August 3, 2009



Born in 1884, the Missouri farm boy went on to become the 33rd president of the USA (1945 - 1953). Harry Truman was the last president without a university education, bringing instead a rural notion of common sense to a complex office. Faced with some of the most difficult decisions of that era, he set policies which have shaped the world.

Tumultuous times brought the atomic bomb, the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe, the Truman Doctrine, Korean War, McCarthyism, recognition of Israel & Pakistan, and creation of NATO.

It was the Cold War fight against communism which largely defined Truman’s presidency. By signing the National Security Act of July 26, 1947, he created today’s Department of Defence, National Security Council, Joint Chiefs of Staff and the CIA.

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