Truman and Eisenhower on
the Homefront
Chapter 20, Section 1
March 9, 2011
The GI Bill
As the war came to an end, the U.S. looks
for ways to help its servicemen returning
home.
 The GI BILL (aka the SERVICEMEN’S
READJUSTMENT ACT) provides low
interest loans to veterans – helps them
buy houses, start businesses, and go to
college.
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Taft-Hartley Act
Although the economy is getting better, there
are still problems. Strikes and inflation happen
after the war.
 The TAFT-HARTLEY ACT sets unions back by
getting rid of :
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Closed shops (businesses that only hired union
workers)
Truman VETOED it, but a Republican congress overrides
the veto.
Seen as a response to the Wagner Act

Truman’s Domestic Agenda

President Truman wanted to do a number
of things to help the country when he
became president. These included:
 Expansion
of social security
 Raising the minimum wage
 National health insurance
 A LARGE CIVIL RIGHTS BILL
Congress won’t pass most of these things –
Truman calls them the “DO-NOTHING
CONGRESS”
ELECTION OF 1948
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Many Southerners got angry when Truman
proposed a Civil Rights Bill.
In the Election of 1948, Southern Democrats
start the States’ Rights (or DIXIECRAT) party.
Sen. STROM THURMOND of SC leads the party.
Henry Wallace runs on the Progressive Party
ticket.
Although they wouldn’t win, this looked as if it
would split the vote and let the Republican win.
Truman defeats THOMAS DEWEY narrowly to
win the election.
FAIR DEAL

Truman coins his ideas as the FAIR DEAL.
 Congress
does raise the minimum wage and
expands Social Security.
 They do not provide national health insurance
or pass Truman’s civil rights legislation.
The “Checkers” Speech
In the Election of 1952, Eisenhower is
almost derailed when his VP candidate,
Richard Nixon, is accused of taking illegal
gifts.
 Just before Ike drops him from the ticket,
Nixon goes on TV and says he had never
taken any gifts except for a puppy named
“Checkers.” The American people think
puppies are really cute, so they let him
slide.

Nixon and “Checkers”
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/richardnixoncheckers.html
“Dynamic Conservatism”
Although Eisenhower was a conservative,
he enacted many activist policies. This
blending of the two ideas becomes known
as “dynamic conservatism.”
 Ike calls for the FEDERAL HIGHWAY ACT.
This helps construct 40,000 miles of
interstate highway which cost $25 billion.
Eisenhower wins again easily in 1956.
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