"The buck stops here!"

Today is President's Day in the United States. As a History major, I have always taken a liking to modern American history and have grown fond of a few presidents that are under the radar. When we talk about the best Presidents in the history of the United States, we usually include George Washington and Abraham Lincoln on the short list. Presidents with initials have seemed to be popular choices, too - FDR, JFK. Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Andrew Jackson, Theodore Roosevelt and Ulysses Grant are other popular choices. There are certainly Presidents that I haven't seen on any list of top Presidents, too - Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, John Tyler, Martin Von Buren, etc. In fact, if I hadn't lived in Madison for seven years, I may miss those names when trivia questions ask about them (streets around the Capitol building are named after members who signed the Declaration of Independence which include some of these names). One name that I instantly think of as one of our best Presidents is Harry S. Truman. He's an unlikely hero and few rank him as one of the best, but to me, he is near the top.

FDR picked Truman as Vice President during his third term. Some history says that he was chosen because he was ridiculously simple minded and would stay out of FDR's way. FDR had a lot on his plate and he kept Truman out of his circles. When FDR died in office, it's said that he died with all of his plans in his head and Truman assumed the Presidency with no idea about what had been taking place. Talk about being up a creek without a paddle. President of the United States is probably the only job that this scenario is completely unacceptable. But Truman endured and prevailed.

He was faced with some very difficult decisions immediately, specifically what to do in World War II. He was successful in defeating the Nazis and then the Japanese after ordering the drop of the Atomic Bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I'm sure Churchill and Stalin thought this guy was way over his head as they knew more about what had been taking place in the White House than he did. However, he moved forward with the conviction of doing what is best for the country, despite not having much information about it.

The unexpected victories of World War II should be enough to solidify him as one of our best leaders, but there's more. He entered the 1948 Presidential race as significant underdog (even though he was the incumbent) and because of his Whistle Stop Tour, he won re-election by playing the role of the underdog. It was a genius political campaign. He founded the United Nations, NATO and the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe after the war. He also developed the Truman Doctrine to contain Communism (the start of the Cold War). The Berlin Airlift was one of the most successfully executed plans ever in America's foreign policy history and it was his idea. Still, after all of this, people didn't like Truman while he was in office.

I think a lot of the dislike for Truman was rooted in his personality. He just didn't fit the mold of a President. Again, he was simple. He didn't even have a middle name (S. was his entire middle name - just an initial). He had done alright as a senator, but was put into leadership because, allegedly, he didn't know anything about being a leader. None of that stopped him. He coined the phrase, "the buck stops here." I don't think he had aspirations of becoming President, but once he was, he knew he was responsible for the nation.

With this slogan on his desk, he won World War II, stopped the spread of Communism, rebuilt Europe and did what was right for the economy in spite of his supporters (railway strikes). He also fired General MacArthur after he refused to follow the President's orders. MacArthur was the biggest war hero America had, but Truman insisted on following the Constitution. I think that's pretty cool. As he was leaving office, he threw in a few new ideas that I believe laid major ground work for the Civil Rights movement. He made an executive order to desegregate the armed forces.

Truman may have been very simple, indeed, but he lead with confidence and boldness. He didn't always have all of the information, but he made urgent decisions that became defining moments in our country's history. I'm a sucker for people who exceed the expectations of others to take care of their responsibilities instead of seeking the approval of others. This is what I admire about Truman the most.