As Secretary of State Acheson increased his pressure on Truman, the president stood alone in his administration as his own top appointees wanted to normalize relations. Navy's Seventh Fleet into the Taiwan Strait to prevent further conflict between the communist government on the China mainland and the Republic of China (ROC) in Taiwan. NATO's goals were to contain Soviet expansion in Europe and to send a clear message to communist leaders that the world's democracies were willing and able to build new security structures in support of democratic ideals. The war remained a frustrating stalemate for two years, with over 30,000 Americans killed, until an armistice ended the fighting in 1953.citation needed Truman and his generals considered the use of nuclear weapons against the Chinese army, but ultimately chose not to escalate the war to a nuclear level.

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South Carolina Governor Strom Thurmond, a segregationist, declared his candidacy for the presidency on a Dixiecrat ticket and led a full-scale revolt of Southern "states' rights" proponents. Truman took a considerable political risk in backing civil rights, and many seasoned Democrats were concerned the loss of Dixiecrat support might seriously weaken the party. A sharp address given by Mayor Hubert Humphrey of Minneapolis—as well as the local political interests of a number of urban bosses—convinced the convention to adopt a stronger civil rights plank, which Truman approved wholeheartedly. At the 1948 Democratic National Convention, Truman attempted to unify the party with a vague civil rights plank in the party platform. In the spring of 1948, Truman's public approval rating stood at 36 percent, and the president was nearly universally regarded as incapable of winning the general election.

World War I

Marshall believed the paramount threat to the United States was the Soviet Union and feared Arab oil would be lost to the United States in the event of war; he warned Truman the United States was "playing with fire with nothing to put it out". Secretary of Defense James Forrestal warned Truman of the importance of Saudi Arabian oil in another war; Truman replied he would decide his policy on the basis of justice, not oil. The Berlin Airlift was one of Truman's great foreign policy successes; betory casino registration it significantly aided his election campaign in 1948. On November 4, 1952, Truman authorized the official, though at the time, confidential creation of the National Security Agency (NSA). He won bipartisan support for both the Truman Doctrine, which formalized a policy of Soviet containment, and the Marshall Plan, which aimed to help rebuild postwar Europe. As a Wilsonian internationalist, Truman supported Roosevelt's policy in favor of the creation of the United Nations and included Eleanor Roosevelt on the delegation to the first UN General Assembly.

• To show their appreciation for his leadership, his men presented him with a large loving cup upon their return to the United States after the war.
• Truman’s domestic and foreign policies have a lasting impact on American history, shaping the nation’s approach to global conflict, economic recovery, and civil rights.
• The 1948 presidential election is remembered for Truman’s stunning come-from-behind victory.
• Despite this controversy, scholars rank Truman in the first quartile of U.S. presidents.
• Upon leaving the presidency, Truman returned to Independence, Missouri, to live at the Wallace home, which he and Bess had shared for years with her mother.
• After the war, Truman almost always wore a bronze World War I victory lapel pin as a memento of his overseas service.
• Vice President Harry S. Truman was sworn in as president of the United States on April 12, 1945, after the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who died suddenly of a cerebral hemorrhage.

U.S. Senator from Missouri

Is flat a good deal of the time—more last night than at any time we have heard her in past years … When Attorney General J. Howard McGrath fired the special prosecutor in early 1952 for being too zealous, Truman fired McGrath. The high court's reversal of Truman's order was one of the notable defeats of his presidency. Truman cited his authority as commander in chief and the need to maintain an uninterrupted supply of steel for munitions for the war in Korea. On November 1, 1950, Puerto Rican nationalists Griselio Torresola and Oscar Collazo attempted to assassinate Truman at Blair House. Truman called the Act "the greatest danger to freedom of speech, press, and assembly since the Alien and Sedition Laws of 1798", a "mockery of the Bill of Rights" and a "long step toward totalitarianism".

Calls for civil rights

• Although Europe was relatively safe and the war was nearly over, the Japanese front was still raging.
• Truman took a considerable political risk in backing civil rights, and many seasoned Democrats were concerned the loss of Dixiecrat support might seriously weaken the party.
• Between 1940 and 1944, he gained national prominence as the chairman of the Truman Committee, which aimed to reduce waste and inefficiency in wartime contracts.
• In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Medicare bill at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum and gave the first two Medicare cards to Truman and his wife Bess to honor the former president’s fight for government health care while in office.
• Truman is the only president since William McKinley (elected in 1896) who did not earn a college degree.
• Secretary of Defense James Forrestal warned Truman of the importance of Saudi Arabian oil in another war; Truman replied he would decide his policy on the basis of justice, not oil.

They won the election and Truman became the Vice President. In 1944, Franklin D. Roosevelt ran for Presidency for the 4th time. When he returned from war, he again had to struggle to find a secure job. His leadership during the final stages of World War II, the beginning of the Cold War, and the Korean War reflects his commitment to U.S. interests and international stability.
Campaign manager William J. Bray said Truman took this advice, and spoke personally and passionately, sometimes even setting aside his notes to talk to Americans "of everything that is in my heart and soul." They are strong for labor—but they are stronger for restricting labor's rights. Truman delivered an aggressive acceptance speech attacking the 80th Congress, which Truman called the "Do Nothing Congress", and promising to win the election and "make these Republicans like it". We must ensure that these rights – on equal terms – are enjoyed by every citizen.
It was long believed that Truman's retirement years were financially difficult, resulting in Congress establishing a pension for former presidents. He was eligible for reelection in 1952 but he chose not to run due to poor polling. Congress refused, so Truman issued Executive Order 9980 and Executive Order 9981, which prohibited discrimination in agencies of the federal government and desegregated the United States Armed Forces. Domestically, the postwar economic challenges such as strikes and inflation created a mixed reaction over the effectiveness of his administration. Truman's administration engaged in an internationalist foreign policy by working closely with Britain. Truman authorized the first and only use of nuclear weapons in war against the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

In that speech, Truman laid out the need to end discrimination, which would be advanced by the first comprehensive, presidentially proposed civil rights legislation. The main mission of the committee was to expose and fight waste and corruption in the gigantic government wartime contracts. Despite his supportive stance on civil rights during his presidency, Truman expressed criticism of the civil rights movement during the 1960s. Truman worked to garner private donations to build a presidential library, which he donated to the federal government to maintain and operate—a practice adopted by his successors. In February 1948, the president submitted a civil rights agenda to Congress that proposed creating several federal offices devoted to issues such as voting rights and fair employment practices.

Blair House and assassination attempt

He participated in a conference at Potsdam, Germany and worked to lay groundwork for the final stage of the war against Japan. As President, Truman oversaw the ending of the war in Europe. This committee, which came to be called the Truman Committee, sought with considerable success to ensure that defense contractors delivered to the nation quality goods at fair prices. Truman gained national prominence as chairman of the Senate Special Committee to Investigate the National Defense Program.