Harry S. Truman and the errand of sacrifice: 1945–1953

Abstract

In the aftermath of the Second World War, President Harry S. Truman employed the domestic self-narratives of a puritan heritage and American exceptionalism in his foreign and domestic policy speeches to elicit and secure public support for his administration's action abroad. At the same time, the use of this language helped to construct an image of the West synonymous with certain core lineaments of American national identity. The West during this period came to mean the USA and its sphere of influence. Moreover, the West served as an intellectual framework that helped integrate America and Western Europe. The main purpose of this paper is to examine this language, particularly as it related to foreign policy objectives in Europe, but also in the global arena.