2. Truman’s need to address foreign policy itself did not even exist until he actually became president in 1945, which may have had an impact on his decisions when it became a primary issue for him during his presidency. This began with the Potsdam Conference, which has been noted as the time when Truman started to carry views against the Soviets, because of his repulsion to compromising with Stalin. The fact that Truman’s enthusiasm fell after testing for the atomic bomb finished suggested that the two events directly correlated. On top of that, after Japan’s surrender due to the atomic bomb, Truman ended the Lend-Lease act that was originally initiated by Roosevelt. Considering these two examples of Truman’s foreign policy, it is …show more content…
Since WWII was needed to take the U.S. out of the Great Depression, the danger of the country returning to that state after the war finished was imminent. One event that exemplified this insecurity was the Strike Wave of 1946, which Truman solved by basically making it consequential by law to go on strike. However, economic problems were still occurring overseas in Europe. In order to assist them, Truman provided “Europe with badly needed economic recovery aid (the Marshall Plan)” (Hastedt). The Marshall Plan was an action that the U.S. took in an attempt to aid Europe’s economy, by paying $13 billion. This seemingly was also made in an effort to reduce the power of the Soviet Union, and allow Europe’s powers to compete, sequentially reducing the risk of an authoritarian influence. There was also Truman’s Fair Deal, which generally dealt with America’s domestic problems, but because of that also addressed its economic difficulties. Since it primarily aimed to make everything fair in domestic life, as the name suggested, the economy improved as a result. Overall, Truman’s economic policy revolved around keeping the economy at a manageable level, rather than having it crash similar to the Great Depression, and have to bring it back up.
3. The six main parts, or principal organs, of the United Nations consist of the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the
Truman gave his iconic Truman Doctrine speech in front of a joint session of congress. This speech outlined the broad strokes of the Truman Doctrine as well as marked the declaration of the Cold War as well as sets the direction of American foreign policy for the next 40 years. Truman used this speech which was broadcast on the radio across the country as a form of going public to help his doctrine pass through congress. The Truman Doctrine finically aided Greece and Turkey in their ongoing war against communism as well as established Truman’s containment policy towards communism. A year later in 1948 when Truman planned to spread a program much like the Truman Doctrine across Europe in the form of the European Recovery Program. Truman knew that due to his high unfavorable rates he would need to use bargaining this time instead of going public to enact his plan. The Marshall plan is born with Truman recruits popular Secretary of State General George C. Marshall to be the face of the plan in order to garner support. While Marshall was the face of the plan Truman worked diligently behind the scenes to garner support for the plan from republicans. The Marshall Plan ultimately passed and in the end sent 13 million dollars in relief funds to Europe to aid in rebuilding from World War II in addition to holding at bay the treat of communism spreading. Truman became a shining example of how going public and bargaining both of there place in the
The Truman Doctrine affected the Cold War by stopping Communists from destroying Europe any further. History.state.gov states, “President Harry S. Truman established that the United States would provide political, military and economic assistance to all democratic nations under threat from external or internal authoritarian forces.” In his speech, he asked Congress to give support to the Greek government and go against the Communists. If the U.S. government failed to help the Greek government, the Communists would continue to damage Europe. The Truman Doctrine affected the Cold War, and another policy that affected the Cold
During World War II the war in Europe ended after the unconditional German surrender at General Eisenhower's Headquarters in Reims, France, May 7, 1945. "After the unconditional German surrender in Europe the war shifted to Asia and the Pacific. As the war continued against Japan the Allied forces captured islands such as Iwo Jima and Okinaawa close to Japan brought the Japanese homeland within range of naval and air attacks." (Dannen) On August 6, 1945, the city of Hiroshima was the target of the first atomic bomb used against civil population in history. On August 9, 1945, the United States dropped a second atomic bomb over the city of Nagasaki. In total,
Imagine yourself making the toughest decision in your life, whether sacrificing a million of our men and thousands of war ships and plans, verses several thousand of Japanese civilian populists. This decision was on the shoulder of Harry S. Truman, the United States President, who had to make this decision by deciding whether or not to drop a newly designed weapon. The atomic bomb was tested in the sands of New Mexico, where it proved to be very successful. Harry S. Truman made a very successful decision, because he wanted to end the war quickly, show others that the United States had power, and the retribution of Pearl Harbor.
Following World War II, all of Europe was left in a clutter of disarray. Instead of watching Europe endure the hardships left from the war, the United States went to Europe’s aid. From 1947 to 1952, European nations experienced a time of massive growth. The Marshall Plan called for the nations of Europe to draw up a program for economic and political recovery from the war. The plan was a response to American concerns that communist parties were growing stronger across Europe and that the Soviets might intervene. The Marshall Plan also reflected the belief that US aid for European economic recovery would create strong democracies and open new markets for American goods. After World War II, The European Recovery Program was instrumental in economically
In 1945, World War Two was coming to an end. Following Adolf Hitler’s suicide, and Nazi Germany’s unconditional surrender on May 7, 1945, the war in Europe was finally over. The allies began began postwar planning for future, as well as establishment of post-war order and peace treaties issues. America’s war wasn’t done yet as they were still fighting Japan, eventually pushing them back to their main island. The Japanese’ plans of defending themselves was a group of final decisive battles on the Japanese mainland utilizing all people in Japan to fight to death against the Americans. Fearing costly land battles,
Webster’s dictionary defines hindsight as “the ability to understand, after something has happened, what should have been done or what caused the event”. It is a fair assumption that most people understand the old adage “hindsight is always 20/20”; alluding to the fact that, in our everyday lives, we as humans make decisions based on what we know, what seems right and occasionally what makes our lives easier. The average person does not have the mental capability to consider every possible outcome that a choice will have on his entire life, all within the thought process that leads him to reach a conclusion, however long and detailed that process may be. If we add massive amounts of pressure, contradictory advisement, the lives of
Along with desegregating the Armed Services, Truman was known for authorizing the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. One of the worst and most devastating weapons ever created was being built underneath his nose while he had been vice president. Truman would have to make a decision that would change the world forever; dropping the atomic bomb would instantly extinguish hundreds of thousands of lives, and would leave permanent effects on the people living there for years to come. The launch of the bomb would also lead the world into economically matching the power of the United States, which would lead to more of these bombs being created throughout the world to counter the United States; this decision could even lead to the creation of another world war. Although the Manhattan Project had been building and testing nuclear capability in weapons for years, the first tactical
I believe that the Presidents decision was based dually on military necessity and on the Nation's reputation. Truman was not a dumb man; he was inexperienced and quickly expected to make important decisions based on very little information that he had been recently made aware of. I believe that his first thought was to just end the War. I do not think he felt the need
Unfortunately for Truman, the bombs that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki ended the war far earlier than almost anyone had predicted, and propelled the nation into a process of reconversion. The lack of planning was soon compounded by a growing popular impatience for a return to normal economic conditions. The problem that Truman’s administration made was attempting to hasten that return, despite warnings from economists. While his approval ratings quickly declined, Truman put into effect FDR’s GI Bill of Rights from 1944 which provided economic assistance for veterans, and while this addition to the already present flood of consumer demand ensured that there would be no new depression, it did contribute to more than two years of serious inflation. Truman also had to deal with labor unrest, and when the United Mine Workers went on strike in 1946, and he threatened to use the army the trains, and effectively pressure the workers back to work after only a few days. And through all of his unpopularity, Truman was still persistent to institute his Fair Deal programs, and the American people could rely on his unfazed determination. He called for the expansion of Social Security benefits, raising the minimum wage, a program to ensure full employment through aggressive use of federal spending and investment, a permanent Fair Employment Practices Act, public housing
A traditionalist believes Truman dropped the bomb to end the war, while a revisionist believes that he dropped it to stop or threaten the Russians. Really, Truman dropped the atomic bomb for both of these reasons. Weighing into the traditionalist side, the bomb is what truly made Japan decide to surrender, after Nagasaki. The United States was clearly trying to bring the war to a complete close since the war in the ETO had just officially ended. On the revisionist side, you see that a main issue at Potsdam was who would control Europe, and Russia wanted the lot of it. They already controlled all of eastern Germany and were determined to gain power over Poland as well. In The History Guide by Stephen Kreis, it is mentioned that, “The United States upheld the principles of self-determination,” meaning they would stop at nothing to stay in control. This shows they were most likely trying to get a step ahead of the Russians, and to keep the land they had in Europe if not gain more
To what extent was Harry Truman’s decision to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki justified?
During WW2 Truman, the United States President at the time, was asked to make one the toughest decision in History. Choosing between dropping an atomic bomb or invading are both choices that will result in a lot of deaths. The huge diffrence between the two was who died wether it be the Japanese with the bomb, or the American soldiers with the invasion. Trumans decision was supposed to end the war sooner, hence reducing the amount of agony,deaths, stress or any other negative effects that could result in the continous war. Truman's decision on dropping the Atomic Bomb's was an efficient course of action for the Americans, but was deffinantly not the most educated decision. If I had been placed in Truman's shoes and had to make this
In conclusion, the difficulties of the situation are limitless. “Truman, a serious reader of history, knew this lesson well (not to listen to advisors). That remains why, in his August 6, 1945, official announcement of the atomic explosion over Hiroshima, Japan, he said, ‘We have spent two billion dollars on the greatest scientific gamble in history—and won’” (Shafritz and Borick 2011). Although there were many reasons not to employ the bombs in the worldview of Truman dropping the bombs was the correct decision. His decision will forever be controversial for many U.S. and Japanese lives may have been saved by the application of the bombs or the opposite if many Japanese lives could have been spared if negations by the U.S. could have changed
1. Truman’s Policy of Containment was that the U.S. would work to stop the spread of communism by providing political, economic, and military assistance to all democratic nations under the threat of communism or any external authoritarian forces. The political aspect of this policy was the alliances made during the Cold War. NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) was a defensive alliance among the U.S. and other European countries against the Soviet Union. This alliance still exists today. The Warsaw Pact was a defensive alliance that included the Soviet Union and its satellite governments in Eastern Europe. These alliances assured that if one country was attacked, then the others must react by coming to the defense.