Truman Dies: Architect of the Cold War Order
Harry Truman died in December 1972, eighty-eight years old. He left the presidency in 1953 with an approval rating around 32 percent. Historians have spent the decades since reconsidering. He was the one who ordered the atomic bombs dropped on Japan. He was the one who integrated the military by executive order in 1948. He launched the Marshall Plan, the NATO alliance, the Truman Doctrine. A haberdasher from Missouri who became president because Franklin Roosevelt died and kept it because nobody thought he'd win in 1948. He won anyway, and the newspapers had already printed the other result.
December 26, 1972
54 years ago
What Else Happened on December 26
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