Truman faced many challenges in domestic affairs. The disorderly postwar reconversion of the
economy of the United States was marked by severe shortages, numerous strikes, and the passage of the
Taft–Hartley Act over his
veto. He confounded all predictions to win election in
1948, helped by his famous
Whistle Stop Tour of rural America. After his election, he passed only one of the proposals in his
Fair Deal program. He used executive orders to end racial discrimination in the armed forces and created loyalty checks that dismissed thousands of
communist supporters from office. Truman's presidency was also eventful in
foreign affairs, with the defeat of Nazi Germany and his decision to use
nuclear weapons against Japan, the founding of the
United Nations, the
Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe, the
Truman Doctrine to contain communism, the beginning of the
Cold War, the
Berlin Airlift, the creation of the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO),
Chinese Civil War, and the
Korean War. Corruption in Truman's administration, which was linked to certain members in the
cabinet and senior White House staff, was a central issue in the
1952 presidential campaign and helped cause
Adlai Stevenson, Truman's successor for the Democratic nomination for the presidency, to lose to Republican
Dwight D. Eisenhower in the
1952 presidential election.
Truman, in sharp contrast to the imperious Roosevelt who kept personal control of all major decisions, was a folksy, unassuming president who relied on his cabinet. He popularized such phrases as "
The buck stops here" and "If you can't stand the heat, you better get out of the kitchen."
[2] His approval ratings in the polls started out very high, then steadily sank until he was one of the most unpopular men to leave the White House.
[3][4] Popular and scholarly assessments of his presidency eventually became more positive after his retirement from politics. Truman's legendary
upset victory in 1948 over
Thomas E. Dewey is routinely invoked by underdog presidential candidates.
