Harry S Truman

Question 1

Who was President Truman?

Answer 1

Harry S Truman was the 33rd President of the United States, holding office from 1945 to 1953.

Question 2

Who did Truman succeed?

Answer 2

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Question 3

Who did Truman precede?

Answer 3

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Question 4

What challenges did Truman face?

Answer 4

He oversaw huge challenges both domestically and internationally as America transitioned from fighting the Second World War in 1945 to the onset of the Cold War between 1947 and 1949.

Question 5

What were Truman’s most important philosophies?

Answer 5

His policy of the Truman Doctrine and the policy of the containment became the cornerstone of American foreign policy for decades

Question 6

What was the biggest criticism Truman faced?

Answer 6

In the years after his presidency he faced huge criticism as the president who ‘lost China to communism’.

Question 7

What actions did Truman take in support of civil rights?

Answer 7

❖In 1946, he set up the President’s Committee on Civil Rights, which aimed to abolish segregation.
❖He ended segregation in the armed forces by issuing executive order 9981 on 26th July, 1948.

Question 8

What was the impact of President Truman’s civil rights policies?

Answer 8

❖White people in the southern states were horrified.
❖In 1948, some members broke away from the Democrat Party to create the States’ Rights Democratic Party, nicknamed the ‘Dixiecrats’.
❖It gained President Truman support from African Americans, which helped in the 1948 elections.