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"America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand." The above is a quote that applies as much today as it did when Harry S. Truman said it. He was quoted quite often, and for good reason.

Harry S. Truman was the 33rd Presidents of United States, taking over in 1944 after the passing of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Just like Roosevelt, a very mention of the man's name brought out strong emotions. Whether one loved him or hated him, Truman was one of the most pivotal Presidents of the Twentieth Century, just simply because he served as one war ended and as another began. The legacy he left behind is huge.

Shortly after taking office, Truman told a group of 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."

F.D.R. died on April 12, 1945. In spite of illness, and fighting a war on two fronts, he took little time to initiate his new Vice President on the state of the world. This put Truman and the United States into a precarious position. Whereas Truman made his mistakes, a certain innate wisdom kept him going, and kept us safe. His first act was to ask Roosevelt's Cabinet to stay on. He asked them for their advice and their loyalty while making it plain that he would decide any issue. In other words, The buck stops here.

In July of that year he met with Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin and the newest British Prime Minister Clement Atlee at Potsdam, Occupied Germany. They discussed the disposition of postwar Germany, reparations to the U.S.S.R. and Poland, and the prosecution of war criminals. It was noted that Truman immediately distrusted Stalin. Although Roosevelt didn't like the man, he didn't think he had cause to mistrust Stalin. The Soviet Union under the Russian leader had fought tooth and nail, chasing the Germans from one Baltic and Eastern European nation after another. Whereas the Germans had capitulate in May, Stalin didn't recall his armies.

Truman had been recently made aware of the Manhattan Project and the successful test of the first atom bomb. He wrote in his diary, 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.

He spoke of it to Stalin, and Stalin encouraged

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