Harry S Truman was born in Lamar, Missouri in 1884.  As a young boy, (before World War 1) he helped on the farm and helped with other jobs.   After WW1, he returned home, married his high school sweet heart and had one daughter, Mary.  He became the 33^rd President of the United States upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt because he was the Vice President at the time.  He had only been in office for eighty two days when he became president.  His presidency occurred during the most critical time of World War II.  The allies were winning the war and he had to deal with power hungry generals and develop foreign policies.  President Truman's varied background which included failed businesses, elected offices and military experience provided him with the experience to suceed as President.

            Harry was the oldest of three children whose parents were Martha Ellen Young Truman and John Anderson Truman.  His parents were hardworking farmers in Missouri.  From an early age Harry helped work on the farm by doing chores everyday such as milking cows and harvesting hay.  The S in Harry S Truman is not a real name but was just added to honor two of his relatives.  His mother taught him to read before he attended public school.  It was discovered that he was extremely nearsighted so he was required to wear glasses.  The glasses prevented him from playing rough playground games so he became interested in history, a life long passion.  When he was ten years old, he suffered from diphtheria which left him paralyzed until he recovered.  This obviously helped him realize what President Roosevelt had to go through.  Hardworking and caring parents helped to shape Harry's personality and his outlook on the world. 

            Truman had a varied business background which included several failed businesses.  After graduating highschool in 1901, college was not an option because of his family's financial situation.  His poor eyesight also prevented him from going to a military college.  He began his working career as a timekeeper for the Santa Fe Railroad where he learned how to handle men.  He became a bank clerk for a Kansas City bank and recieved many promotions.  In 1906, he returned home to operate his family's farm and became a successful farmer for ten years.  He then invested in mines in Missouri and lost his money.  With the new automobile industry, oil beame a fabulous market, so he invested money into an oil corporation.  He sold his shares in the oil company because they quit drilling because of a lack of man power.  It turned out to be one of the biggest oil reserves in the mid-continent.  After these adventures and the world in a troubled state, he decided to enlist in the U.S. Army.

            Early in his working career, Harry Truman joined the National Guard where he paid twenty-five cents a week for the privilege of drilling.  With the start of World War 1 he was elected first lieutenant of the Missouri's Second Field Artillery.  When he was sent to Europe he was promoted to captain and placed in command of Battery "Dizzy D".  It was a troubled battery which he soon whipped into shape.  They participated in the offensive of the Saint-Mihiel Salient and the Argonne Forest.  The Argonne Forest was the biggest battle the Americans fought in the "Great War".  In 1919, at the end of the war, Truman was a major and he returned home to marry Bess Wallace and pursue his career. 

            His political career started locally and he was eventually elected a U.S. senator.  During World War II, he became prominent as the chairman of the senate committee that exposed waste in the war effort.  In 1944, Harry S Truman was put on the democratic ticket with FDR and they won the election.  After FDR’s death, it was Truman’s duty to bring the World War to an end and help to establish a foreign policy with allies and defeated enemies.  Thrust into the presidency on April 12^th, 1945 Truman had a difficult road ahead of him.

            Upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Truman was informed about the Manhattan Project.  This project was the United States plan to develop the atomic bomb.  It was so secretive that Truman’s senate committee on war waste did not know about the twenty billion dollar price tag of this effort that started in 1942.  The war in the Pacific consisted of defeating the Japanese by “island hopping”.  This would allow the American forces to get closer to the mainland of Japan.  The goal was to control an island close enough to have an air strip to bomb Japan.  This would also provide a base for the allied invasion of the Japanese homeland.  As the American forces got closer to Japan, the Japanese fought with more fanatic desperation.  It was at this point that Truman had to decide whether to invade Japan or use the atomic bomb. 

When the Americans invaded the island of Okinawa which is part of Japan’s soil, the Japanese soldiers fought even harder.  Many of the civilians committed suicide because they were afraid of the Americans because of the propaganda they had received.  After this fierce battle it became obvious that a direct invasion of the Japanese homeland would be extremely costly in military and civilian lives.  It is estimated that there would have been one half to one million American casualties if Japan was invaded.  This is when President Truman decided to drop the atomic bombs, Fat Man and Little Boy on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  Although the initial casualties were twenty to forty thousand it is estimated that two hundred thousand people eventually died from these bomb blasts.  President Truman and his military advisors decided that saving lives at the expense of a few and ending the war sooner would be best for humanity.  The airplane, Enola Gay, left the island of Tinian and dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6^th, 1945.  Japan surrendered on September 2^nd, 1945 in Tokyo Harbor on the battleship Missouri.  Truman’s decision on dropping the atomic bombs had been controversial even though it helped to end World War II.  Harry S. Truman became President at a critical time in world history.  He had to make decisions on Israel, Civil Rights, his commanders and the United States intervention into world affairs.  His decisions helped to shape our world and future.