Former President Harry S. Truman discusses negotiating with the Russians after WWII. He says that having the atomic bomb put the United States in a position of strength. He also discusses the arrangement in Korea, with the Russians north of the 38th parallel and the Americans south.
Former President Harry S. Truman recalls that when he became president, he was worried about the effect it would have on his wife, Bess Truman, and his daughter, Margaret Truman.
Former president Harry S. Truman sits at his desk answering multiple questions for the Decision series, including the importance of the farmer, his experience as a haberdashery business owner with Eddie Jacobson, and the circumstances that brought him into local county politics, then the Senate, then the Vice Presidency, and finally the Presidency.
Former president Harry S. Truman stands in front of a screen with pictures illustrating Allied conferences and maps of Europe. He alludes to how the Allies were fussing like a bunch of in-laws, and how British Prime Minister Winston Churchill wanted a buffer zone between the USSR and western Europe.
Former president Harry S. Truman refers to a bill he was forced to sign that opened the door to misery, and his struggle with getting the wartime industrial economy back to a peacetime footing. This take repeats itself from different camera angles.
Former president Harry S. Truman reads a script, saying it is not possible to apply wartime conditions to peacetime thinking. He goes on to say that war is savage and an inappropriate way for nations to settle their differences. This take is similar to MP2002-487.
Former president Harry S. Truman talks about the negotiation process at Potsdam, between the United States, England, and Russia, and finding a way to keep the agreements that they made.
President Harry S. Truman delivered his Special Message to the Congress on the Threat to the Freedom of Europe on March 17, 1948. This excerpt contains these lines: "Since the close of hostilities, the Soviet Union and its agents have destroyed the independence and democratic character of a whole series of nations in Eastern and Central Europe. It is this ruthless course of action, and the clear design to extend it to the remaining free nations of Europe, that have brought about the critical situation in Europe today.
Former president Harry S. Truman talks about how rewarding it is to talk to youngsters and have them ask questions about what's going on in the world. He says, "I feel always uplifted when they do that," and "you'll find out that these youngsters are vitally interested in the welfare of the country and they want to do the right thing by it."
Former president Harry S. Truman is trying to deliver a line about the constitutional democracy of the United States being the greatest government in the world.