Learn how President Truman responded to the railroad strike of 1946, which threatened to cripple the U.S. transportation system and economy, in this video adapted from Truman | AMERICAN EXPERIENCE. Truman’s heavy-handed response to the railroad strike—he threatened to draft the striking workers—caused labor leaders to denounce him as a strikebreaker, but Truman maintained that he had to act in the nation’s interest even if it cost him his political career.