"I, Harry S. Truman, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

With these simple words on April 12, 1945 at 7:09 PM, Harry S. Truman became the thirty-third President of the United States. In the Cabinet Room of the White House, Chief Justice Harlan Fiske Stone issued the oath of office. Present during the swearing-in were Bess, and Margaret Truman, nine members of the Cabinet, Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn as well as a handful of other members of Congress.

Just before five o'clock the afternoon of April 12th after the Senate had adjourned, Truman went to the office of Speaker Sam Rayburn to discuss some current legislation. When he arrived in Rayburn's office, he was informed that the President's press secretary, Steve Early, had just called and wanted Truman to return his call immediately. He was immediately connected with Early who urgently requested Truman to come to the White House. Truman was told to use the main entrance on Pennsylvania Avenue. Normally when the President requested Truman to come by for a confidential visit, he would enter through the east entrance, thus keeping the visit off the official record. By entering on Pennsylvania Avenue, this visit would be kept in the official caller list.

Not knowing the nature of the meeting he was being called to, Truman avoided his Secret Service escort by leaving directly from Speaker Rayburn's office and running through the basement of the Capitol Building where his driver was waiting. Interestingly, this was the first time since becoming Vice-President that Truman had been without a security escort, and this occurred only hours before he took the oath of office.

When Truman arrived around 5:25 P.M., he was taken directly to Mrs. Roosevelt's study. Eleanor Roosevelt approached Truman, put her arm about his shoulder and informed him, "Harry, the President is dead." Harry was so taken back by the statement that he remained silent for a moment. When finally able to speak he asked Mrs. Roosevelt, "Is there anything I can do for you?" Truman said he would never forget her response: "Is there anything we can do for you? For you are the one in trouble now." ¹

After Truman was sworn in and a brief period of official picture taking, Truman met in the Cabinet Room with the Cabinet, minus Postmaster General Walker who was ill. Before the meeting could take place however, Roosevelt's secretary Steve Early entered the room asking if the conference on the United Nations in San Francisco would still occur on April 25. Truman knew the importance of the conference and said that it would certainly go on. This was his first official decision as President. Truman then asked all of the Cabinet members to remain in their posts and to help him in his job. He made it clear to all of them that he intended to carry on Roosevelt's plans, but that he would be President in his own right.

It was at the conclusion of this meeting that Truman would first learn of the secret weapon of mass destruction that was being developed in the country. The conversation was a private one between Truman and Secretary of War, Henry L. Stimson. Even then Stimson was very vague as to exact details, only that it was a weapon of mass destruction. It wasn't until the next day that he was given many of the details of the "Manhattan Project", the code name for the development of the atomic bomb.

On his first full day on the job, Truman met with Secretary of State Edward R. Stettinius, Jr. and was briefed on the current diplomatic situations throughout the world. Truman was presented with a two-page report that the State Department had prepared daily for Roosevelt on the diplomatic changes of the day. When Stettinius asked if Truman would like to continue to get these reports, he informed the Secretary that he would. Truman then pored over them every night in an attempt to fill in the gaps in his knowledge of the world situations.

The prelude of Truman's presidency would prove to be a mammoth challenge. As vice-president, Truman was left completely in the dark by FDR on almost every aspect of the administration, including the war. FDR was running the show and the Vice-President was not kept in the loop of administration information. At this critical time in world history, Truman would have to gain all of his knowledge of foreign relations through on-the-job training. This was a monumental task, which Truman handled admirably.

The armed conflict in the European Theater was drawing to a close as the allied forces were converging on Berlin. However the diplomatic situation there was extremely sensitive. France was only a shell of the power it had once been. The Russians were playing hardball in the Balkans and in Poland. No decisions had been made in regards to a policy toward Germany, or Italy. The only plan was to make Austria an independent nation again, but nothing had been done there either. On top of all of this, the war with Japan was still raging. This was the state of the troubled world which Truman entered as President.

Through correspondence it quickly became apparent to Truman that Soviet leader Joseph Stalin was going to be difficult to deal with. Time after time, Stalin was balking on issues which he had agreed upon with FDR and Winston Churchill at the Yalta Conference just weeks before. Stalin and the Soviets had set up a puppet regime in Poland, which they had every intention of seeing remain in power. This was contrary to his agreement with FDR and Churchill where it was decided to set up a free democratic form of government in Poland. The other major issue at hand was the parsing of the occupied zones, which each army would maintain after the destruction of the German army.

The issue of dealing with Germany was a very complicated one. The Germans so distrusted Stalin and the Soviets, that Heinrich Himmler, the head of the German Gestapo, had sent word through the Swedish government that the Germans were willing to surrender on the Western Front. The Germans did not want the Russians to advance any further into Germany. Truman and Churchill would not turn their backs on their Soviet allies to win a separate peace for themselves and so, the war in Europe would drag on a little longer.

After just slightly more than four weeks of Truman's presidency, the German surrender occurred on May 8, 1945. It was agreed by Stalin, Churchill and Truman to make simultaneous announcements of V-E day at 9:00 A.M. Washington time on May 8th. Truman's announcement, made on his 61st birthday, read as follows:

On July 6, 1945 Truman left Newport News, Virginia on board the U.S.S. Augusta, in route to the Potsdam conference in Germany to meet with Stalin and Churchill for the first time. The conference opened at the Cecilienhof Palace in Potsdam on July 17, 1945. The three leaders often differed in opinion and discussed the major issues that needed to bring the European nations back into a peaceful coexistence.

There had been many issues of contention between the big three in Yalta. The main issue was the Polish question. The Russians had set up a puppet regime in Poland and wanted very much to keep that government in place. Roosevelt and Churchill had already seen what these Soviet puppet states would look like because Stalin had pulled the same operation in Yugoslavia by putting Tito in power. Churchill and Stalin had some heated words, but the Yugoslavian issue was passed over. Now, there was also concern over the eastern border of Poland. Stalin insisted the line should include part of what was Germany, and Churchill and Truman insisted that the border should be set to that which had existed prior to the war.

Another point of contention was over war reparations. The Russians insisted that the Italians and the Germans pay heavily for the catastrophic loss of life the Soviets had suffered during the war. Truman insisted that unlike World War I, the United States would not wind up paying for the war reparations of the Axis powers simply because they were unable to pay for it themselves. The post-war economies of both Germany and Italy had been decimated. There would not be a lot of money to spread around if there was any hope at all to get these two nations back on their economic feet. A strong Europe could not exist without a thriving German economy. It would take a substantial amount of American financial aid to get the European economies going again. The American people would not stand for putting money into the Italian and German economies if the Soviets took the money in the form of war reparations. Even though it was agreed that reparations would not be paid until after the peace settlement, the Russians had begun stripping industrial equipment out of all countries within the confines of its armed forces. The biggest problem here was that the Soviets were preventing representatives from Britain or the United States from entering any territory in which the Soviet army held positions. This prevented both countries from verifying what reports from those territories were alleging, and in fact, what the Soviets were doing.

Stalin had one big playing card in his hand. The Americans and British desperately wanted the Soviet Army engaged in the war with Japan. Therefore both parties were extremely cautious not to alienate the Soviet leader. Stalin had promised to enter the war with Japan but not until three months after hostilities in Europe ended. The American strategists believed that in order to take the main island of Japan, Americans would suffer severe casualties. If the Soviet Army were not engaged with the Japanese in China, the list of American casualties would grow substantially higher.

Once again Stalin played games with the Americans and Chinese. The situation in China was a precarious one with the rise of the Chinese Communists. The United States had worked hard to get the many factions of China together to fight the common threat of the Japanese. Chiang Kai-shek, the head of the Chinese National government, was being pressured by the Soviets to make many concessions to encourage the Soviets to enter the war. As one of our allies, Chiang Kai-shek was doing everything in his power to help in the war effort, but the Russian demands were very strong. If Chiang Kai-Shek were to agree to Soviet demands, it would cost him the control of his own teetering government. The Soviets wanted a port, specifically the Chinese port of Dairen, for their sea-going trade. The Soviets wanted the port to be an "open" port but exclusively under the control of the Soviet Union. The negotiations bogged down and it quickly appeared as if the Soviets would never enter the war with Japan.

One factor might quickly change the Soviet's demands and remove all hindrances to their entering the war: an ultimatum was sent to Japan from the United States, the United Kingdom and China, demanding their unconditional surrender. On July 28, the Japanese were heard on Radio Tokyo. They flatly refused the ultimatum and reiterated their strong will to fight to the finish.

Just a few weeks earlier, the United States had tested an experimental atomic bomb. Scientists had been working on a weapon of mass destruction for much of the preceding war years. Now plans were laid for the dropping of the bomb on one of the Japanese industrial centers.

Four cities were chosen as possible targets: Hiroshima, Kokura, Niigata, and Nagasaki. The targets were picked in the order listed, based on their military importance. Multiple sites were selected so that impending bad weather over one of the targets, could easily change to one of the others.

At 7:15 P.M. on August 5, 1945, the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. Truman would receive word of the mission's accomplishment while returning home from the Potsdam conference on the U.S.S. Augusta. On August 9, the second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki.

The site chosen for the second target was Kokura, but weather had already closed in and made a visual drop impossible. Three passes were made over the site before the decision was made to move on to the next target, Nagasaki. Once over Nagasaki, the clouds had set in. Unfortunately for the people of Nagasaki, a chance opening in the clouds gave the bombadier the chance he would need to deliver the devastating blow.

When the Soviets realized that the destructive force of the bomb would end the war with Japan before they could get involved, they quickly entered the war with Japan on August 9. All negotiation problems with the Chinese seemed to simply disappear. The Soviet Army met little resistance and moved as quickly as possible to gain as much territory as possible before the surrender.

On August 10, 1945 the Japanese announced that they were ready to accept the terms delivered at Potsdam on July 26^th. The Soviet Union stalled when it came time for the peace agreement, enabling their Army to obtain as much territory as possible. The Soviets, a thorn-in-the-side of the Allies at Potsdam, would be an even greater obstacle in the Pacific.

The Soviets were only in the war for two days before the Japanese surrender terms were accepted. Even so, their demands were great. When the Allies announced that a Supreme Commander would be appointed to head up the peace negotiations, the Soviets replied to the Americans that there should be two heads of the High Command: one Soviet and one American. Truman wasted no time in telling the Soviets that this would be completely unacceptable. The High Commander would most certainly be an American. The role was assigned to General Douglas MacArthur.

At the conclusion of the war, Truman was enjoying an approval rating above 80 percent. Within a short time, one Gallup pole reported only 36 percent. Truman was also faced with a ravaged Europe, looking to America to save its people from starvation and collapse. Truman again came before the American people and asked them to help Europe. It was difficult to have to go to the well so many times during a crisis, and the American people were ready to shake the problems of Europe, and return to their good life.

In November of 1945, the United Auto Workers walked out looking for a 30 percent increase in pay. They were followed in January with the walkout of the steel workers at U.S. Steel. On April 1, John L. Lewis called the United Mine Workers out on strike, infuriating Truman. (Lewis had called a strike during the war for which Truman thought he should be thrown in jail as a traitor.) By the end of the month Truman had seized the coalmines, but the miners still refused to go back to work.

To top it off, in May, two of the largest railroad unions walked out despite a Truman offer to keep them on the job. This strike would mostly affect Europe, as shipment of grain would be all but halted without the railroads. The leaders of the two railroad unions, A. F. Whitney, and Alvanley Johnson had both backed Truman during his senate race when he could get very little support from anywhere else.

But now they had Truman's ire up and he was looking for a fight. Both men had refused the offer on the table and were threatening to strike. On May 17th Truman called the two men to his office. When they still refused, he signed an executive order to seize and operate the railroads. The next day the two men postponed the strike for another five days to keep negotiations open. After five days, the strike was called, virtually shutting down the country. Truman was outraged and determined to crush the strike.

At ten o'clock eastern time on May 24th, Truman went on national radio and announced that two willful men should not be allowed to shutdown the entire country. He demanded that the striking railroad workers return to their jobs by 4:00 PM the next day or he would call out the army to do whatever was necessary to break the strike. He then scheduled an appearance before Congress at 4:00 PM the next day where he would drop another bombshell: he intended to have any striking railroad workers immediately drafted into the armed forces.

John Steelman, working for Truman, was sitting in negotiations with Whitney and Johnson right up until the time when Truman went to the Capitol. Truman delivered his speech and the crowd erupted with approval. Right after he announced the plan to draft the strikers, the Secretary of the Senate hurried up to Truman while he was speaking. He delivered a message that the strike had been settled. Truman announced this to Congress but finished his speech anyway. Truman received a standing ovation from Congress from both sides of the aisle at the conclusion of the speech. The bill Truman had requested, was passed by a margin of 306 to 13 in the House, but failed to get approval in the Senate. Even so, Truman had made his point. He had always supported labor and in return, had been backed by labor. Now he had damaged one of his largest political bases for a cause that he believed right, despite what it might mean politically.

But now the damage was done. In the 1946 Congressional election, the Republicans took over both Houses of Congress. By the 1948 presidential election no one believed that Truman could be re-elected. The Republicans held their convention and nominated Thomas Dewey of New York their candidate. To add to Truman's problems, many in his own party believed he had no chance of winning. Signs were seen around the convention hall saying, "I'm just mild about Harry." During the Democratic Convention, southern democrats known as Dixie-crats, splintered from the party over Truman's Fair Deal stand for civil rights. Henry Wallace, recently asked to leave the Cabinet for public attacks on foreign policy, took the progressives who supported friendly relations with the Soviets rather than Truman's hard-line, and bolted the Convention.

Following the Democratic Convention in Philadelphia, there wasn't a pollster or political pundit who gave Truman even a long shot at winning the campaign. Truman didn't except the pollsters conclusions and fired up the Convention goers when he stated, "Senator Barkley and I will win this election and make these Republicans like it -- don't you forget that!"

Truman had been in this "can't win" position before during his second term in the Senate, and had come out on top. He believed that if he took his message to the people, they would pull him through. He attacked the eightieth Congress as the "do nothing" Congress. In his acceptance speech at the convention, he surprised everyone when he said he would call Congress back for a special session. Truman wanted approval of such legislation as economic controls, aid to education, a higher minimum wage, civil rights, extended social security, and national health care -- all of which were part of the Republican platform in 1948.

This special session of Congress convened and as Truman expected, produced nothing. This gave Truman a political steppingstone for his campaign. Prior to the Democratic Convention, Truman made a trip by rail to California under the pretext of speaking at the convention's commencement ceremony. Along the way he would stop at many small towns and make speeches attracting thousands of cheering listeners. The trip would encompass 9,505 miles through 18 states. He would deliver 73 speeches.

Truman would take to the rails again on September 17th for what would become known as his Whistle-Stop Campaign. On this trip he would cover an incredible 21,928 miles, nearly enough to circumvent the globe. Truman would no longer use prepared speeches but instead would speak from the heart, off the cuff. Prior to starting the Whistle-Stop campaign, Truman was considered at best a long shot, with Dewey leading by 44 to 31 percent. By the end of the campaign Truman had narrowed the margin, but even on Election Day, Dewey was favored by a 4 to 1 margin.

On Election Day, Truman still believed he would win despite the mass media predicting otherwise. Even as late as midnight on election night, the famous radio voice of H.V. Kaltenborn could be heard predicting that Truman was "undoubtedly beaten" -- despite his one-million plus lead in the popular vote.

Truman was photographed holding a copy of the Chicago Tribune that headlined "Dewey Defeats Truman"--still a famous portrait. Truman had run an incredible campaign and won, carried by the popular vote despite overwhelming odds and the three-way split of his own party. Truman would finally get the chance to be President by his own right.