Truman: Cold War Warrior or Atomic Bomb Bully?

Harry Truman is often heralded as one of the greatest presidents in U.S. history. He earned his place in legend with the decision to drop the atomic bomb on the Japanese, which has traditionally been considered instrumental in their surrender, and through his harsh cold war stance illustrated by the Truman Doctrine. Of course any champion of the American cause is to be pictured as a masculine figure, whom triumphed over the evils of the world and locked horns with mighty leaders around the world. One might be surprised to discover that Truman in fact was not the spitting image of a mighty hero, but a man whom once referred to himself as a "sissy".¹ 

Courtesy of Naval History and Heritage Command

Courtesy of Truman Library

How does the young feminine featured Truman on the left, one who sported "coke-bottle thick glasses" and was oft the target of grade school bullying2, become the strong confident champion of global diplomacy and nuclear warfare pictured on the right? A transformation that took a young man whom was chased home from school into his mothers embrace, ran failing business ventures, was unable to properly court his wife, who was then thrust into office on the hard work and determination of others to him becoming an undeniable politician capable of dictating post WWII conditions at the Potsdam conference. It makes you wonder if U.S. foreign policy would be dictated by the deeply fostered feelings of a distressed youth ripe with new found power or the minds behind the political maneuvering be the ones to you 'yes man' Truman to dictate cold war policy?

To me it would seem to that the answer is that this was a transition powered by nuclear energy. The bomb gave Truman the power to dictate on his terms, a position he was not accustomed to in regards to his youth and upbringing. Potsdam began with a reserved Truman, but ended with a bully of man whom flaunted his arrogance. A Soviet Marshal, Georgii Konstantinovich Zhukov, reflected upon observing Stalin receiving the news of the U.S. atomic bomb; "It was clear already then that the US Government intended to use the atomic weapon for the purpose of achieving its Imperialist goals from a position of strength in "the cold war." This was amply corroborated on August 6 and 8. Without any military need whatsoever, the Americans dropped two atomic bombs on the peaceful and densely-populated Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki."3 This was one of many observations among dignitaries which documented their interpretations of perhaps the very moment the Cold War started.

The power behind the throne aside, a confirmed successful bomb test and Potsdam marked a clear shift in Truman's attitude and of the appropriated use of the atomic bomb. From this point forward the U.S.(with Truman at the helm) would dictate Cold War policy with the atomic bomb in their hands.

1. Oliver Stone and Peter Kuznick, The Untold History of The United States (New York: Gallery Books, 2012), 140

2. Oliver Stone and Peter Kuznick, The Untold History of The United States (New York: Gallery Books, 2012), 141
3. http://www.dannen.com/decision/potsdam.html