US Post WWIITruman and Eisenhower

• Harry S. Truman 1945-1953– After WWII, a fear of the return of the Great

Depression was around• Marshall Plan was created to help stop the depression

from returning– Read the handout and answer the following:

» Besides the visible destruction of Europe, what other damage happened because of WWII?

» Explain the issue with farming in Europe and how it affected the cities.

» What help is required according to Marshall? How can the US help?

Harry S. Truman 1945-1953• Another action to help stave off another depression was

to give the jobs back to the returning soldiers.– GI Bill of Rights: helped soldiers pay for employment, vocational,

technical, and a college education, and medical care ($13.5 Billion was put into the economy for veteran education and training alone.)

– This allowed higher education for all rather than a few as it had been prior to the GI Bill of Rights

• Veterans Administration guaranteed home loans and purchase of houses with no money down which stimulated a postwar housing boom.

• Because of pent up demand from the depression and wartime shortages, inflation, not depression was the result

– After wartime restrictions were lifted, in 1946, prices rose an average of 25%

Harry S. Truman 1945-1953• After the death of FDR in April 1945, Harry S.

Truman became President– He was not seen as the strong leader that FDR

was. (Tough act to follow!)• In the off year Congressional elections of 1946 the

Republicans used American anxieties about the postwar world, and Truman’s ability to handle them and won majorities in both houses of Congress for the 1st time since 1930

• Republicans proposed program did little more than try to reverse the reforms of the New Deal and turn down Truman’s “Fair Deal”

Truman’s Fair Deal

– In June 1945 Truman witnessed the signing of the charter of the United Nations, hopefully established to preserve peace.

• Thus far, he had followed his predecessor's policies, but he soon developed his own. He presented to Congress a 21-point program, proposing the expansion of Social Security, a full-employment program, a permanent Fair Employment Practices Act, and public housing and slum clearance. The program, Truman wrote, "symbolizes for me my assumption of the office of President in my own right." It became known as the Fair Deal.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/ht33.html

Truman’s Fair Deal– Truman vetoed 80 Republican bills that attacked the

New Deal and sent many proposals to Congress, many of which were shot down

• He did get an increase in the minimum wage and he brought 10 million more under Social Security

– Truman’s actions assured reelection in 1948.

Unions under Truman• A result of WWII was the reemergence of

business influence and a decrease in support of labor unions.– Conservatives did not like the strength of organized

labor; therefore, they passed the Taft-Hartley Act (over Truman’s veto) which outlawed “closed” (all union) shops, made unions liable for damages from jurisdictional disputes and required unions to take non-Communist oaths

– Union membership peaked in the 1950’s then steadily declined.

– Why do you suppose union membership declined after the 1950’s?

Minorities under Truman• 1st president to actively advocate the end of

discrimination against American blacks.– An executive order banned racial discrimination in

the military, civil service and in companies that did business with the gov’t

• It was the Korean War that effectively integrated troops

– Truman’s Civil Rights Policies insured the Democratic Party the black vote

Election of 1948• Democrats: Truman

• Southern Branch of Democrats Dixiecrat Party: Strom Thurmond

• Progressive Party: Henry Wallace

• Republicans: Thomas Dewey– Would the splits hurt Truman? NO!

• Southern walkout assured Truman the southern black urban vote

• Truman campaigned against the “do nothing eightieth Congress” (mostly Republican)

– Most predicted a Republican victory

Election of 1948• Truman received 24.1 million

popular votes to 22 million for Dewey and 303 electoral votes against Dewey’s 189.

• Truman won for 2 reasons: 1. coalition of Democratic blacks, union members and northern urban ethnics; 2. Republicans were so confident of victory many did not vote

Communist Scare• The Truman Doctrine, 1947

– Policy of containment of Communism

• The Soviet takeover of Eastern Europe, the Chinese Communist victory in China, the invasion of South Korea by the North Koreans, and the Soviet explosion of an atomic bomb in 1949 confused and frightened the American public.– This helped Truman’s policy of “scaring the hell” out

of people so they would accept his containment policy

Communist Scare• When the foreign factors along with politicians

who were willing to take advantage for their own gain came together, it created a great fear of subversion and communism– Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were convicted of

sharing secrets of atomic weapons with the Soviets and were executed in 1953. (Zinn p. 432-435)

– Wisconsin Senator Joseph R. McCarthy became famous for his Communist accusations. (Zinn p. 430-432)

• He was supported by Republicans of the time because it was a way to combat against the Democrats who held office for a long time.

Communist Scare• For a while an attack on McCarthy was an “attack on the

American way of life”• When 2 Democrats opposed McCarthy on the Senate

floor and lost their next elections many began to fear McCarthy.

• McCarthy and McCarthyism are products of American party politics

– Because no one in either party attacked him

• Many careers and lives were ruined because of accusations and innuendo

• “Black Lists” were created in education, entertainment, business and gov’t.

• The “House Un-American Activities Committee” called 100’s of witnesses , there was no distinction between Communism and traditional right of dissent

McCarthy under Eisenhower• 1952 election saw Dwight Eisenhower become

president.– McCarthy became an embarrassment to the

Republican party• Army-McCarthy Hearings April-June 1954

– McCarthy accused the military of harboring Communists and Eisenhower of not doing enough to combat against it.

– This caused his downfall and he was eventually censured by the Senate for breaking Senate rules for a refusal to appear before a Senate subcommittee and answer questions

• The real issue of McCarthyism and America’s second Red Scare was civil liberties in a time of crisis.

1950’s• Eisenhower was the first Republican president

since the New Deal– His acceptance of New Deal programs “legitimized”

them– Eisenhower emphasized “dynamic conservatism”

• Caution in financial and economic matters, but with attention to social welfare.

– Under Eisenhower the St. Lawrence Seaway and Interstate Highways were built.

– The Agricultural Trade and Development and Assistance Act (1954) was designed to solve 2 problems: 1. help the American farmer by getting rid of surplus food; 2. use the food as an instrument of foreign policy

1950’s• The 1950’s were an age of unprecedented

wealth and prosperity (although maldistributed)– What made people wealthier if there were still many

poor around?• “Discretionary income”: income people had left over after

paying for necessities

• Social developments– TV: 1950: 9% homes had a tv: 1955: 64.5%;

1970’s: more tv’s than refrigerators, bathtubs, or toilets

• Impact: less reading? Creation of a mass culture?

– Growth of national franchise companies