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Harry S. Truman Facts & Worksheets

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Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States (1945-1953). He ascended the presidency after the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and was elected for a full term. Truman ordered the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end WWII. Below are some great facts on President Harry S. Truman or alternatively download our comprehensive worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Early Life:

  • Harry Truman was born on May 8, 1884, in Lamar, Missouri. He was the son of John Anderson Truman and Martha Ellen Young, along with his two siblings, John Vivian and Mary Jane. They moved to Independence, Missouri, where he attended local schools until he graduated high school in 1901. Young Harry was unable to enter college due to financial difficulties. With very few options, he enrolled in Kansas Business School but dropped out after one semester.
  • Truman worked as a timekeeper for a railroad company and as a bank clerk. In addition, he also served in the mailroom of Kansas City Star before returning to Grandview, Missouri, in 1906.
  • From 1905 to 1911, Truman became a member of the Missouri Army National Guard. By 1917, he rejoined the National Guard where he became a member of the 129th Artillery Regiment at the onset of World War I in Europe. From March 1918 until the end of the war in November, he was the battery commander of his regiment deployed to France.
  • On June 28, 1919, he married Elizabeth “Bess” Virginia Wallace, with whom he had a daughter, Mary Margaret.
  • He opened a haberdashery in Kansas City that quickly went bankrupt during the Great Depression.
  • In 1922, he was elected as a judge with administrative work of a county court. After his loss in 1924, he was then elected as a presiding judge of the same county in 1926 until 1933.
  • By 1934, he was elected to and remained in the U.S. Senate for a decade.
  • During the 1944 election, he was chosen by the Democratic Party as the vice presidential running mate of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Both of them won the election.
  • On April 12, 1945, after being Roosevelt’s vice president for 82 days, he was summoned to the White House by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt with the news that the President had died.

His Presidency:

  • On April 12, 1945, Harry S. Truman took his oath as the 33rd President of the United States at the Cabinet Room in the White House. By May 8, 1945, Victory in Europe Day was proclaimed after the official surrender of the Germans to the Allies. World War II in Europe ended.
  • By April 25, 1945, U.S. Secretary of War informed the President of the developed atomic bomb. After the consistent refusal of the Japanese Imperial Army to surrender, Truman ordered the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. On August 9, the second bomb was dropped in Nagasaki. Five days later, Japan officially surrendered.
  • In September 1945, Truman presented his 21-point, post-war agenda to Congress. A part of this was the delegation to the United Nation’s First General Assembly that was held on
  • January 10, 1946, in Westminster, London. Former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt became one of the delegates.
  • On March 12, 1947, the “Truman Doctrine” was delivered to Congress. It urged Congress to aid Greece and Turkey from falling into Soviet Union control. In less than two months, he signed the approved appropriation.
  • President Truman vetoed the Taft-Hartley Act on June 20, 1947. The act aimed to cut the power of labor unions. It was overridden by Congress three days later.
  • In July 1947, he signed the National Security Act, which later merged the Department of War and the Navy, creating the now-known Department of Defense. In addition, it created the U.S. Air Force, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the National Security Council.
  • On June 24, 1948, the Soviet Union blocked overland access to West Berlin. As a response, Truman ordered the airlifting of supplies to West Berlin. In May 1949, the blockade was lifted by the Soviet Union.
  • During the 1948 election, Truman won the election to a full term. After a year, he proposed the “Fair Deal” program during his State of the Union Address. One of which was the signed Housing Act of 1949. By April 1949, he supported the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
  • The invasion of South Korea by North Korea in 1950 led to the advancement of American troops in Japan and Korea to the north. In addition, United Nations troops went too.
  • In September 1950, Congress passed the McCarran Internal Security Act due to fear of communist subversion. It was vetoed by Truman but later overridden by Congress. Truman refused to run for reelection in 1952.

Post Presidency & Death:

  • In 1955 and 1956, two volumes of his self-written memoir were published. His $112 monthly army pension was not sufficient and writing his memoir added income. The Congress came to know about his financial struggle, which led to the passage of the Former Presidents Act in 1958. It provided a $25,000 annual pension to former U.S. Presidents.
    By 1956, he received an honorary degree in Civil Law from Oxford University. After a year, Congress passed the bill for the appropriation of funds for organizing presidential papers as wished by Truman.
  • On July 6, 1957, the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum in Independence, Missouri, was dedicated. Truman himself maintained his office until his last years. In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Medicare Act inside the library before giving the Trumans their own Medicare card.
  • On December 5, 1972, Truman was admitted to the Research Hospital and Medical Center in Kansas City after contracting pneumonia. After 21 days, he died of multiple organ failure. The former First Lady declined a state funeral. A memorial service was held at Washington National Cathedral a week after his funeral. It was attended by officials from Washington and foreign dignitaries.
  • His body was interred in the grounds of his Presidential Library on December 27, 1972.
  • In 1984, he was awarded with a posthumous United States Congressional Gold Medal. His home in Independence and Grandview were designated as National Historic Sites.

President Harry S. Truman Worksheets

This bundle contains 11 ready-to-use President Harry S. Truman Worksheets that are perfect for students who want to learn more about Harry S. Truman who was the 33rd President of the United States (1945-1953). He ascended the presidency after the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and was elected for a full term. Truman ordered the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end WWII.

Download includes the following worksheets:

  • Harry S. Truman Facts
  • Haberdasher Harry
  • United Nations
  • The Truman Show
  • Presidential Libraries
  • Japan and the Atomic Bombs
  • U.S. Department of Defense
  • 21 Points
  • Truman Doctrine
  • Cartoon Analysis
  • Truman Administration
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Link will appear as Harry S. Truman Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, August 11, 2017

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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