Britannica Student Encyclopedia - 2010

France and then returned to the United

States in 1919. That year he married

Elizabeth (Bess)Wallace. They had one

daughter.

With an Army friend, Truman opened a

men’s clothing store in Kansas City. The

business failed in the early 1920s.

Political Career

The Democrats who controlled Kansas

City got Truman elected as a county

judge in 1922. In 1934 he won a seat in

the U.S. Senate.

In 1944 President Roosevelt chose Truman

as his vice presidential running

mate. After winning the election,

Roosevelt died suddenly on April 12,

1945. Truman then became president.

Presidency

WorldWar II in Europe soon ended,

but war with Japan continued. Hoping

to prevent more U.S. deaths by making

Harry S. Truman was the 33rd president of

the United States.

100 Truman, Harry S. BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

 

Japan surrender, Truman decided to use

the newly invented atomic bomb in

Japan. In early August 1945 U.S. airplanes

dropped atomic bombs on the

cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The

bombs killed more than 100,000 men,

women, and children. Japan surrendered

on August 14, 1945.

After the war Truman helped the

United States join the United Nations,

a new international peace organization.

He also introduced the Truman

Doctrine. That policy said that the

United States would fight the spread of

Communism, the political system of

the Soviet Union.

In 1948 Truman approved the Marshall

Plan. Under the plan the United States

sent billions of dollars to help rebuild

Europe. By strengthening the economies

of western Europe, the plan prevented

Communism from spreading there.

That year Truman also ordered desegregation

(the mixing of races) in the U.S.

military.

After beginning his second term in

1949, Truman presented a program of

reforms called the Fair Deal. He wanted

more public housing, more money for

education, higher wages, governmentprotected

civil rights, and national

health insurance. Congress did not pass

most of the Fair Deal reforms, but citizens

debated Truman’s ideas for years to

come.

The KoreanWar began during Truman’s

second term. In 1950 Communist

North Korea invaded South Korea.

Backed by the United Nations, Truman

ordered U.S. military forces to help

South Korea. The war dragged on past

the end of Truman’s presidency.

Retirement and Death

After his term ended in 1953, Truman

retired to Independence, Missouri. He

May 8, April 12, August December 26,

1884 1944 1945 1945 1950 1953 1972

Truman is

born in Lamar,

Missouri.

Truman is

elected vice

president under

Franklin D.

Roosevelt.

Roosevelt dies;

Truman

becomes

president.

Truman orders

atomic bombs

dropped on

Japan; World

War II ends.

The Korean

War begins.

Truman retires

from office.

Truman dies in

Kansas City,

Missouri.

T I M E L I N E

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Truman, Harry S. 101

 

died in Kansas City, Missouri, on

December 26, 1972.

#More to explore

Communism • KoreanWar • Roosevelt,

Franklin D. • United Nations • United

States •WorldWar II

Truth, Sojourner

Sojourner Truth spoke out against slavery

and for women’s rights in the

1800s. Her courage and powerful way of

speaking helped the causes of both African

Americans and women in the

United States.

Early Life

Truth was born a slave in the U.S. state

of New York in about 1797. She was

originally named Isabella Baumfree.

Isabella worked for several different

owners. Her last owner, Isaac VanWagener,

freed her just before slavery ended

in New York in 1827. Isabella took the

last name VanWagener.

Speaking Out

In 1829 Isabella moved to New York

City and worked as a house cleaner. In

1843 she left New York to become a

traveling preacher. She also changed her

name to Sojourner Truth.

Truth discovered that some people had

started working to end slavery. This

movement was called abolitionism. She

began speaking out against slavery in the

late 1840s. She soon became a popular

abolitionist speaker throughout the

North and the Midwest. In 1850 Truth

published her life story, called The Narrative

of Sojourner Truth.

Truth also defended women’s rights. She

complained that women could not vote

or serve on juries. She also pointed out

that they received less money than men

for the same work.

Later Years

After the American CivilWar started in

1861, Truth became even more famous.

In 1864 she visitedWashington, D.C.,

where she met President Abraham Lincoln.

Also in 1864 Truth took a job with

the National Freedmen’s Relief Association,

a group that helped former slaves.

In 1875 Truth retired to her home in

Battle Creek, Michigan. She died there

on November 26, 1883.

#More to explore

Abolitionist Movement • African

Sojourner Truth Americans •Women’s Rights

102 Truth, Sojourner BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

 

Tsar

When Russia had a royal family, the

emperor was called the tsar. A Russian

empress’s title was tsarina, a prince’s title

was tsarevich, and a princess’s title was

tsarevna. Tsars ruled Russia from 1547

to 1917.

The term tsar (also spelled czar) is the

Russian version of Caesar, the family

name of Julius Caesar and the first

emperors of Rome. The link between

Rome and Russia was the Byzantine

Empire, which began as the eastern

branch of the Roman Empire and fell in