Harry Truman is most remembered for dropping the first Atomic Bombs. He tried many times to end the war with peace, but Japan would not give in. Therefor, he either had to risk millions of lives with an invasion of Japan or kill 100,000 people by dropping the bomb. It was a tough decision but many historians think it was the right one to make. I think that he wanted to be remembered for ending World War II, but not by the way he did it. He wanted to be remembered for bringing peace to a world divided by a war. He also wanted to be remembered for building and funding the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum. He wanted generations to able to go there and learn about him and his legacy.
It's true that lots of Presidents had to lead our country through bad times, but no one had as difficult of a job as Harry Truman. George Washington fought for our county to be free, Abraham Lincoln worked to keep our country together, and FDR brought our country through dark Economic times. They were all amazing but they didn't have the world looking at them. The whole world was waiting to see what he would do, questioning just how much longer the war would go on. Families thinking how much longer they would have to wait for their sons to come home. He could have just sat there and freaked out, he could have done nothing. Just the fact that he accept the presidency even though he new the hurdles ahead made him a very courageous leader. He took action. He knew he had to do something, even Eleanor Roosevelt knew that he would have to be a strong leader. When she told him the president had died, he asked if there was anything he could do for her and she replied, "Is there anything we can do for you? For you are the one in trouble now." Either way people's deaths were in his hands. That is one of the hardest things a president has ever done. When Japan surrendered he knew he did the right thing and the people of America knew they had a great leader, he had earned their respect.
He then went on to help other countries so that way they would never have to fight for their freedom. Don't you forget that in World war I, he was able to bring his men through the worst of battles. He was able to keep their spirits up being so far from home, he was able to earn their utmost respect. He once described what a leader was he said, "I learned that a leader is a man who has the ability to get other people to do what they don't want to do, and like it." That is what he was able to do. This why I think Harry S. Truman is not only a leader but a hero