Harry S. Truman

President Harry S. Truman was born on May 8, 1884 in Lamar, Missouri and was raised in Independence. When the United States entered World War I in 1917, Truman enlisted in the Army, serving first as an artillery instructor. In Europe, he earned his men's respect and distinguished himself as captain of an artillery battery.

• Returning home after the war, Truman was elected a judge of the Jackson County Court in 1922.
• He later served as a U.S. Senator from Missouri from 1935-1945.
• During World War II, he headed the Senate war investigating committee, checking into waste and corruption and saving perhaps as much as 15 billion dollars.
• President Franklin D. Roosevelt selected Truman as his vice-presidential running mate on the way to winning an unprecedented fourth term in 1944.
• Eighty-two days after taking their oaths of office, Roosevelt died, leaving Truman to serve as president during the final months of World War II.
• Truman won election to a full term as president in 1948.
• Major developments during his presidency included the formation of NATO, the start of the Cold War, establishment of a postwar economy, and racial integration of the armed services.