Harry Truman

When Franklin D. Roosevelt died on 12 April 1945, three months into his fourth term, his vice president Harry Truman succeeded him as the 33rd president of the United States. He later won re-election in 1948, defeating Thomas E. Dewey thanks to his Whistle Stop Tour across rural America.

During his presidency, Truman made many crucial decisions that continue to affect U.S. foreign policy today. He authorized the use of atomic bombs against Japan in 1945. The first bomb was dropped by the plane Enola Gay on the city of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945. A second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki three days later; Japan surrendered on 14 August.

When the state of Israel was proclaimed on 14 May 1948, Truman officially recognized the new state only eleven minutes after it was declared, citing the Holocaust as the reason for his support of the political Zionist movement.

During Truman's presidency, the United States joined NATO. Truman was also the propagator of the "Truman Doctrine," taking an active stance against Soviet expansion during the early years of the Cold War.

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