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Was Harry Truman America’s greatest President?

He ended the Second World War.

Laid the Foundations of NATO. Halting the spread of communism.

Got Europe back on its feet with Marshall Aid.

Halted the spread of communism in Korea.

Was visionary on racial issues at home.
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No. But he was a good one.
peterlee · M
@bijouxbroussard I think most Americans agree with you.

We had Attlee at the time, who is generally regarded as one of , the best UK Prime Ministers.
I cannot rank the greatest President per se as I feel several would be strong candidates. Their degree of Greatness is strongly influenced by the difficulties, world & national events that occurred during their times in office.

Truman was, in my mind, one of the greatest.

OTOH, I look at GWB as having been screwed by 911 and subsequently falling far down in any such rating.
samueltyler2 · 80-89, M
I am not sure who i think was the best. Truman in many ways deservrs to be at least in the top 10.
HumanEarth · F
Andrew Jackson is the only U.S. president who opposed the creation and continuation of the Bank of the United States (often described as centralized banking) and that expired in 1836. Then in Federal Reserve Act, signed by President Woodrow Wilson, which created the Federal Reserve in 1913
AthrillatheHunt · 56-60, M
@HumanEarth stonewall
badminton · 61-69, MVIP
Under Truman the armed forces were desegregated. That's a plus.
I feel the atomic bomb should not have been used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Truman was wrong there.

peterlee · M
@badminton It is thought the bombs shortened the war by two years. Americans were already dying on the beaches of Okinawa. So were many Japanese. My father would have died there too.
craig7 · 70-79, M
@peterlee The Battle of Okinawa,with about 100,000 dead in just over 2 months,was a grim preview of what the Allies could expect in an invasion of Japan's main home islands,which was projected for November 1945.The level of resistance encountered on Okinawa was a big factor in the huge decision taken in late July.
badminton · 61-69, MVIP
@craig7 the Japanese gov't was very close to surrendering. A little more time a,nd they would have. Several top ranked U.S. generals, including Eisenhower, openly stated their opposition to using the atomic bomb on Japan.
whowasthatmaskedman · 70-79, M
But what did he do to bring down the price of Gasoline or reduce taxes on the rich? Thats the problem. What makes a President great shifts with the times. But he was certainly the right man for his time and place..😷
TexChik · F
@peterlee

😂😂😂
peterlee · M
@TexChik Oh dear 🥵
TexChik · F
@peterlee 😉
Of interest: the grandson of BRIGADIER GENERAL PAUL W. TIBBETS JR was a friend and colleague of mine in the Air Force.

General Tibbets is best known as the captain who flew the B-29 Superfortress known as the Enola Gay (named after his mother) when it dropped a Little Boy, the first of two atomic bombs used in warfare, on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.

I never spoke with my colleague about his grandfather and I regret that because I would have liked to know the impact that mission had on him from the POV of a close family member.
peterlee · M
@KunsanVeteran The project was well advanced when Truman took over.

 
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