Harry Truman was the 33rd President of the United States. He was born in Lamar, Mo. on May 8, 1884. Truman never actually went to college and instead worked as a farmer helping his father. He fought in World War I and was a colonel. After marrying Elizabeth Wallace in 1919 Truman became involved in politics and in 1944 ran for vice president with Franklin Roosevelt. They ended up winning the election. But, in 1945, Roosevelt died making Truman president. Truman devoted much of his presidency to foreign affairs. In World War II, he became the first president to use the atomic bomb. He ended up using it twice, one on Hiroshima and another in Nagasaki. Other involvement in foreign affairs include his desire to help new nations. This was part of his plan of containment of Communist Russia. Truman wanted to make sure that new countries would be strong enough to defend themselves against Russia so not to become communist. He did this through the Truman Doctrine, which gave aid to Greece and Turkey, the Marshall Plan, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
