Harry S Truman finally became the thirty-third president after FDR's death from polio complications on April 12, 1945. The day he became President, he told reporters, "I felt like the moon, the stars, and all the planets had fallen on me." Truman's presidency fell at a very critical time. He had to deal with the war and was preparing for the difficulties of international post war readjustment.

Following Germany's surrender on May 8, 1945, Truman attended the Potsdam Conference to duscuss the post-war European settlement. To end the war with Japan, he ordered the atomic bombs to be dropped on Japan.

After the conclusion of World War II, Stalin established communist governments in Eastern European countries so that he could protect the interests of the Soviet Union. Truman became concerned about the spread of communism. In 1947 he announced his "Truman Doctrine" which promised U.S. support to all countries fighting communism. Later that year, Secretary of State George Marshall offered the "Marshall Plan" to help rebuild the war-ravaged European countries. Stalin dismissed this aid as a capitalist plot. The Cold War between the two superpowers, the U.S. and Soviet Union, began. Not only had Truman witnessed the end of World War II, but the beginning of a conflict that would last for several decades.

Truman's Blair-House

Truman built upon many of FDR's policies to expand social security and other programs. This became known as the "Fair Deal." Truman was a supporter of civil rights, which was reflected in his policies, despite the fact that the nation was not ready to accept them.

Truman's presidency was not marked without problems. On November 1, 1950, an assassination attempt was made on Truman. Two Puerto Rican nationalists, Oscar Callazo and Griesselo Torresola, attempted to shoot their way into Truman's bedroom; however, this attempt failed. Callazo and Torresola were both shot and killed trying to escape.