An admirable individual but possessed several characteristics that could be considered disadvantageous
Roosevelt had excluded Truman from discussions of military and foreign affairs
This made it even more difficult for Truman to follow such a long serving, experienced and knowledgeable President
This made Truman feel he had to prove himself tough and decisive
Truman's personality
More combative than Roosevelt
Truman's most challenging post-war foreign policy issue
The USSR (Soviet Union)
The Soviet-American relationship had always been uneasy
The Soviet Union
The world's first Communist state established after the Russian Revolution of 1917
Soviet-American relations were tense throughout the 1920s
Because of differing ideologies
Communists favoured
Government control of the economy
Equal distribution of wealth
Single-party state
Americans favoured
Huge variations in wealth
Multi-party state with free elections
Feared Communist expansionism
During the Second World War, the USA and USSR became allies and frequently co-operated
There were major tensions during the war
Both countries promoted their own political and economic system in the countries they liberated from Nazi rule
1. Soviets promoted Communism in Eastern Europe, e.g. Poland
2. Roosevelt and Churchill demanded free elections in Poland, but Stalin made sure Poland had a Communist government
Soviet-American mistrust was demonstrated when the Americans and British tried to keep the development of the atomic bomb secret from Stalin
In July 1945, Truman, Stalin and Churchill met at Potsdam
1. Reiterated that defeated Germany would be divided into four zones of occupation (American, Soviet, British and French)
2. Berlin was inside the Soviet zone but the western half of the city would be under US/British/French control
There were two great areas of tension at Potsdam
They disagreed over Poland's political system
The US atomic bomb was tested during Potsdam
The atomic bomb showed the Truman administration that the United States did not need Soviet aid to defeat Japan
Stalin recognised that the bomb had dramatically changed the world balance of power in America's favour
As yet, there were no post-war peace treaties as there had been after the First World War
The Council of Foreign Ministers (American, Soviet, British and French) met in September 1945 (London), December 1945 (Moscow), June 1946 (Paris), and March 1947 (Moscow)
They could not agree on a peace treaty for defeated Germany because of the developing Cold War between the USA and the USSR