"I'm here to make decisions. Whether they prove right or wrong, I'm going to make them."...Harry S. Truman.Later he would have to make one of the most terrible decisions in history.
April 16, 1945...His first speech as President was to the joint session of congress. He commented on the great loss of Roosevelt and his speech gave the people hope.
On May 8th, Truman's 61st birthday, Nazi Germany surrendered. (What a great birthday present!) Now only Japan remained.
June 1st...President Truman received a report from a committee he appointed to study the atomic bomb. They urged him to drop it without warning.
June 18...Truman agrees to invade Japan in November.
July 7...Truman goes to Germany to meet with Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin, to discuss the fate of eastern Europe.
He referred to them as Mr. Great Britain and Mr. Russia.
These meetings lasted 17 days with no success.
While they were negotiating, the Enola Gay, a lightweight B-29, was rehearsing manuvers to drop the Atom bomb.
On Aug. 6 at 2:45 a.m., the Enola Gay headed for Japan. 8:15 a.m., the Atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima.
Aug. 9th, at 11:00 a.m., the Atom bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. There was an enormous loss of life. Japan finally surrendered on Aug. 14th. The war was over!
Truman now has to deal with labor problems.
One strike after another, and these continued into 1946 with the railroad strike that brought the country to a standstill.
Truman was furious. He said to draft all the workers that were on strike. When told this was unconstitutional, he said draft them now and worry about the law later. On May 8th, he actually went before Congress to ask them to draft all workers on strike. He considered this a strike against the government. As he was speaking, he was handed a note.
He said, "Word has just been received that the rail strike has been settled on terms proposed by the President."
The strike was over but Truman had lost the support of the unions.
By the time the 1948 elections rolled around, Harry decided he liked being President after all.
"Give 'em Hell, Harry"