Franklin Delano Roosevelt also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving US president and the only one to have served more than two terms. His first two terms were centered on combating the Great Depression, while his third and fourth focused on US involvement in World War II. A member of the Democratic Party, Roosevelt served in the New York State Senate from 1911 to 1913 and as the 44th governor of New York from 1929 to 1932.

Harry S. Truman was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt in April. Truman set up the Marshall Plan to rebuild the badly damaged economy of Western Europe. He established both the Truman Doctrine and NATO to contain the expansion of Soviet communism. A member of the Democratic Party, he proposed numerous New Deal coalition liberal domestic reforms, but few were enacted by the conservative coalition that dominated the United States Congress.

1953–1961): Promoted "massive retaliation" and brinkmanship, deployed the CIA for covert operations, and created the Eisenhower Doctrine to counter communism in the Middle East.

1961–1963): Adopted a "flexible response" strategy, navigated the Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis, and watched the Berlin Wall go up.

(1963–1969): Greatly escalated U.S. military involvement and troop deployment in the Vietnam War to prevent the spread of communism in Southeast Asia.

(1969–1974): Pursued détente through historic visits to China and the Soviet Union, and signed the first Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT I). Covered up the watergate scandal

(1977–1981): Focused on human rights in foreign policy, negotiated the Camp David Accords, and signed SALT II, though his term was strained by the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.