Harry S. Truman Quotes


The human race has reached a turning point. Man has opened the secrets of nature and mastered new powers. If he uses them wisely, he can reach new heights of civilization. If he uses them foolishly, they may destroy him. Man must create the moral and legal framework for the world which will insure that his new powers are used for good and not for evil.


Citations

Truman, Harry S. "Special Message to the Congress on Atomic Energy." Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Harry S. Truman, 1945, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1961, p. 362.

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Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman
  • Born: May 8, 1884
  • Died: December 26, 1972
  • Nationality: American
  • Profession: President

Harry S. Truman was an American politician who served as the 33rd President of the United States (1945–53). He served as a United States Senator from Missouri (1935–45) and briefly as Vice President (1945) before he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945 upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt. He was president during the final months of World War II, and approved the plan to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Truman was elected in his own right in 1948. He presided over an uncertain domestic scene as America sought its path after the war and tensions with the Soviet Union increased, marking the start of the Cold War.