On April 12,1945 Harry S.Truman received an urgent call from FDR's widow,Eleanor Roosevelt.He rushed to the White House to find out what was the trouble. He was told in part"you are the one in trouble now." Franklin Delano Roosevelt was dead,and even though the war in Europe was over for over three months now,the war in the Pacific was still raging,without seemingly any end in sight. Truman was now sworn in as the 33rd President of the United States. It was up to him now to find a way to end the war with Japan. The solution he came up with would forever change the course of history.

EARLY LIFE

Harry S.(interestingly,the"S" doesn't stand for anything;it was chosen by his parents to please both of Harry's grandfathers, Anderson Shipp Truman and Solomon Young,as it was a Scottish-Irish custom) Truman was born on May 8,1884 in Lamar,Missouri. He was the second son of John Anderson Truman and Martha Ellen Young Truman. A younger brother,John Vivian Truman(1886-1965) and sister,Mary Jane Truman(1899-1978) soon followed. Harry along with his siblings grew up on a farm in which his father was a farmer and livestock dealer When Harry was six,the Trumans moved to Independence,Missouri where Harry would basically spend the rest of his life. Harry did not attend school until he was eight years old. When Harry was a boy, he developed a love for music(he was an accomplished pianist),reading and history. His first political experience of sorts was when he worked as a page during the 1900 Democratic Convention at Convention Hall In Kansas City,Missouri when he was 16. He graduated from Independence High School when was 17 in 1901. Harry Truman is the only president in U.S.history to have a high school education.

MILITARY LIFE

Harry Truman had his first military experience from 1905-11 when he served in the Missouri National Guard. He enlisted in the First world War,where he rose to the rank of Battery Officer in France over Unit D,which was known for its disciplinary problems. Even he may have appeared to be a seemingly innocent-looking person,they sound found out that Harry Truman was no one to mess with;he was known to use profanity-he had picked it up as a youth while working as a timekeeper on the Santa Fe Railroad while associating with the local hobos- with his soldiers frequently(as he sometimes would use years later even as president,which shocked the mores of the day),and they soon discovered he was a non-nonsense commander,who soon gained

• 1
• 2
• 3
• next page >>

---

Add your voice

Know something about The legacy of Harry Truman?
We want to hear your view. Write now!