Essay Instructions: I have placed my thesis at the end of these guidelines. Please follow it directly. I would like to have a title page, signature page, approval sheet, footnotes, bibliography page, references page, and works cited page. I need the at least 6 of the following sources to be used:
National Archives and Records Administration, Harry S. Truman Library & Museum, 2004, Feburary 28, 2004,
American Presidents: Life Portraits, CSPAN, 2004
Nelson, Michael, ed., The Evolving Presidency, CQ Press, Washington, DC, 1999
Milkis, Sidney, Neslon, Michael,. The American Presidency: Origins and Development, 1776-1998. CQ Press, Washington, DC, 3rd Edition, 1999
Donovan, Robert J., Nemesis: Truman and Johnson in the coils of war in Asia, St. Martin's/Marek, New York, 1984.
Harding, Harry, Ming, Yuan, eds., Sino-American relations, 1945-1955: A Joint Reassessment of a Critical Decade, SR Books, Wilmington, Del., 1989
Tucker, Spencer C., ed., Encyclopedia of the Korean War : A Political, Social, and Military History. ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara, CA, 2000.
Hogan, Michael J., A Cross of Iron: Harry S. Truman and the Origins of the National Security State, 1945-1954, Cambridge University Press, New York, NY, 1998
Bernstein, Barton J., Matusow, Allen J., eds., The Truman Administration: A Documentary History, Harper and Row, New York, NY, 1968
McCullough, David, Truman, Simon and Schuster, New York, NY, 1992
Donovan, Robert J., Tumultuous Years: The Presidency of Harry S. Truman 1949-1953, W.W. Norton and Company, New York, NY, 1982
Poen, Monte, M., ed., Strictly Personal and Confidential: The Letters that Harry S. Truman Never Mailed, Little Brown and Company, Boston, MA, 1982
Lacey, Michael James, ed., The Truman Presidency, Cambridge University Press, New York, NY, 1991
This paper will focus on three main issues of the Truman presidency during the Korean War. First, President Truman took political and diplomatic steps to forge alliances in order to ensure victory in the Korean War. He felt it was the duty of those nations that support the United Nations Charter to keep world peace. Second, Truman began his presidency during World War II and had already established his decisiveness in military conflict with the use of the atomic bomb in Japan. His immediate response to the North Korean attack was to stop the spread of communism. His policy on the containment of communism was known as the Truman Doctrine. When North Korea attacked the Republic of Korea it established a legal foundation for military action within the principles of the United Nations Charter. Finally, President Truman decided to play a direct role in the execution of the military campaign in Korea. He chose General Douglas MacArthur to be the Commanding General of the military forces assigned to the Republic of Korea. His work with the military and through diplomatic processes never ended during the conflict.