Truman, Harry S.
A political leader of the twentieth century. A Democrat, Truman was president from 1945 to 1953. In 1944, after representing Missouri in the Senate, Truman was elected vice president under President Franklin D. Roosevelt and became president when Roosevelt died. He led the nation in the final months of World War II and made the decision to drop atomic bombs (see also atomic bomb) on Hiroshima (see also Hiroshima) and Nagasaki in Japan. Truman enthusiastically supported the United Nations and put forward the Marshall Plan to aid the recovery of Europe after the war. He sent American troops to support the United Nations in the Korean War, and, in a controversial move, removed General Douglas MacArthur from his command in Korea. (See Truman-MacArthur controversy.)