American President

Harry S. Truman (1884–1972)

Facts at a Glance

Term: 33rd President of the United States (1945–1953)

Born: May 8, 1884, Lamar, MO

Nickname: "Give ’Em Hell Harry"

Religion: Baptist

Marriage: June 28, 1919, to Elizabeth “Bess” Virginia Wallace (1885–1982)

Children: Mary Margaret (1924–2008)

Career: Farmer, Businessman, Public Official

Political Party: Democrat

Writings: Memoirs (2 vols., 1955-56)

Died: December 26, 1972, Kansas City, MO

Buried: Independence, MO

A Life in Brief: Harry S. Truman became President of the United States with the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt on April 12, 1945. During his nearly eight years in office, Truman confronted enormous challenges in both foreign and domestic affairs. Truman’s policies abroad, and especially toward the Soviet Union in the emerging Cold War, would become staples of American foreign policy for generations. More »

No government is perfect. One of the chief virtues of a democracy, however, is that its defects are always visible and under democratic processes can be pointed out and corrected.: March 12, 1947

As Americans, we believe that every man should be free to live his life as he wishes. He should be limited only by his responsibility to his fellow countrymen.: June 29, 1947

Truman Multimedia Gallery

Surrender of Germany (5/8/1945)

Hiroshima (8/6/1945)

Surrender of Japan (9/1/1945)

Truman Doctrine (3/12/1947)

Address at NAACP (6/29/1947)

Whistlestop Tour (9/18/1948)

Inaugural Address (1/20/1949)

Report on Korea (4/11/1951)

Harry S. Truman: A Life in Brief; Life Before the Presidency; Campaigns and Elections; Domestic Affairs; Foreign Affairs; Life After the Presidency; Family Life; The American Franchise; Impact and Legacy; Key Events
First Lady: Bess Truman
Vice President: Alben W. Barkley
Secretary of State: Edward R. Stettinius Jr. (1944–1945); James Byrnes (1945–1947); George C. Marshall (1947–1949); Dean G. Acheson (1949–1953)
Secretary of War: Henry L. Stimson (1945–1945); Robert P. Patterson (1945–1947); Kenneth C. Royall (1947–1947)
Attorney General: Francis B. Biddle (1945–1945); Thomas C. Clark (1945–1949); J. Howard McGrath (1949–1952); James P. McGranery (1952–1953)
Secretary of the Navy: James V. Forrestal (1945–1947)
Secretary of Agriculture: Claude R. Wickard (1945–1945); Clinton P. Anderson (1945–1948); Charles F. Brannan (1948–1953)
Secretary of Labor: Frances Perkins (1945–1945); Lewis B. Schwellenbach (1945-1948); Maurice J. Tobin (1948–1953)
Secretary of the Treasury: Henry Morgenthau, Jr. (1945–1945); Frederick M. Vinson (1945–1946); John W. Snyder (1946–1953)
Secretary of Defense: James V. Forrestal (1947–1949); Louis Johnson (1949–1950); George C. Marshall (1950–1951); Robert Lovett (1951–1953)
Postmaster General: Frank C. Walker (1945–1945); Robert E. Hannegan (1945–1947); Jesse M. Donaldson (1947–1953)
Secretary of the Interior: Harold L. Ickes (1945–1946); Julius A. Krug (1946–1949); Oscar L. Chapman (1949–1953)
Secretary of Commerce: Henry A. Wallace (1945–1946); William Averell Harriman (1946–1948); Charles Sawyer (1948–1953)

Miller Center Presentations About Truman

Harry Truman and Civil Rights (9/26/2003)

Arms Control and Preparedness (9/14/1987)

The Truman Presidency (7/11/1983)

Truman: Character and Legacy (4/27/1983)

Consulting Editor: Alonzo L. Hamby

Professor Hamby is a Distinguished Professor of History at Ohio University. His writings include:

For the Survival of Democracy: Franklin Roosevelt and the World Crisis of the 1930s (Free Press, 2004)

Man of the People: A Life of Harry S. Truman (Oxford University Press, 1998)

Beyond the New Deal: Harry S. Truman and American Liberalism (Columbia University Press, 1973)

Presidential Speeches

Below are selections from the Miller Center’s Harry S. Truman speech collection.

May 8, 1945 - Announcing the Surrender of Germany

March 12, 1947 - Truman Doctrine

June 29, 1947 - Address before the NAACP

April 11, 1951 - Report to the American People on Korea

Scholarship and Speakers

The Miller Center of Public Affairs is a national nonpartisan center to research, reflect, and report on American government, with special attention to the central role and history of the presidency. Below is a selection of Miller Center resources on Harry S. Truman.

Listen to Frank Pace’s 1983 presentation at the Miller Center on the The Truman Presidency. Pace served as Secretary of the Army under Truman.

President Harry Truman led the country as Commander in Chief during World War II. Learn more about the Miller Center’s National War Powers Commission.

Learn more about the Center’s National Commission on the Presidency and Science Advising and its relationship to Truman.

Scripps Library Reference Resources

Below are links to reference resources prepared by the Miller Center’s Scripps Library, designed to help students and scholars conduct their research quickly.

Information on Harry S. Truman’s Private and Public Papers

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