The presidency of Harry S. Truman began on April 12, 1945, when Harry S. Truman became the 33rd president upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and ended on January 20, 1953.
1945
April April 12 – Harry S. Truman is inaugurated as the 33rd president of the United States in a ceremony in the Cabinet Room, the oath being administered by Chief Justice of the United States Harlan F. Stone and completed exactly two hours and thirty four minutes after the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt. April 13 – Several labor unions in official and unofficial capacities pledge support for President Truman. April 14 – President Truman attends FDR's funeral. The White House announces President Truman's first press conference of his tenure will be held in three days. April 15 – President Truman attends Roosevelt's burial services. April 16 – President Truman addresses a joint session of Congress, during which he outlines his intentions of his tenure, including plans to win the war, carrying on the policies of the late President Roosevelt, and punishing war criminals. April 17 – President Truman delivers a broadcast address to service members in the United States Army and Navy, telling them that they shall carry a tradition of not faltering as done by his immediate predecessor and recalls his own service during World War I as having made him privy to both killing on the battlefield and the fighting man's trials and tribulations.Address Broadcast to the United Forces (April 17, 1945) April 18 – President Truman orders the Department of Commerce receive the transmission of the surplus property of the treasury procurement division. President Truman designates May 13 as Mother's Day in order to show what he calls the US's "gratitude, love, and devotion" for its mothers. April 20 – President Truman holds the second news conference of his tenure in his White House office.8. The President's News Conference (April 20, 1945) April 23 – President Truman, Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Marshal Joseph Stalin issue a joint statement during the evening, saying in part, "Any person guilty of maltreating or allowing any Allied prisoners of war, internees or deported citizens to be maltreated, whether in battle zone, on lines of communication, in a camp, hospital, prison or elsewhere, will be ruthlessly pursued and brought to punishment."9. Joint Statement With Allied Leaders Warning Against Mistreatment of Prisoners in Germany (April 23, 1945) April 26 – Press Secretary Jonathan Daniels requests White House reporters give President Truman equal protection to that received by the late President Roosevelt under the voluntary censorship code. April 27 – President Truman issues a statement saying the armies of Anglo-Americans have met Soviet Union forces in the "heart of Nazi Germany" and that the "enemy has been cut in two." President Truman holds his third news conference during the afternoon, announcing "Edwin W. Pauley as his Personal Representative on the Reparations Commission, with the rank of Ambassador, and of Dr. Isador Lubin as an Associate, with the rank of Minister."The President's News Conference (April 27, 1945) April 28 – President Truman holds his fourth news conference at the White House, during which he says there is "no foundation" for rumors relating to Germany surrendering, during the night hours.The President's News Conference on the Rumor of German Surrender (April 28, 1945)
May May 1 – President Truman issues a statement praising the office of Price Administration: "I suppose that OPA, like the rest of us, has made a few mistakes. But when we look at the whole record, I think that our price control and stabilization program has been one of the most remarkable achievements of this war."17. Statement by the President Commending the Office of Price Administration (May 1, 1945) May 2 – Congress receives the first economy program from the White House in 12 years. It calls for a US$7 billion cut in funds for shipbuilding, the reduction of at least US$80 million in eight agencies' budget estimates, and announces the termination by June 30 of the civilian defense office. May 2 – President Truman holds the fifth news conference of his presidency at his White House office during the afternoon.22. The President's News Conference (May 2, 1945) May 3 – President Truman vetoes H.J. Res. 106, saying in part, "the legislation now passed by the Congress and presented for my approval would appear to have that result and to constitute a departure from the sound principle hereinbefore stated on which we have erected our military manpower mobilization system."23. Veto of Bill Providing for the Deferment of Additional Agricultural Workers (May 3, 1945) May 4 – President Truman meets with President of the Philippines Sergio Osmeña for discussion on the Philippines becoming completely independent. May 4 – General Dwight Eisenhower announces the surrender of enemy forces in Holland and northwestern Germany and Denmark at Marshal Montgomery's 21st army group.Reich Virtually Conquered (May 4, 1945) May 5 – President Truman announces his willingness to "endorse and carry through to their conclusion the policies laid down by President Roosevelt respecting the Islands and the independence of the Filipino people."24. Statement by the President Concerning Philippine Independence (May 5, 1945) May 7 – President Truman says he cannot make an announcement about forces in Europe surrendering "until a simultaneous statement can be made by the three governments" in accordance with an agreement he made with the governments of London and Moscow.25. Statement by the President on the Timing of the Announcement of the German Surrender (May 7, 1945) May 8 – Truman announces the end of the war in Europe via radio (V-E Day). May 9 – The office of war mobilization announces the return of American troops from Europe between 270,000 and 500,000 monthly and that reducing the number of soldiers there to 100,000 will take a year. May 10 – The State Department discloses personal representative of President Truman Samuel L. Rosenman has completed San Francisco, California conferences with Great Britain, Russia, and France. May 11 – The War Department announces plans for American involvement in the occupying of Germany, including that General Eisenhower will represent the United States on the four-powers control council for Germany.General Eisenhower Represents U.S. On Control Board (May 11, 1945) May 11 – On Mother's Day, President Truman is visited by his mother Martha Ellen Young Truman in her first trip to Washington. May 12 – President Truman is said by the Army and Navy Journal to have "opened the door" to Japan for peace by assuring that none of the country's people will be killed. May 13 – President Truman and his mother join service members in prayer at the chapel of the Bethesda, Maryland as part of a thanks for European victory. May 14 – Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Anthony Eden and Clement Attlee meet with President Truman. May 15 – President Truman holds a press conference in which he states his support for free press in Germany as well as the repeal of the Johnson Act. President Truman announces his nomination of Richmond K. Turner for full admiral. United States Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes admits that he requested Congress validate federal surveillance of the late President Roosevelt's Hyde Park home while Roosevelt's family is not occupying it. May 21 – President Truman delivers a speech to Congress in regards to his presenting the Medal of Honor to James W. Lindsey. 34. Remarks Before the Congress on Presenting the Medal of Honor to Sergeant Jake W. Lindsey (May 21, 1945) May 24 – President Truman issues a message to Congress about the executive branch's organization.41. Special Message to the Congress on the Organization of the Executive Branch (May 24, 1945) May 25 – President Truman holds the eighth news conference of his tenure at the White House during the afternoon. 40. The President's News Conference (May 23, 1945) May 30 – Special Envoy to the President Joseph E. Davies holds a series of conferences in London.
June June 1 – President Truman gives a joint address to Congress that entails his plan to bring about Japan's surrender that includes an army of 7 million and a navy of 3 million. President Truman holds the ninth press conference of his presidency during the morning in the White House.44. The President's News Conference (June 1, 1945) June 2 – Press Secretary Charlie Ross says President Truman has been notified of the change in schedule for the previously planned security conference in San Francisco. President Truman stresses the need for service members and other Americans to have food in a statement.49. Statement by the President on the Continued Need for Food (June 2, 1945) June 4 – President Truman writes in a letter to House Speaker Sam Rayburn for an approbation to end the conflict with Japan. June 5 – President Truman abolishes the office of civilian defense, transferring all of its protective property to the Department of Commerce. June 6 – President Truman commutes the death sentence of Thomas H. Robinson, Jr. to a sentence of life imprisonment. June 7 – President Truman holds a news conference, his tenth since assuming the presidency, at the White House. Truman discusses foreign policy and taxes. President Truman says transportation issues are aiding in the US's victory within Europe and calls on Americans to "understand the situation and at once lend full cooperation in order that the burden may be minimized."54. Statement by the President on the Transportation Problem (June 7, 1945) June 18 – President Truman issues a statement on driver safety, saying in part, "By keeping his car in safe operating condition and by driving it with the utmost care, every motorist can help in relieving our serious transportation problem and thereby aid further in the whole war effort."62. Statement by the President on Driving Safety (June 18, 1945) June 19 – President Truman sends a message to Congress urging a change to the presidential line of succession: "In so far as possible, the office of the President should be filled by an elective officer. There is no officer in our system of government, besides the President and Vice President, who has been elected by all the voters of the country."63. Special Message to the Congress on the Succession to the Presidency (June 19, 1945) June 21 – President Truman holds the fourteenth news conference of his presidency in the office of Governor of Washington Monrad Wallgren at the Legislative Building in D.C.64. The President's News Conference at Olympia, Washington (June 21, 1945) June 23 – President Truman signs S. 502, authorizing subsidies payments and purchases during the upcoming fiscal year as well as set maximum limits on 1946 occurrences. President Truman says he signed the bill "because continuance of these subsidy payments is essential to assure necessary war output and to provide support for the stabilization program."65. Statement by the President Upon Signing Bill Continuing Certain Subsidy Payments (June 23, 1945) June 26 – The United Nations Charter is signed in San Francisco. June 27 – President Truman holds a news conference, the fifteenth of his presidency, at Memorial Hall in Independence, Missouri during the afternoon.67. The President's News Conference at Independence, Missouri (June 27, 1945) June 29 – The House passes Truman-backed legislation making the Speaker of the House after the Vice President in the United States presidential line of succession. French press reports President Truman wrote in a letter to De Gaulle that General Dwight Eisenhower would be ordered to give France coal from Germany.