Harry Truman President Rating

Harry S. Truman can be rated as “Near Great.” Truman started from humble origins and began his dramatic climb from obscurity during the most volatile times in American history. The impressiveness of Truman’s eight years as president lies in his resolve and strong unwavering opinions. He was a firm believer that what has happened in the past can help dictate what will happen in the future. Because of this thinking, he often drew parallels from historical events to help him make decisions in times of crisis. Truman’s tactics and respect for well thought out plans makes him very admirable when he is stacked against the vast majority of impulsive leaders. Harry Truman’s tenacity can be seen in his very active foreign policy programs. Harry Truman was exclusively a wartime president, therefore this shaped his decisive decisions when it came to foreign policy. Specifically Truman was one of the first presidents to have to constantly worry about containing the spread of communism. This initiative can be seen in his creation of the Truman Doctrine, this doctrine stated that America would provide assistance to any Democratic nation under internal or external threat from communism. It is blatantly obvious America is no longer isolationist. By pledging assistance to Greece and Turkey after Britain stopped supporting them, America secured their economical and strategic advantage in the Middle East. Despite the political driving forces Truman also had some personal and moral driving forces, which lead him to extend a protective hand to any Democratic nation in need. Truman also initiated the Marshall Plan, officially the European Recovery Plan, to help rebuild European power in order to fight off communism in the area. Truman understood that when a nation was in crisis or weak it made an easy target for communism. Therefore he did a lot in order to save democratic strongholds in Europe. Truman’s ability to balance personal and political beliefs is very respectable and sets

Bibliography: Kennedy, David M., Lizabeth Cohen, Thomas A. Bailey. The American Pageant:14th Edition. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning, 2010. http://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/TrumanDoctrine http://www.trumanlibrary.org/teacher/doctrine.htm