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Emergency Declared
On December 16, 1950, Truman proclaimed a national emergency and organized a virtual wartime cabinet, with Charles E. Wilson as Director of Defense Mobilization. Besides imposing controls on wages, prices, and material allocations, Wilson began a slow but ordered shift from civilian to military production to make the U.S. and its allies capable of resisting Russian attack.
Meanwhile, as a further bulwark against the U.S.S.R., Truman inspired formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1949, consisting of the United States, Canada, Iceland, and nine Western European states. On December 19, 1950, the NATO council approved the appointment of General Dwight D.Eisenhower, then president of Columbia University, as organizer of a Western European military force under NATO auspices.
On April 11, 1951, President Truman removed General Douglas MacArthur from his posts as Commander of U.S. and U.N. forces in the Far East. This was the result of a fundamental disagreement between Truman and the General over the President's policy for limited warfare in Korea, MacArthur's public criticism of that policy, and MacArthur's open defiance of Presidential orders. Returning to the United States, MacArthur delivered a series of speeches attacking the administration's policies in the Far East.
Next: Election As President
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