This thesis argues that to better understand the Cold War conflict between Harry S. Truman and Henry A. Wallace, one must look at the personalities of the men as well as the political influences in the early careers of both men. Harry Truman began his political career by aligning himself with the powerful Pendergast political machine that controlled Missouri politics in the early twentieth century. Truman, staying true to the Democratic Party, rarely wavered from the party platform. This steadfast support of the party allowed Truman to rise steadily into the upper echelon of the New Deal era politics of the Roosevelt administration all the way to the White House.

Henry A. Wallace, on the other hand, was never a staunch supporter of any one political party. Wallace instead was a staunch supporter of the common man, more precisely, the American farmer. He supported only those policies that would advance the causes of the downtrodden. Politics were essentially thrust upon Henry Wallace. The Wallace family of Iowa was instrumental in the advancement of agricultural techniques and science leading to their political influence in the Department of Agriculture during the 1920s and 1930s. Harry Wallace, Henry A. Wallace's father, served as secretary of agriculture under President's Harding and Coolidge. Henry A. would also serve as secretary of agriculture during the New Deal and was one of the chief architects of the innovative and controversial Agricultural Adjustment Act.

Harry Truman and Henry Wallace both were ardent New Dealers and in complete support of President Roosevelt's programs, as well as serving as vice presidents under Roosevelt. However, after the death of Franklin Roosevelt and the end of World War II in 1945, these men took vastly different stances on the relationship the United States should pursue with the Soviet Union, creating a conflict between the two men. This conflict would culminate in the fracturing of the Democratic Party during the 1948 presidential election, nearly costing Truman the victory. This conflict has been studied and examined thoroughly but this thesis examines why the conflict happened and the aftermath of the conflict into the 1950s.