page_title: Harry S. Truman
section_title: Presidency
hierarchical_section_title: Harry S. Truman / Presidency
caption_attribution_description: English: Hiroshima Aftermath, cropped version with writing of Paul Tibbets
context_page_description: Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States, from 1945 to 1953. He became president when President Franklin D. Roosevelt died in office.
  As president, Truman made important foreign policy decisions, such as using atomic weapons on Japan to end World War II; repairing Europe; beginning the Cold War, and getting the U.S. involved in the Korean War.
context_section_description: About becoming President, Truman said: "it felt like the moon, the stars, and all of the planets had fallen upon me."
  Truman had become president during the last few months of World War II. While Truman was vice president, Roosevelt never told him much about World War II. At that time, people did not think of the Vice Presidency as an important job in politics. Because of this, Truman entered the presidency knowing not much more than the average person about what the U.S. military was doing in World War II.
  Nazi Germany surrendered less than a month after Truman became president. This ended the war in Europe. However, the Japanese kept fighting. The Allies of World War II made the Potsdam Declaration, telling Japan to surrender or it would face "prompt and utter destruction." Japan did not surrender, so Truman ordered the first atomic bomb to be dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6th, 1945. Three days later, Truman ordered the second atomic bomb to be dropped on Nagasaki, Japan. Japan surrendered and the war ended.
  The huge destructive power of the atomic bombs razed both cities, and killed over one hundred thousand people, with many more dying of radiation induced illnesses over subsequent years. People who disagreed with the decision, like General and future president Dwight Eisenhower, believe it was a cruel and inhumane attack on innocent people, when Japan was already close to being beaten. Other people thought it was a good decision because it ended the war early. Truman thought that if the U.S. had invaded Japan instead of using the bombs to end the war quickly, many more Americans would have died.
caption: Hiroshima after being hit by the first atomic bomb
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