Harry+S+Truman

Truman while in office one of the least popular presidents in modern American history he won a surprising second term by defeating Republican Thomas Dewey in the election of 1948. Many historians today rate Truman's performance much more positively than did his constituents at the time. Truman served as president of the United States and, therefore, Commander in Chief of the United States military during the final months of World War II. Under his command the U.S. dropped two atomic bombs the first to be used in warfare on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, effectively ending the war. For many Americans, Truman's legacy as the nation's leader centers on these controversial decisions. When Harry S. Truman assumed the Presidency on April 12, 1945, victory in World War II was close, but not at hand. Key events over the next five months included the The Surrender of Germany the Potsdam Conference of the Big Three Allies, the decision to drop the Atomic Bomb, and the surrender of Japan and conclusion of the war