Harry S. Truman

==== 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>