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Harry Truman August 11, 1945
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Atomic bomb: “an awful responsibility”

On this day in 1945, by order of President Harry S. Truman, the American bomber Enola Gay drops a five-ton atomic bomb on Hiroshima. The aim was to bring the war to an abrupt end, and to avoid an invasion of Japan and the subsequent likelihood of massive American casualties.

Then, on August 9th, the United States drops a second atom bomb, this time on Nagasaki, at last resulting in Japan’s unconditional surrender. A third was likely forthcoming, if necessary.

Also on August 9th, President Truman gave a “Radio Report to the American People on the Potsdam Conference.” After seeing the devastation in Europe firsthand, he remarked:

“How glad I am to be home again! And how grateful to Almighty God that this land of ours has been spared! 

He went on:

“I realize the tragic significance of the atomic bomb.
Its production and its use were not lightly undertaken by this Government. But we knew that our enemies were on the search for it. We know now how close they were to finding it. And we knew the disaster which would come to this Nation, and to all peace-loving nations, to all civilization, if they had found it first.
That is why we felt compelled to undertake the long and uncertain and costly labor of discovery and production.”
…

“An Awful Responsibility”

“Having found the bomb we have used it. We have used it against those who attacked us without warning at Pearl Harbor, against those who have starved and beaten and executed American prisoners of war, against those who have abandoned all pretense of obeying international laws of warfare. We have used it in order to shorten the agony of war, in order to save the lives of thousands and thousands of young Americans.”
…
“It is an awful responsibility which has come to us.

We thank God that it has come to us, instead of to our enemies; and we pray that He may guide us to use it in His ways and for His purposes.”

* * *

The United States is the only nation to use atomic weaponry in war. While it ended World War II, it may have precipitated the Cold War. Consequently, by 1949, the Soviets had also developed the atomic bomb.

Finally, see The White House memo below from President Harry S. Truman to the Federal Council of The Churches of Christ in America for more perspective:

Harry Truman August 11, 1945 Atomic bomb

 

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Truman Federal Council of Churches
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Harry S. Truman on New Conflicts and Ancient Teachings

On this day in 1949, President Harry S. Truman signs a U.S. resolution authorizing $16 million in aid for Palestinian refugees who were displaced as a result of Israel’s War of Independence in 1948.

This situation was, and still is, an exceedingly volatile and complex. Our Lost Founding has no delusions of any ability to provide an adequate summary of the conflict here. Pro- and anti-Zionist groups, Palestinian refugees, Arab oil, and the state of Israel are the major sources of on-going conflict in the Middle East.

Truman had the unenviable task of reconciling safety for the Jews and good relations with Arab states.

Men and Nations

Truman’s address to the Federal Council of Churches on March 6, 1946 are as pertinent today as they were then. It applies to the current state of affairs in the Middle East and associated terror groups. We can also apply it to the current debate surrounding religious liberties in Our own country:

“Now that we have preserved our freedom of conscience and religion, our right to live by a decent moral and spiritual code of our own choosing, let us make full use of that freedom. Let us make use of it to save a world which is beset by so many threats of new conflicts, new terror, and new destruction.”

“If men and nations would but live by the precepts of the ancient prophets and the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount, problems which now seem so difficult would soon disappear.”

Harry S. Truman Federal Council of Churches

 

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Harry Truman Fair Deal
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Harry Truman’s Fair Deal Speech

On this day in 1949, President Harry S. Truman delivers the State of the Union address that became known as his Fair Deal speech.

“Every segment of our population and every individual has a right to expect from our Government a fair deal.”

Then, he recalled a Scripture reference from his first State of the Union address:

“In 1945, when I came down before the Congress for the first time on April 16, I quoted to you King Solomon’s prayer that he wanted wisdom and the ability to govern his people as they should be governed. I explained to you at that time that the task before me was one of the greatest in the history of the world, and that it was necessary to have the complete cooperation of the Congress and the people of the United States.”

“Our National Life”

Finally, Truman concludes his Fair Deal Speech with these powerful words:

“Now, I am confident that the Divine Power which has guided us to this time of fateful responsibility and glorious opportunity will not desert us now.

With that help from Almighty God which we have humbly acknowledged at every turning point in our national life, we shall be able to perform the great tasks which He now sets before us.”

Harry Truman Fair Deal

 

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Dewey Defeats Harry Truman
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Dewey Defeats Truman?! “Go to the polls and vote…”

On this day in 1948, incumbent Harry S. Truman defeats challenger Thomas E. Dewey in the greatest upset in presidential election history.

This was despite the premature assertion of an early edition of the Chicago Tribune with the banner headline “DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN.”
(Yes, that’s Harry Truman holding that newspaper.)

Dewey Defeats Harry Truman

Go and Vote…

On Election Eve, concluding his Whistle Stop Train Tour, President Truman spoke from his home in Independence, Missouri. His remarks were carried on a nationwide radio broadcast, and here are a few of them:

“I believe with all my heart and soul that Almighty God has intended the United States of America to lead the world to peace. . .. We failed to meet our obligation. . ..

And now, my fellow citizens, the future welfare of our country is in your hands. I have told you the truth as God has given me wisdom to see the truth.

Go to the polls tomorrow and vote your convictions, your hopes, and your faith — your faith in the future of a nation that under God can lead the world to freedom and to peace.”

Meanwhile, lets us bear in mind what Samuel Adams said about voting:

Mr. Samuel Adams on Voting Accountability

 

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Harry Truman televised
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Harry Truman and a “fervent” first

On this day in 1947, President Harry Truman delivers the first ever televised presidential address from the White House.

At the time, television was in its infancy and the number of Americans with television sets in their home was only in the thousands. President Truman sought the support of the American people for a food conservation program proposed by the Citizens Food Committee. The program offered help to European nations where “crops have suffered so badly from droughts, floods, and cold from droughts, floods, and cold” in the wake of World War II.

Truman said “Our self-denial will serve us well in the years to come.”

Then, here’s how he concluded the address:

“Hungry people in other countries look to the United States for help. I know that they will be strengthened and encouraged by this evidence of our friendship.

I know that they will be waiting with hope in their hearts and a fervent prayer on their lips for the response of our people to this program.

We must not fail them.”

Of course, in 1952 it was President Harry Truman who issued a Presidential Proclamation for a National Day of Prayer:

“I… do hereby proclaim… a National Day of Prayer, on which all of us, in our churches, in our homes, and in our hearts, may beseech God to grant us wisdom to know the course which we should follow, and strength and patience to pursue that course steadfastly. May we also give thanks to Him for His constant watchfulness over us in every hour of national prosperity and national peril.”

We must not fail to pray.

After all, fasting and prayer go hand-in-hand.

Harry Truman televised

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Harry Truman Korea
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Harry Truman on “New terror” vs. timeless teaching

On this day in 1950, President Harry Truman “[orders] United States air and sea forces to give the Korean Government troops cover and support.”

He stated that “The attack upon Korea makes it plain beyond all doubt that communism has passed beyond the use of subversion to conquer independent nations and will now use armed invasion and war.”

In October of that same year, he remarked: “We hate war, but we love our liberties. We will not see them destroyed.”

Precepts and Problems

Below are some excerpts from his speech at a Conference of the Federal Council of Churches on March 6th, 1946. From those words, it is clear that he would authorize armed forces in the face of invasion.

“Dictatorship, by whatever name, is rounded on the doctrine that the individual amounts to nothing; that the State is the only thing that counts; and that men and women and children were put on earth solely for the purpose of serving the State.
…The right of every human being to live in dignity and freedom, the right to worship his God in his own way, the right to fix his own relationship to his fellow men and to his Creator–these again have been saved for mankind.
… Now that we have preserved our freedom of conscience and religion, our right to live by a decent moral and spiritual code of our own choosing, let us make full use of that freedom. Let us make use of it to save a world which is beset by so many threats of new conflicts, new terror, and new destruction.”

He added: “If men and nations would but live by the precepts of the ancient prophets and the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount, problems which now seem so difficult would soon disappear.”

That is timeless teaching.

 

Harry Truman Korea

 

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Harry Truman Korea
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Harry S. Truman on renewed hope for “peace on earth, good will among men”

On this day in 1948, President Harry S. Truman signs the Foreign Assistance Act of 1948, more popularly known as the Marshall Plan.

Back in June 1947, Secretary of State George C. Marshall called for an enormous economic recovery program to aid the ailing economies of the war-ravaged countries in Western Europe.

Secretary Marshall’s statement on the signing described the decision as a “historic step in the foreign policy of this country.”

He went on:
“The leaders in the Congress and the membership generally have faced a great crisis with courage and wisdom, and with legislative skill, richly deserving of the approval and the determined support of the people.”

Renewed Hope

Upon signing the Act, President Truman labeled it “an outstanding example of cooperative endeavor for the common good.”

Then, Truman closed his statement, echoing his predecessor, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, by using the commonly accepted paraphrasing of Luke 2:14:

“I believe that the determination of the American people to work for conditions of enduring peace throughout the world, as demonstrated by this act, will encourage free men and women everywhere, and will give renewed hope to all mankind that there will one day be peace on earth, good will among men.”

 

Harry S. Truman signs

 

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