<P> Harry S. Truman ( May 8 , 1884 -- December 26 , 1972 ) was the 33rd President of the United States ( 1945 -- 1953 ) , taking office upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt . A World War I veteran , he assumed the presidency during the waning months of World War II and the beginning of the Cold War . He is known for implementing the Marshall Plan to rebuild the economy of Western Europe , for establishing the Truman Doctrine and NATO against Soviet and Chinese Communism , and for intervening in the Korean War . In domestic affairs , he was a moderate Democrat whose liberal proposals were a continuation of Franklin Roosevelt 's New Deal , but the conservative - dominated Congress blocked most of them . He used the veto power 180 times , more than any president since and saw 12 overridden by Congress ; only Grover Cleveland and Franklin D. Roosevelt used the veto more often , and only Gerald Ford and Andrew Johnson saw so many veto overrides . He is the only world leader to have used nuclear weapons in war . He desegregated the U.S. Armed Forces , supported a newly independent Israel and was a founder of the United Nations . </P>
<P> Harry S. Truman ( May 8 , 1884 -- December 26 , 1972 ) was the 33rd President of the United States ( 1945 -- 1953 ) , taking office upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt . A World War I veteran , he assumed the presidency during the waning months of World War II and the beginning of the Cold War . He is known for implementing the Marshall Plan to rebuild the economy of Western Europe , for establishing the Truman Doctrine and NATO against Soviet and Chinese Communism , and for intervening in the Korean War . In domestic affairs , he was a moderate Democrat whose liberal proposals were a continuation of Franklin Roosevelt 's New Deal , but the conservative - dominated Congress blocked most of them . He used the veto power 180 times , more than any president since and saw 12 overridden by Congress ; only Grover Cleveland and Franklin D. Roosevelt used the veto more often , and only Gerald Ford and Andrew Johnson saw so many veto overrides . He is the only world leader to have used nuclear weapons in war . He desegregated the U.S. Armed Forces , supported a newly independent Israel and was a founder of the United Nations . </P>
who was president when world war 2 ended
who was president when world war 2 ended
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman