IRB; Congress passed it, but corruption was a major issue in the 1952 presidential election.{{sfn|McCoy|1984|p=299}}{{sfn|Donovan|1983|pp=116–117}}

On December 6, 1950, ''[[The Washington Post|Washington Post]]'' music critic [[Paul Hume (music critic)|Paul Hume]] wrote a critical review of a concert by the president's daughter Margaret Truman:

{{Blockquote|Miss Truman is a unique American phenomenon with a pleasant voice of little size and fair quality&nbsp;... [she] cannot sing very well&nbsp;... is flat a good deal of the time—more last night than at any time we have heard her in past years&nbsp;... has not improved in the years we have heard her&nbsp;... [and] still cannot sing with anything approaching professional finish.{{sfn|Truman Library, FAQ|1950}}}}

Truman wrote a scathing response:

{{Blockquote|I've just read your lousy review of Margaret's concert. I've come to the conclusion that you are an 'eight ulcer man on four ulcer pay.' It seems to me that you are a frustrated old man who wishes he could have been successful. When you write such poppy-cock as was in the back section of the paper you work for it shows conclusively that you're off the beam and at least four of your ulcers are at work. Some day I hope to meet you. When that happens you'll need a new nose, a lot of beefsteak for black eyes, and perhaps a supporter below! [[Westbrook Pegler|Pegler]], a gutter snipe, is a gentleman alongside you. I hope you'll accept that statement as a worse insult than a reflection on your ancestry.{{sfn|Truman Library, FAQ|1950}}}}

Truman was criticized by many for the letter. However, he pointed out that he wrote it as a loving father and not as the president.{{sfn|Barnes|2008}}{{sfn|Giglio|2001|p=112}}{{sfn|Smith|2001}}

In 1951, [[William M. Boyle]], Truman's longtime friend and chairman of the Democratic National Committee, was forced to resign after being charged with financial corruption.<ref>Eleonora W. Schoenebaum, ed. ''Political Profiles: The Truman Years'' (1978) pp. 48–49.</ref>

=== Civil rights ===
{{Further|President's Committee on Civil Rights}}
A 1947 report by the Truman administration titled ''To Secure These Rights'' presented a detailed ten-point agenda of civil rights reforms. Speaking about this report, international developments have to be taken into account, for with the [[United Nations Charter|UN Charter]] being passed in 1945, the question of whether international human rights law could be applicable also on an inner-land basis became crucial in the United States. Though the report acknowledged such a path was not free from controversy in the 1940s United States, it nevertheless raised the possibility for the UN-Charter to be used as a legal tool to combat racial discrimination in the United States.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.geschichte-menschenrechte.de/schluesseltexte/william-h-fitzpatricks-editorials-on-human-rights-1949/ |title=William H. Fitzpatrick's Editorials on Human Rights (1949) |author=Christopher N.J.Roberts |publisher=Quellen zur Geschichte der Menschenrechte |access-date=November 4, 2017 }}</ref>

In February 1948, the president submitted a civil rights agenda to Congress that proposed creating several federal offices devoted to issues such as [[voting rights]] and [[employment discrimination|fair employment]] practices.{{sfn |Truman Library, Special Message|1948}} This provoked a storm of criticism from southern Democrats in the runup to the national nominating convention, but Truman refused to compromise, saying: "My forebears were Confederates&nbsp;... but my very stomach turned over when I had learned that Negro soldiers, just back from overseas, were being dumped out of Army trucks in Mississippi and beaten."{{sfn |Truman|1973| p=429}}

Tales of the abuse, violence, and persecution suffered by many African American veterans upon their return from World War II infuriated Truman and were major factors in his decision to issue [[Executive Order 9981]], in July 1948, requiring equal opportunity in the armed forces.{{sfn|Kirkendall|1989|pp=10–11}} In the early 1950s after several years of planning, recommendations and revisions between Truman, the [[President's Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity|Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity]] and the various branches of the military, the services became racially integrated.{{sfn|MacGregor|1981|pp=312–315, 376–378, 457–459}} Truman later appointed people who aligned with civil rights agenda. He appointed fellow colonel and civil rights icon [[Blake R. Van Leer]] to the board of the [[United States Naval Academy]] and [[UNESCO]] who had a focus to work against racism through influential [[The Race Question|statements on race]].<ref>{{cite web |url = http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0012/001269/126969eb.pdf |title = UNESCO. (1950). Statement by experts on race problems. Paris, 20 July 1950. UNESCO/SS/1. UNESDOC database |access-date = June 8, 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120407030543/http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0012/001269/126969eb.pdf |archive-date = April 7, 2012 |url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3N_KlLQISQMC&dq=blake+%22van+leer%22&pg=PA35|title=Summary Minutes of Meeting|year=1956|publisher=United States National Commission for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.|access-date=March 20, 2023|archive-date=April 12, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230412052422/https://books.google.com/books?id=3N_KlLQISQMC&dq=blake+%22van+leer%22&pg=PA35|url-status=live}}</ref>

Executive Order 9980, also in 1948, made it illegal to discriminate against persons applying for civil service positions based on race. A third, in 1951, established the [[Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs|Committee on Government Contract Compliance]], which ensured defense contractors did not discriminate because of race.{{sfn|National Archives|1948}}{{sfn|National Archives|1953}}

=== Administration and cabinet ===
{{Main|Presidency of Harry S. Truman#Administration and cabinet}}

===Foreign policy===
{{Main|Foreign policy of the Harry S. Truman administration}}

From 1947 until 1989, world affairs were dominated by the [[Cold War]], in which the U.S. and its allies faced the Soviet Union and its allies. There was no large-scale fighting but instead several local civil wars as well as the ever-present threat of a catastrophic nuclear war.<ref>Ralph B. Levering, ''[[iarchive:coldwar1945198700leve|The cold war, 1945–1987]]'' (1988)</ref><ref>Martin McCauley, ''[[iarchive:russiaamericacol00mcca|Russia, America, and the Cold War, 1949–1991]]'' (1998), A British perspective</ref>

Unlike Roosevelt, Truman distrusted Stalin and the Soviet Union, and did not have FDR's faith in the UN to soften major tensions. Nevertheless, he cooperated in terms of dividing control over Germany. Soviet efforts to use its army to control politics in Eastern Europe and Iran angered Washington. The final break came in 1947 when the Labour government in London could no longer afford to help Greece fight communism and asked Washington to assume responsibility for suppressing the Communist uprising there.<ref>Robert Frazier, "[http://www.jstor.org/stable/2639276 Did Britain Start the Cold War? Bevin and the Truman Doctrine]". ''Historical Journal'' 27.3 (1984): 715–727.</ref><ref>Peter Weiler, "[http://www.jstor.org/stable/175554 British Labour and the Cold War: The Foreign Policy of the Labour Governments, 1945–1951]". ''Journal of British Studies'' 26#1(1987): 54–82.</ref> The result was the [[Truman Doctrine]] of 1947–48 which made it national policy to [[Containment|contain]] Communist expansion.<ref>John Lewis Gaddis, "[https://www.jstor.org/stable/20038055 Was the Truman Doctrine a Real Turning Point?]". ''Foreign Affairs'' 52.2 (1974): 386–402.</ref>

Truman was supported by the great majority of Democrats, after he forced out the [[Henry A. Wallace|Henry Wallace]] faction that wanted good terms with Moscow.<ref>Alonzo L. Hamby. "Henry A. Wallace, the liberals, and Soviet-American relations". ''Review of Politics'' 30.2 (1968): 153–169 [ online].</ref> Truman's policy had the strong support of most Republicans, who led by Senator [[Arthur Vandenberg]] overcame the isolationist Republicans led by Senator [[Robert A. Taft]].<ref>Lawrence J. Haas, '' Harry & Arthur: Truman, Vandenberg, and the Partnership That Created the Free World'' (Potomac Books, 2016).</ref>

In 1948, Truman signed the [[Marshall Plan]], which supplied Western Europe—including Germany—with US$13&nbsp;billion in reconstruction aid. Stalin vetoed any participation by East European nations. A similar program was operated by the United States to restore the Japanese economy. The U.S. actively sought allies, which it subsidized with military and economic "foreign aid", as well as diplomatic support. The main diplomatic initiative was the establishment of the [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]] (NATO) in 1949, committing the United States to nuclear defense of Western Europe. The result was a peace in Europe, coupled with the fear of Soviet invasion and a reliance on American protection.<ref>Mark J. Smith, ''NATO Enlargement During the Cold War: Strategy and System in the Western Alliance'' (2000).</ref> The United States operated a worldwide network of bases for its Army, Navy and Air Force, with large contingents stationed in Germany, Japan and South Korea.<ref>Kent E. Calder, ''Embattled garrisons: Comparative base politics and American globalism'' (2010).</ref> Washington had a weak intelligence community before 1942, and the Soviets had a very effective network of spies. The solution was to create the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] (CIA) in 1947.<ref>{{Cite journal | url=https://doi.org/10.1080/02684529708432397 | doi=10.1080/02684529708432397 | title=Why was the CIA established in 1947? | year=1997 | last1=Jeffreys-Jones | first1=Rhodri | journal=Intelligence and National Security | volume=12 | pages=21–40 }}</ref> Economic and propaganda warfare against the communist world became part of the American toolbox.<ref>Shu Guang Zhang, ''Economic Cold War: America's Embargo Against China and the Sino-Soviet Alliance, 1949–1963'' (2002),</ref>

The containment policy was developed by State Department official [[George F. Kennan|George Kennan]] in 1947.<ref>John O. Iatrides, "George F. Kennan and the birth of containment: the Greek test case". ''World Policy Journal'' 22.3 (2005): 126–145 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/40209983 online].</ref> Kennan characterized the [[Soviet Union]] as an aggressive, anti-Western power that necessitated containment, a characterization which would shape US foreign policy for decades to come. The idea of containment was to match Soviet aggression with force wherever it occurred while not using [[nuclear weapon]]s. The policy of containment created a bipolar, zero-sum world where the ideological conflicts between the Soviet Union and the United States dominated geopolitics. Due to the antagonism on both sides and each countries' search for security, a tense worldwide contest developed between the two states as the two nations' governments vied for global supremacy militarily, culturally, and politically.<ref>John Lewis Gaddis, ''Russia, the Soviet Union, and the United States'' (1990) pp 175–206. [https://archive.org/details/russiasovietunio00gadd online]</ref>

The Cold War was characterized by a lack of global hot wars Instead there were [[proxy war]]s, fought by client states and proxies of the United States and Soviet Union. The most important was [[Korean War]] (1950–1953), a stalemate that drained away Truman's base of support. Truman made five international trips during his presidency.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/travels/president/truman-harry-s|title= Travels of President Harry S. Truman|publisher= U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian}}</ref>

=== 1952 election ===
{{Further|1952 United States presidential election}}
[[File:Photograph of President Truman in the Oval Office with the Democratic nominees for President and Vice President... - NARA - 200393.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Three men at a desk reviewing a document|President Truman; [[Alabama]] Senator [[John J. Sparkman]], vice presidential nominee; and [[Governor of Illinois|Illinois Governor]] [[Adlai Stevenson II|Adlai Stevenson]], presidential nominee, in the Oval Office, 1952]]

In 1951, the United States ratified the [[Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution|22nd Amendment]], making a president ineligible for election to a third term or for election to a second full term after serving more than two remaining years of a term of a previously elected president. The latter clause did not apply to Truman's situation in 1952 because of a [[grandfather clause]] exempting the incumbent president.{{sfn|Find Law|2012}}

[[File:Photograph of President Truman in the Oval Office, conferring with labor leader Walter Reuther, president of the... - NARA - 200406.tif|thumb|President Truman conferring with labor leader [[Walter Reuther]] about economic policy in the Oval Office, 1952]]

Therefore, he seriously considered running for another term in 1952 and left his name on the ballot in the New Hampshire primary. However, all his close advisors, pointing to his age, his failing abilities, and his poor showing in the polls, talked him out of it.<ref>Alonzo L. Hamby. ''Man of the People: A Life of Harry S. Truman'' (1995), pp. 602–605.</ref> At the time of the 1952 New Hampshire primary, no candidate had won Truman's backing. His first choice, Chief Justice [[Fred M. Vinson]], had declined to run; Illinois Governor [[Adlai Stevenson II|Adlai Stevenson]] had also turned Truman down, Vice President Barkley was considered too old,{{sfn|McCullough|1992|p=887}}{{sfn|Ambrose|1983|p=515}} and Truman distrusted and disliked Senator Kefauver, who had made a name for himself by his investigations of the Truman administration scandals.

Truman let his name be entered in the [[New Hampshire primary]] by supporters. The highly unpopular Truman was handily defeated by Kefauver; 18&nbsp;days later the president formally announced he would not seek a second full term. Truman was eventually able to persuade Stevenson to run, and the governor gained the nomination at the [[1952 Democratic National Convention]].{{sfn|Dallek|2008|pp=139–142}}

{{listen
| filename     = Harry S. Truman's farewell address 1953.ogg
| title        = Harry S. Truman's Farewell Address
| description  = Truman's speech on leaving office, and returning home to Independence, Missouri. (January 15, 1953)
| format       = [[Ogg]]
}}

Eisenhower gained the Republican nomination, with Senator Nixon as his running mate, and campaigned against what he denounced as Truman's failures: "Korea, communism and corruption". He pledged to clean up the "mess in Washington," and promised to "go to Korea."{{sfn|McCullough|1992|p=887}}{{sfn|Ambrose|1983|p=515}} Eisenhower defeated Stevenson decisively in [[1952 United States presidential election|the general election]], ending 20&nbsp;years of Democratic presidents. While Truman and Eisenhower had previously been on good terms, Truman felt annoyed that Eisenhower did not denounce Joseph McCarthy during the campaign.{{sfn|''Time''|November 10, 2008}} Similarly, Eisenhower was outraged when Truman accused the former general of disregarding "sinister forces&nbsp;... Anti-Semitism, anti-Catholicism, and anti-foreignism" within the Republican Party.{{sfn|Dallek|2008|p=144}}