President Truman confronts Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov
Less than two weeks after taking over as president after the death of Franklin D.Roosevelt Harry S.Truman gives a tongue-lashing to Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov.
The incident indicated that Truman was determined to take a tougher stance with the Soviets than his predecessor had.When Roosevelt died of a massive stroke on April 12 1945 Harry S.Truman took over as president.Truman was overwhelmed by the responsibilities so suddenly thrust upon him and particularly in terms of foreign policy the new president was uncertain about his approach.
Roosevelt had kept his vice-president in the dark about most diplomatic decisions not even informing Truman about the secret program to develop an atomic bomb.Truman had to learn quickly however.The approaching end of World War II meant that momentous decisions about the postwar world needed to be made quickly.
The primary issue Truman faced was how to deal with the Soviet Union.Just weeks before his death Roosevelt met with Russian leader Joseph Stalin and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill at Yalta to discuss the postwar situation.Agreements made during the meeting left the Soviets in de facto control of Eastern Europe in exchange for Soviet promises to hold democratic elections in Poland.
Some officials in the U.S.government were appalled at these decisions believing that Roosevelt was too soft on the Soviets and naive in his belief that Stalin would cooperate with the West after the war.Truman gravitated to this same point of view partially because of his desire to appear decisive but also because of his long-standing animosity toward the Soviets.
On April 23 1945 Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov arrived at the White House for a meeting with the new president.Truman immediately lashed out at Molotov in words of one syllable as the president later recalled.As Molotov listened incredulously Truman charged that the Soviets were breaking their agreements and that Stalin needed to keep his word.
At the end of Trumans tirade Molotov indignantly declared that he had never been talked to in such a manner.Truman not to be outdone replied that if Molotov had kept his promises he would not need to be talked to like that.Molotov stormed out of the meeting.
Truman was delighted with his own performance telling one friend that he gave the Soviet official the straight one-two to the jaw.The president was convinced that a tough stance was the only way to deal with the communists a policy that came to dominate Americas early Cold War policies toward the Soviets.
