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Harry S Truman
March 22, 1947: Truman orders loyalty checks of federal employees
In response to public fears and Congressional investigations into communism in the United States, President Harry S. Truman issues an executive decree establishing a sweeping loyalty investigation of federal employees.
As the Cold War began to develop after World War II, fears concerning communist activity in the United States, particularly in the federal government, increased. Congress had already launched investigations of communist influence in Hollywood, and laws banning communists from teaching positions were being instituted in several states. Of most concern to the Truman administration, however, were persistent charges that communists were operating in federal offices. In response to these fears and concerns, Truman issued an executive order on March 21, 1947, which set up a program to check the loyalty of federal employees. In announcing his order, Truman indicated that he expected all federal workers to demonstrate "complete and unswerving loyalty" the United States. Anything less, he declared, "constitutes a threat to our democratic processes."
The basic elements of Truman's order established the framework for a wide-ranging and powerful government apparatus to perform loyalty checks. Loyalty boards were to be set up in every department and agency of the federal government. Using lists of "totalitarian, fascist, communist, or subversive" organizations provided by the attorney general, and relying on investigations by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, these boards were to review every employee. If there existed "reasonable grounds" to doubt an employee's loyalty, he or she would be dismissed. A Loyalty Review Board was set up under the Civil Service Commission to deal with employees' appeals.
Truman's loyalty program resulted in the discovery of only a few employees whose loyalty could be "reasonably" doubted. Nevertheless, for a time his order did quiet some of the criticism that his administration was "soft" on communism. Matters changed dramatically in 1949-1950. The Soviets developed an atomic bomb, China fell to the communists, and Senator Joseph McCarthy made the famous speech in which he declared that there were over 200 "known communists" in the Department of State. Once again, charges were leveled that the Truman administration was "coddling" communists, and in response, the Red Scare went into full swing.
November 2, 1948; "DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN."???
In the greatest upset in presidential history, Democratic incumbent Harry S. Truman defeats his Republican challenger, Governor Thomas E. Dewey of New York, by just over two million popular votes. In the days preceding the vote, political analysts and polls were so behind Dewey that on election night, long before all the votes were counted, the Chicago Tribune published an early edition with the banner headline "DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN."
Approaching the 1948 presidential election, Harry S. Truman, who was thrust into the presidency by Roosevelt's unexpected death in 1945, seemed to stand a slim chance of retaining the White House. Despite demonstrating effective leadership at the end of World War II, and a sound vision in the confused postwar world, many voters still viewed Truman as an ineffectual shadow of his predecessor. Truman also antagonized southern Democrats with his civil rights initiatives, and it seemed certain that Dewey would take the White House.
However, in the last weeks before the election, Truman embarked on a "whistle-stop" campaign across the U.S. in defiance of consistent poor showings in the polls. Truman traveled to America's cities and towns, fighting to win over undecided voters by portraying himself as an outsider contending with a "do-nothing" Congress. Truman, a one-time farmer who was elevated to the pinnacle of American politics because of his reputation for honesty and integrity, won the nation's affection.
November 1, 1950; Puerto Rican nationalists tried to assassinate President Truman.
Griselio Torresola and Oscar Collazo attempt to assassinate President Harry S. Truman at the Blair House in Washington, D.C. Truman, who had avoided an attempt on his life from the right-wing Israeli Stern Gang a few years earlier, escaped unscathed.
In the autumn of 1950, the White House was being renovated and President Truman and his family were living in the nearby Blair House on Pennsylvania Avenue. On the afternoon of November 1, Truman and his wife were upstairs when they heard a commotion on the front steps of the house. Alerted by the sound of gunshots, Bess Truman glanced out the window and exclaimed, "Harry, someone's shooting our policemen!"
Indeed, the pair of would-be assassins had strolled up to the front door of Blair House and opened fire. They never made it past the entry steps, however, due to the quick reaction of police officers and guards. Secret Service Agent Leslie Coffelt was mortally wounded in the ensuing melee, shot in the chest, abdomen, and legs, managed to shoot Torresola in the head before losing consciousness, and the assailant died instantly.
A moment later, the wounded Collazo was subdued, and the shoot-out ended with approximately thirty shots having been fired in less than three minutes. Leslie Coffelt died in a hospital less than four hours later, but the other two wounded officers recovered. Collazo later revealed to police just how poorly planned the assassination attempt was: the assailants were unsure if Truman would even be in the house when they launched their attack at 2 o'clock in the afternoon.Torresola and Collazo were political activists and members of the extremist Puerto Rican Nationalist Party, a group fighting for full independence from the United States. Ironically, Truman had actually contributed to U.S. efforts to grant Puerto Rico greater autonomy, and two years before had approved a measure allowing Puerto Ricans to manage their own internal affairs under a freely elected governor.The "Independistas," as they were commonly called, targeted Truman despite his support of greater Puerto Rican autonomy. Apparently unfazed by the attempt on his life, Truman kept his scheduled appointments for the day. "A President has to expect these things," he remarked dryly.
Oscar Collazo was sentenced to death, but in an admirable act of forgiveness on July 24, 1952, Truman commuted the sentence to life imprisonment.
JANUARY 9, 1952 Truman warns of Cold War dangers
In his 1952 State of the Union address, President Harry S. Truman warns Americans that they are "moving through a perilous time," and calls for vigorous action to meet the communist threat.
Though Truman's popularity had nose-dived during the previous 18 months because of complaints about the way that he handled the Korean War, his speech received a standing ovation from congressmen and special guest Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
Truman spent much of his speech addressing foreign policy concerns. The primary focus was on meeting the communist challenge. The president declared that the United States was confronted with "a terrible threat of aggression." He also pointed with pride to U.S. action in meeting that threat. In Korea, combined U.S. and United Nations forces "turned back the Chinese Communist invasion;" elsewhere in Asia, U.S. assistance to its allies was helping to "hold back the Communist advance;" and in Europe and the Middle East, the fight against Soviet expansion was also ongoing.
Truman was particularly proud of the Point Four program, which provided U.S. scientific and technical assistance (such as in the field of agriculture) to the underdeveloped world, claiming that it helped "feed the whole world so we would not have to stomach communism." There could be no slacking of effort, however, since the Soviet Union was "increasing its armed might," and with the Soviet acquisition of atomic bomb technology, the world was still walking "in the shadow of another world war."
Truman's speech was a stirring rebuttal to domestic critics like Senator Joseph McCarthy, who attacked Truman's "softness" on communism. It was also an effort to recapture political momentum as he prepared for the 1952 presidential election. Perhaps the speech, in which Truman confronted both the successes and failures of his administration, helped swing a few voters his way, but it was too few to help--he lost the election to Dwight D. Eisenhower.
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