Mr. Walter
US History 2
The Truman Years: Student-led presentations
Viewing and listening guide
EQ #1: In what ways did Truman confront Stalin at the dawn of the Cold War, and how did the rivalry between the
United States and the Soviet Union shape post-war Europe?
After watching, listening, and participating in this group’s presentation and reading through the outline found
below, briefly answer the Essential Question in several complete sentences in this box:
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The formation of the UN, the World Bank, other international agreements
o The United Nations
 The League of Nations preceded the United Nations
 The League of Nations was an organization made under similar circumstances
during WWI and was established in 1919 under the Treaty of Versaille
 The League of Nations ceased its activities after failing to prevent WWII
 January 1, 1942, representatives of 26 nations at war with the Axis powers met in
Washington to sign the Declaration of the United Nations endorsing the Atlantic
Charter, pledging to use their full resources against the Axis and agreeing not to make a
separate peace
 In 1945, representatives of 50 countries met in San Francisco at the United Nations
Conference on International Organization to draw up the United Nations Charter
 The United Nations officially came into existence on October 24, 1945
o The World Bank
 Helped rebuild/reconstruct Europe after the war
 Its first loan of $250 million was to France in 1947 for post-war reconstruction
 Reconstruction has remained an important focus of the Bank’s work, given the
natural disasters, humanitarian emergencies, and post conflict rehabilitation
needs that affect developing and transition economies
 Today’s Bank, however, has sharpened its focus on poverty reduction as the
overarching goal of all its work
 1944: The new institution is created at the Bretton Woods Summit with the primary
purpose of rebuilding Europe and improving agricultural production in nations with
unmet economic potential
 28 countries signed on as its founding members, and today 187 countries are
members
 1947: First Bank field offices are set up in Paris, Copenhagen and Prague to ensure that
funds from postwar reconstruction loans are properly allocated
The Soviet takeover of Eastern Europe
o 20 million Russians died during WWII, so Stalin said he wanted a “buffer zone” of friendly states
around Russia to make sure that Russia could never be invaded again
o Stalin was planning the takeover of Eastern Europe
o During the war, Communists from the occupied countries of Eastern Europe escaped to Moscow
and set up Communist governments in exile there
o Stalin’s “sphere of influence,” “puppet governments”
 Sphere of Influence
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As the Red Army drove the Nazis back, it occupied large areas of Eastern
Europe and Churchill in the so-called percentages agreement which agreed that
Eastern Europe could be a Soviet “sphere of influence”
 In the countries that the Red Army “liberated”, communist-dominated
governments took power
 The Communists made sure that they controlled the army, set up a secret
police force, and began to arrest their opponents
 By 1949, all the governments of Eastern Europe, except Yugoslavia, were hard
line Stalinist regimes
o Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Albania, Yugoslavia, etc.
 Poland: (1947) Stalin had promised to set up a joint Communist/non-Communist
government at Yalta, but then he invited 16 non-Communist leaders to Moscow and
arrested them. Thousands of non-Communists were arrested, and the Communists won
the 1947 election
 Bulgaria: (1945) In the 1945 elections, a Communist-led coalition was elected, but the
Communists executed the non-Communists
 Romania: (1947) In the 1945 elections, a Communist-led coalition was elected to power.
The Communists gradually took over and in 1947 they abolished the monarchy
 Albania: (1945) The Communists immediately took power
 Yugoslavia: the only country that wasn’t under Communist regime up until 1949
Problems with the occupation of Germany among the 4 nations
o The US, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and France took part in a joint occupation of the German
state
o The Allied Powers agreed to share the responsibility of administering Germany and its capital,
Berlin, and each took responsibility for a certain portion of the defeated nation
o This arrangement ultimately evolved into the division of Germany into a Western and Eastern
sector, thereby contributing to the Cold War division of Europe
 Stalin suggested that Germany be divided so that it could not rise to its former strength
to threaten European peace and security again
o There was a lot of distrust between the US and the Soviet Union
o The Soviet Union stripped its sector of Germany of manufacturing equipment in an effort to
garner partial payment for wartime remittances, further stifling the reemergence of a strong
German economy
o In the western sector, the US soon grew concerned about the economic costs of a Germany
completely dependent upon the US so they began investing in German industries
o By 1946, the US and Great Britain merged their occupation zones, and in 1947 the US
Government began a massive aid program under the Marshall Plan, which pumped dollars and
goods into Europe to aid in recovery
o The Soviet Union prevented the countries along the Soviet border in Eastern Europe, many of
which had experienced the rise of communist leadership in the wake of the war, from taking part
in the arrangement
o By 1948, the Western Allies began the project of pulling their occupation zones together for the
sake of rebuilding - a project that the Soviet Union, still worried about a Germany threat to its
security, wished to prevent.
o The Soviet Union never accepted terms that the US or Great Britain suggested about reuniting
Germany
o In June of 1948, the Soviet Union took action against the Western policies by blocking all road
access between West Germany and West Berlin, effectively cutting off the city’s occupation
zones from the British, French, and American forces responsible for maintaining them
 As a result, the US assisted by British and French, supplied West Berlin entirely by air,
landing planes filled with food, clothing, and coal for heat nearly every minute
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o
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The blockade and airlift contributed to cementing the division of Germany and Europe
into East and West
In 1949, the occupying powers in both East and West Germany replaced their military governors
with civilian leaders, and the occupations ended officially in the mid-1950s
 Even so, both sides retained a strong interest in Germany, and the country and its
capital remained divided throughout the Cold War
 Reunification finally took place in October of 1990
George Kennan’s Telegram- February 22, 1946
o He was the American “charge d’affaires” in Moscow.
o He sent an 8,000-word telegram to the Department of State, and they detailed his opinions on
the Soviet Union and the U.S. policy towards them.
o He was one of the U.S. diplomats that helped establish the first U.S. embassy in the Soviet Union.
Despite having good relations with the Russians, his views on the communist country (the way
they ran their country) was very negative. The telegram was where when he expressed his true
feelings, and this was less than a year after Roosevelt’s death.
o In the telegram, Kennan stated:
 He did not believe that the Soviet Union could peacefully coexist with the West due to
the Soviet Union's “insecurities.”
 Due to this, the Soviet Union were always suspicious of other countries, and he said that
they felt like they could only feel secure if the country had total power.
 He also believed that the Soviet Union would try and increase their sphere of influence,
and he said that Turkey and Iran were the most troublesome areas. He also said that the
Soviet Union would try and weaken Western powers on “colonial backward, or
dependent people.”
 Lastly, he believed that, although the Soviet Union wanted to do these things, they
would back down if a force stopped it. He wanted America to be that force.
o Overall, America took a tougher stance and begin relying on military and economic “muscle”
instead of just focusing on diplomacy with the Soviets.
o Kennan’s belief on strong resistance against the Soviet Union was the basis of America’s Cold
War diplomacy through the next two decades.
o After writing this, he became the U.S. Ambassador for the Soviet Union.
o http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/george-kennan-sends-long-telegram-to-statedepartment
Churchill’s Iron Curtain speech- March 5, 1946
o It is considered to be Churchill’s (former Prime Minister) most important speech as a leader of
the opposition in Parliament.
o He expressed concern for the Soviet Union’s expansion in Eastern Europe.
o http://www.fofweb.com/NuHistory/default.asp?ItemID=WE52
o “From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the
continent.”
o This was known as one of the beginning steps of the Cold War. He gave the speech in Fulton,
Missouri with President Truman by him.
o After saying good things about America, he suggested a “closer” relationship with Great Britain in
regards to the post-war world.
o He also warned against the plans of the Soviet Union to expand their nation.
o Comparing this to the appeasement of Hitler, he stated that the Soviet Union respects and
admires strength while they have no respect for weakness.
o Americans responded well to the speech, but they did not respond well to the idea of a closer
relationship with Great Britain because they knew that Great Britain was falling apart.
o Joseph Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union, did not respond well to the speech, and he implied that
it could cause war.
o
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The phrase “iron curtain,” became popular during the Cold War, and it represented the physical
and ideological that divided Europe during the Cold War.
o http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/churchill-delivers-iron-curtain-speech
·The Truman Doctrine and containment; Greece and Turkey civil wars
 The Truman Doctrine- March 12, 1947
 President Truman stated that the United States would provide “political,
military, and economic assistance to all democratic nations under threat from
external and internal authoritarian forces.”
 Overall, the Truman Doctrine changed the way the U.S. had their foreign policy.
Previously, the U.S. tended to withdraw themselves more from foreign
conflicts. With the Truman Doctrine, they had the possibility in involving
themselves in foreign conflicts.
 This speech came about after the British government announced that they
were no longer providing assistance to the Greeks that were fighting against
the Greek Communist Party.
 Congress was asked to provide assistance to Greece and Turkey, which was
another country going through the same thing.
 Congress was worried that the Soviets were supporting the Greek government,
and they were worried that they would have influence in Greek policy. In
reality, Stalin resisted providing support in Greece.
 Other reasons why the President Truman decided to help the Greece and
Turkey
o The Soviet Union did not remove their troops from Northern Iran
o The Soviet Union tried to pressure the Iranian government into
granting them oil concessions while “supporting” and/or stirring up
trouble by “fermenting” support of annexation Azerbaijani separatists
in Northern Iran
o The Soviet Union tried to force the Turkish government into granting
them base and transit rights through the Turkish Straits
o The Soviet government rejected of the Baruch plan, an American
proposal, for international control over nuclear weapons and energy.
 For these reasons, Truman knew that there would not be peaceful post-war
interactions with the Soviet Union.
 Truman stated that America should give the money because a communist
victory would undermine the political stability of Turkey and the Middle East.
He also said America also had the duty of helping “free people” because a
communist victory would be a threat to American security.
 Truman said that the United States could not watch free democratic countries
be taken over by communism. Basically, the goal was to “preserve political
integrity of democratic nations in the interest of the United States.”
 http://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/truman-doctrine
EUROPEAN PROTECTION/RECOVERY
 The Marshall Plan (European Recovery Program)
o The need for the Marshall Plan showed itself in the aftermath of WWII. Every major power in the
world other than the US was in shambles and the Marshall Plan was formulated with the
initiative of aiding Europe before the Soviets can come in and spread ideas of Communism.
o Including Germany, 16 nations became part of the ERP and were assisted through the Economic
Cooperation Administration of the US.
 Europe received almost $13 billion in aid, first directed to shipping food, staples, fuel,
and machinery from the US to Europe. However, this money was later directed to
investing in the industrial capacity in Europe, making them more efficient.
 Funding ended in 1951
From 1948 through 1952, US had successfully helped European nations to recover economically
at an unprecedented rate. The plan had led to the North Atlantic alliance. Economic prosperity
led by coal and steel industries helped to shape the European Union, a union of 28 member
states located primarily in Europe.
 The Berlin Airlift
o After the end of WWII, Germany was split between the Allied Nations and the Soviet
Union. Berlin itself, though it was in Soviet territory, was also split into two parts, with West
Berlin being the Allied Nations’ and East Berlin being the Soviet Union’s.
 What the Soviet Union was doing to achieve Berlin was to cut traffic to and from West
Berlin and to starve the population and cut off the civilians’ businesses.
 The Americans had responded by performing a daily airlift that dropped food
and supplies into West Berlin. Lasted until the September of 1949. Soviets
closed to blockade on May 12, 1949.
 The founding of NATO
o North Atlantic Treaty Organization - signed by twelve nations, saw the US accept the lead in the
free world’s resistance to Communist aggression. Leading roles - Senator Vandenberg, General
Marshall of the US, British Ernest Bevin, Canadian Lester Pearson.
o The Treaty bound the countries to treat an attack against one as an attack against all - US, Great
Britain, Canada, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg - JULY 1948.
o TRuman described the treaty as a “shield against aggression and the fear of aggression - a
bulwark which will permit us to get on with the real business of government and society, the
business of achieving a fuller and happier life for all our citizens.”
o APPROVED JULY 21st
The National Security Act-1947
o This was a huge restructuring of the government’s military and intelligence agencies following
the Cold War
o It established the framework for foreign policy for the next 40 plus years of the cold war
o It had three major parts
 It unified the nations military establishment by bringing together the navy department
and war department under a new department of defense.
 It established the national security council. Their purpose was to sift through the flow of
diplomatic and intelligence information in order to provide the president with brief but
detailed reports.
 Finally, it set up the central intelligence agency (CIA). It replaced the central intelligence
group which was established in 1946. However, the central intelligence agency not only
gathered information but they also carried out covert operations in foreign nations
The Soviet atomic bomb; Truman’s development of the H-bomb
 Union detonated an atomic bomb at their test site in kazakhstan
 also known as the hell bomb
 he sought advice from atomic energy commission
 three years earlier on january 31st 1950 that truman publicly announced that had directed the atomic
energy commission to proceed with the development of the Hbomb
o
NSC-68(National Security Council Report 68)
o
o
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o
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It was a 58 page top secret policy report instituted by the united states national security council
Shaped US foreign policy
It was created with input from the defense department, the state department, the CIA, and other
agencies
The report starts off by noting that america is facing an entirely new world
According to the report the US should pursue a policy of containing soviet expansion.
o
NSC-68 recommended that the US embark on rapid military expansion of conventional forces
and the nuclear arsenal, including the developement of the new H-bomb
EQ #2: How did the international community deal with the legacy and the aftermath of The Holocaust? What steps
were taken to bring about justice and to help the survivors rebuild their lives?
After watching, listening, and participating in this group’s presentation and reading through the outline found
below, briefly answer the Essential Question in several complete sentences in this box:
The Nuremberg Trials (PUNISH THE BAD GUYS)
 1945-1949
 to bring Nazi war criminals to justice
 13 trials in Nuremberg, Germany
 Nazi party officials and high-ranking military officers, German industrialists, lawyers, and doctors were put
on trial
 both civilian and military officers could be accused of war crimes
 3 different types of crime
o crimes against peace
 planning, preparing, starting or waging wars of aggression or wars in violation of
international agreements
o war crimes
 violations of customs or law of war which includes improper treatment of civilians and
prisoners of war
o crimes against humanity
 murder, enslavement, or deportation of civilians or persecution on political, religious or
racial grounds
 Hitler wasn’t brought to trial because he committed suicide before
 The Allies eventually established the laws and procedures for the trials with the London Charter of the
International Military Tribunal (IMT)
o issued on August 8, 1945
 Trials and People convicted of crimes
o Trial of Major War Criminals
 the best-known
 November 20, 1945 - October 1, 1946
 trials had prosecutors and defense attorneys (chosen by the people put on trial), but the
decisions were made by a panel of judges rather than a jury or a single judge
 each of the 4 Allied powers supplied two judges (a main and an alternate)
 24 individuals and 6 Nazi organizations were indicted
 multiple people committed suicide before they were able to be put on trial
 all but 3 found guilty
 12 sentenced to death
 1 was absent from trial
 the rest were given up to 10 years in prison
 10 were executed by hanging
o Subsequent Trials (1946-49)
 12 additional trials
 185 indicted
 12 death sentences
 8 life in prison
 77 prison terms of varying length
different from first trial because they were conducted before U.S. military courts rather
than the international court (because of differences among the Allied powers)
 accused crimes included:
 medical experiments on war prisoners
 slave labor
 stealing from occupied countries
 violence against concentration camp inmates
o Adolf Eichmann fled the country after the war and was found in 1961 in Argentina. He was then
hanged as punishment for his crimes.
controversial at the time
now regarded as a milestone toward the establishment of a permanent international court and an
important precedent for dealing with later instances of genocide and other crimes against humanity
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·
Displaced Persons Act
 From 1945 to 1952, more than 250,000 Jewish displaced persons (DPs) lived in camps and urban centers
in Germany, Austria, and Italy. These facilities were administered by Allied authorities and the United
Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA).
· Founding of Israel (FINDING A PLACE FOR PEOPLE TO GO)
<<Problems>>
 Although the United States supported the Balfour Declaration of 1917, which favored the establishment
of a Jewish national home in Palestine, President Franklin D. Roosevelt would not intervene without
consulting both the Jews and the Arabs in that region.

From WWI and on, the British controlled Israel under the Mandate System and under the name
Mandatory Palestine (until May 1948)

It opposed both the creation of a Jewish state and an Arab state in Palestine as well as unlimited
immigration of Jewish refugees to the region. Great Britain wanted to preserve good relations with the
Arabs to protect its vital political and economic interests in Palestine.

Zionists - people fighting to return to the holy land (create Israel)

Everybody wants control of this area because every religion has ties to areas in this country.
<<Under Truman>>
 In October 1946, Truman publicly declared his support for the creation of a Jewish state.
 Throughout 1947, the United Nations Special Commission on Palestine examined the Palestinian question
and recommended the division of Palestine into a Jewish and an Arab state.
o That recommendation was delivered and planned to adopt Partition Resolution and officially
divide Palestine into Jewish and Arab territories once the British mandate expired.
o Obvious tension between the Arabs and the Jews; currently (2013), population 20.7% Arab and
75.3%
o May 14, 1948 declared
EQ #3: How did the Cold War transform Asia in the post-war era? What steps did Truman take to confront and
contain Communism in that part of the world?
After watching, listening, and participating in this group’s presentation and reading through the outline found
below, briefly answer the Essential Question in several complete sentences in this box:
Truman and the Dawn of The Cold War in Asia suggested topics:
· U.S. Occupation of Japan and MacArthur/US-Japanese Security Treaty
 after WWII, Japan was occupied by the allied powers
 the San Francisco peace treaty was signed in september 1951, came into force in april 1952, and ended
the occupation

On VJ day, Truman appointed general MacArthur as supreme commander for the allied powers (SCAP) to
supervise the occupation of Japan
 SCAP was given direct control of the main islands of Japan and the surrounding islands, and the outlying
possessions were divided amongst the allied powers
 japanese officials met MacArthur in August and discussed his plans for occupation
 MacArthur made several laws: no allied personnel were allowed to assault the japanese people, eat the
scarce food
 on september 2nd, japan formally surrendered with the Japanese Instrument of Surrender
 Truman approved “US Initial Post-Surrender Policy for Japan”-this set aside two objectives: eliminating
Japan’s war potential, and turning Japan into a western style nation with pro- American orientation
 MacArthur first set up a food distribution network
 he then brought in troops to tokyo
 outcomes:
o disarmament- japan’s postwar constitution had a peace clause which banned war and banned
japan from maintaining any armed forces
o democratization- Japan developed a new constitution which enfranchised women, guaranteed
fundamental human rights, and strengthened the powers of parliament and the cabinet while
destrenghtenizing powers of the police and the local government
o passed the first trade union act which gave workers the right to form unions
o passed labor standards act which governed the working conditions of the country
 in 1949, MacArthur made a change in the SCAP structure that increased the powers of Japan’s native
rulers and the occupation ended
 US-Japanese Security Treaty
o signed in 1952 after the Treaty of San Francisco
o it was made so the US was allowed maintain the peace in East Asia and exerts its power on
Japanese domestic fights
o the treaty established that each country would seek to resolve any international disputes
peacefully
o both parties assumed an obligation to maintain and develop their capacities to resist armed
attack in common and to assist each other in case of armed attack on territories under Japanese
administration
· Communist China; Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong
 On October 1,1949 Mao Zedong declared the creation of the People’s Republic of China.
 Ended Chinese Civil War of PRC and the Nationalist Party
 Communism in China grew during WWII
 Chiang Kai-Shek was president of China and was supported by the US
 USA’s attempts to block communism in china failed
 Tried to starts a civil war between the Nationalist Government and the Communist Forces.
 Sent nearly 3 billion in aid to the nationalists between 1945 and 1949
 Chiang's forces fell easily without some fight at all as Mao’s troops marched south
 This shocked America when people found out of the establishment of the communist china

People expected China to be a market and the counter to asian communism and instead became known
as “red china”
· US-Philippines Security Treaty
 Made up of 8 articles
 Said that the Philippines and US would help each other if either were attacked by another country.
 Created to stop the spread of communism.
 Today we still honor this agreement.
· The Korean War (this is a big deal- spend a lot of time on this!)
 After defeating Japan the U.S. and the Soviet union split Korea into two with both the U.S. and Soviet
Union agreeing to hold democratic elections. Though the north and south were eventually supposed to
come together into one country over time the Soviets created a communist state and the U.S. set up a pro
western democratic state.
 The war itself started after the North Korean army advanced over the border and invaded South Korea.
Armed by the Soviets the North Koreans overran the ill equipped South Koreans and captured the capital
(Seoul) within three days.
 The UN and the US opposed this and about a month later came to South Korea’s aid
 The UN and US forces pushed the North Koreans back all the way to Yalu river which borders China.
 China issued warnings against the UN that said it should stop all aggressions against North Korea.
 Then Chinese consequently mount a huge surprise offensive against the US and UN forces which sent
them into hasty retreat.
 On November 5th 1950 president Truman threatened to use atomic weapons against the communist
forces.
 The North Koreans and Chinese managed to push the democratic forces back across the 38th parallel
(where the country was initially divided) and as far as 30 miles south of Seoul before the UN and US
started their counter offensive.
 The US and UN advance slightly north of the 38th parallel where peace talks start.
 Bloody stalemate reminiscent of World War 1 starts as peace talks repeatedly fail.
 Eventually an armistice is agreed to and a 2.5 mile buffer zone between both countries is established.
 Technically North and South Korea are still at war today.
o Truman vs. MacArthur, his dismissal
EQ #4: How and why did conditions for African Americans improve after the war? What role did civil rights
organizations play, as well as the Supreme Court and President Truman?
After watching, listening, and participating in this group’s presentation and reading through the outline found
below, briefly answer the Essential Question in several complete sentences in this box:
Truman and Civil Rights suggested topics
 Voter registration drives in the south
o Over one million african americans served in the war
o Black soldiers wanted more of a say after the war
o Black registration increased to 12% by 1947
o Truman thought it was because Black soldiers weren’t given what they needed from the
legislative branch
 President’s Committee on Civil Rights, 1946
o Issued December 5, 1946
o committee was instructed to investigate the status of civil rights and suggest measures to
improve and secure them
o Terms of reference:
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o
o
o
o
o
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 examine the condition of civil rights in the US
 produce a written report of their findings
 submit recommendations to improve civil rights in the US
“To Secure These Rights”
o In October 1947, To Secure These Rights: The Report of the President’s Committee on Civil Rights
was produced
 178 pages long
 Proposed to create a permanent Civil Rights Commission, a Joint Congressional
Committee of Civil RIghts, and a Civil Rights Division in the Department of Justice to give
federal protection from lynching
o Truman took these recommendations and created executive order 9980 and 9981
 9980 desegregated the federal workforce
 9981 desegregated the military
 He also sent a message to Congress in 1948 to try to implement these
recommendations.
o Truman was active in trying to protect civil rights
 In his farewell address, he said, “There has been a tremendous awakening of the
American conscience on the great issues of civil rights--equal economic opportunities,
equal rights of citizenship, and equal educational opportunities for all our people,
whatever their race or religion or status of birth”
Desegregation of the federal government and the military: Executive Order 9981
July 26, 1948
Abolished racial discrimination in the US Armed forces
Led towards the the abolishing of segregation in the services
“It is hereby declared to be the policy of the President that there shall be equality of treatment and
opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion or national origin.
This policy shall be put into effect as rapidly as possible, having due regard to the time required to
effectuate any necessary changes without impairing efficiency or morale.”
Fahy Committee made sure the each branch of the military forces had integration in their recruitment and
unit composition practices
Important civil rights cases, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and Thurgood Marshall
o Morgan v Virginia
 Irene Morgan in the spring of 1946 boarded a bus in Virginia to go to Maryland.
 She was ordered to sit in the back by state law. She objected saying that since the bus
was an interstate bus, the Virginia law didn’t apply.
 Morgan was arrested and fined 10 dollars. Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP took on
the case saying that a 1877 Supreme court decision ruled that it was illegal for a state to
forbid segregation. They said that it was illegal for a state to require it.
 The US supreme court ruled that segregated transportation within the state was
unconstitutional. Segregating people placed an undue burden on interstate commerce.
o Shelley v Kraemer
 The Kraemer’s were a white couple who owned a property in a Missouri neighborhood
governed by a restrictive covenant. This was a private agreement that prevented blacks
from owning property in the Kraemer division
 The shelly couple moved in and the Kraemer’s went to court to enforce the restrictive
covenant.
 this essentially led to Shelly being sued.
 Said that a state court couldn’t constitutionally restrict an American from occupying
property on the basis of race. This case clearly enforced the 14th Amendment as it
portrayed that equality and separation were conflicting.
o Sweatt v Painter
 This was against the University of Texas Law school
o

 It said that black facilities that the University provided didn’t meet the standard
 Black students couldn't be excluded from white facilities then.
McLaurin v Oklahoma State
 Mclaurin was an african american
 He was admitted to Oklahoma State
 On a segregated basis.
 McLaurin the sued against the segregated basis[]=[]/
Jackie Robinson and the Brooklyn Dodgers, 1947
o Little about Jackie
 Born in Cairo, Georgia on January 31, 1919
 Attended Pasadena Junior College and UCLA
 At both PJC and UCLA Robinson played Baseball, Football, Track and Basketball
(At UCLA Jackie was the universities 1st every student to varsity in 4 separate
sports)
 Jackie was forced to leave UCLA before graduation due to financial problems
 Moved to Hawaii and played semi-pro football for Honolulu Bears
 From 1942 to 1944 Jackie Robinson served for the US Army as a second lieutenant
during WWII
 After serving Jackie went on to play professional baseball in the Negro League
 Jackie was then picked by the Dodgers to play for the MLB. Put into the
Dodgers Farm system for the Montreal Royals
o April 15th 1947 Robinson broke the color barrier by playing in his first MLB game for the
Brooklyn Dodgers
o In October of the 1947 season Jackie Robinson was named the 1st ever MLB Rookie of the Year
o Robinson finished 5th in the voting for MLB Most Valuable Player
o 6 Allstar appearances
Cases
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories_events_morgan.html
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/struggle_court2.html
Jackie Robinson
http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/la/history/jackie_robinson_timeline/timeline_1.jsp
http://www.biography.com/people/jackie-robinson-9460813
http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=121314#gameType='R'&sectionType=career&statType=1&season=
2014&level='ALL'
President’s committee:
http://www.trumanlibrary.org/hstpaper/pccr.htm
Executive Order 9981
http://www.trumanlibrary.org/anniversaries/desegblurb.htm
Voter Registration
http://www.authentichistory.com/1946-1960/8-civilrights/1946-1953/
EQ #5: Why was Truman’s handling of domestic politics and the U.S. economy following the war so often
criticized? How did the political realities of the post-war era make Truman’s ability to govern more challenging?
What steps did Truman and the Congress take to improve the economy and manage the transition from wartime
to peacetime?
After watching, listening, and participating in this group’s presentation and reading through the outline found
below, briefly answer the Essential Question in several complete sentences in this box:
Truman, Domestic Politics, and the Economy suggested topics:
· The challenges and problems of post-war demobilization/reconversion
 demobilization of American armed forces after the war demonstrated the underlying strength of neoisolationism.0 Forrestal and Secretary of War Robert P. Patterson, who had replaced Stimson in
September, warned Truman in October 1945 that demobilization jeopardized the American strategic
position in the world. Truman agreed, but felt that he could do nothing to stop it. In January 1946,
Forrestal noted in his diary, the "Under Secretary [Dean Acheson] said [demobilization] was a matter of
great embarrassment and concern to his own Department in their conduct of our foreign affairs."
 https://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/pollard.htm
“Home alive in ’45,” “no boats, no votes,” “To err is Truman”
o “home alive in 45”: the common saying among citizens after dropping the atomic bombs
o “no boats, no votes”: protesters’ slogan to make Truman release servicemen and send them
home
o “To err is Truman”: slogan created by republicans (Truman made a lot of mistakes)
o http://www.pbs.org/newshour/spc/character/essays/truman.html
· Employment Act of 1946, Council of Economic Advisors
 Employment Act of 1946: Its main purpose was to lay the responsibility of economic stability of inflation
and unemployment onto the federal government.
 An act of legislation enacted by the United States Congress that charged the government with the
responsibility of maintaining a high employment level of labor and price stability. These two goals are in
direct conflict with each other, because as full employment is achieved consistently over time, demandpull inflation will result.
 Council of Economic Advisors:
o Neither Congress nor President Truman possessed a clear vision concerning the purpose of the
three-member Council of Economic Advisers (CEA).
o President Truman made things complicated by appointing 3 people (Edwin Nourse, chair; Leon
Keyserling, vice-chair; and John D. Clark) who held disparate views concerning the CEA’s purpose
and economic policies.
o http://eh.net/encyclopedia/council-of-economic-advisers/
· Inflation and strikes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strike_wave_of_1946
 The strike wave of 1945-1946 (also called the Great strike wave of 1946) was a series of massive post-war
labor strikes from 1945 to 1946 spanning numerous industries and public utilities. They were the largest
strikes in American labor history.
After the war, wages fell across the board leading to large strikes. Among the strikers included:

10,500 film crew workers (March 1945)

43,000 oil workers (October 1945)

225,000 United Auto Workers (November 1945)

174,000 electric workers (January 1946)

93,000 meatpackers (January 1946)

750,000 steelworkers (January 1946)

340,000 coal miners (April 1946)

120,000 miners, rail & steel workers in the Pittsburgh region. (December 1946)
Others included strikes of railroad workers and "general strikes in Lancaster, Pennsylvania; Stamford, Connecticut;
Rochester, New York; and Oakland, California." In total, 4.3 million workers participated in the strikes. According to
Jeremy Brecher, they were "the closest thing to a national general strike of industry in the twentieth century."
·
·
·
·
·
·
Republican resurgence: Governors, Congress http://millercenter.org/president/truman/essays/biography/4
 Democrats had basically controlled the entire country since the 30’s
 Republicans start to come back and get elected in congress. This was a problem because Truman was a
democrat and it was very hard to get things done
Truman vs. The 80th Congress; Robert Taft http://millercenter.org/president/truman/essays/biography/3
 Truman and the 80th congress didn’t get along because Truman was a democrat and now, after the war,
the republicans come back and have power over both houses of Congress
 A lot of the things that Truman tried to get passed were vetoed by the 80th Congress, and the Congress
passed more “business” type laws
Taft-Hartley Act http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Taft%E2%80%93Hartley_Act.html
 This act, which is still in effect, limits the power and activities of labor Unions
 Truman vetoed this act at first, but congress overturned his veto
 Labor leaders called it the “slave labor bill”
 Truman argued against this bill, but wound up using it 12 times during his presidency
 Made by senator Robert Taft and representative Fred A. Hartley Jr.
Public Housing Administration and the National Housing Act
 National Housing Act of 1949 called for 810,000 public housing units
o a decade later only 320,000 had been constructed
 Housing Act established a national housing policy and providing for federal aid to slum clearance
programs and low-cost housing projects.
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Housing_Act_of_1949
GI Bill of Rights
 low-cost mortgages, low-interest loans to start a business, cash payments of tuition and living expenses to
attend college, high school or vocational education, as well as one year of unemployment compensation
 Gave benefits to vets after WWII to help them get back to normal
 http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/536006/GI-Bill-of-Rights

Baby Boom
 “the cry of the baby was heard across the land,”
 From 1946-1964 76.4 million babies were born called Baby Boomers
 By 1960 Baby Boomers and parents were 1/3 of the US
 Many families moved to the suburbs
 Optimistic views of the future, the end of years of depression and war were over, anti-communist feeling
were all reasons for the baby boom
 http://www.history.com/topics/baby-boomers
· The Fair Deal
 Had a 21 point deal with economic reform like minimum wage
 ended racial discrimination
 had a lot of opposition so it was never really used to its full potential
 http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/outlines/history-1994/postwar-america/the-fair-deal.php
· 22nd amendment
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-second_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution
 The 22nd amendment of the United States Constitution sets a term limit for election to the office of
President of the United States. Congress passed the amendment on March 21, 1947. This stopped
presidents from serving for more than two terms like Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who served four terms.
· The growth of suburbs and “the good life”
http://learningenglish.voanews.com/content/a-23-2006-12-28-voa1-83129597/126059.html
·

Some major changes began to take place in the American population. Many Americans were not satisfied
with their old ways of life.

They wanted something better. And many people were earning enough money to look for a better life.

Millions of them moved out of cities and small towns to buy newly-built homes in the suburbs.

Parents also tried to improve their children's education. In 1960, parents bought almost three times more
educational books for children than 1950.

Parents also bought millions of dollars worth of pianos, violins, and other musical instruments for their
children. Families in the suburbs wanted a new life, a good life, for their children.
The Election of 1948
http://www.270towin.com/1948_Election/


The United States presidential election of 1948 is considered by most historians as the greatest election
upset in American history. Every prediction (with or without public opinion polls) indicated that President
Harry S. Truman would be defeated by Republican Thomas E. Dewey. Truman won, overcoming a threeway split in his own party.
J. Strom Thurmond was also a person in the election. He was part of the Dixiecrats.
o Strom Thurmond and the “Dixiecrats”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/she-the-people/wp/2013/02/05/strom-thurmonds-black-daughter-aflesh-and-blood-symbol-of-americas-complicated-racial-history/
Thurmond used to be a Democrat, but he left them when Truman started to support civil rights. He was from the
South which was very segregated at the time, so he went against Truman. He formed his own party called the
Dixiecrats they supported segregation. He ended up losing the presidency to Truman and it turns out that he had a
black daughter that he never mentioned.
o Thomas Dewey
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/160474/Thomas-E-Dewey
He was the governor of New York and was also with the Republican party. He was running for president and many
believed that he was the one who was going to win the presidency. He ended up losing to Truman in the Election
1948
o Henry Wallace
http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1834600_1834604_1835417,00.html
Wallace was originally a Democrat, but he felt that Truman was going to hard on the Soviets. He then splintered
away from the Democrat party altogether. Wallace considered himself a Progressive and ran for the presidency in
1974.
EQ #6: Why was there a Red Scare following World War II? How did the fear and paranoia impact the government,
American society, and popular culture? How was this fear exacerbated by opportunistic politicians? What fears
were legitimate, and which ones were misplaced?
After watching, listening, and participating in this group’s presentation and reading through the outline found
below, briefly answer the Essential Question in several complete sentences in this box:
The Second Red Scare
 from 1950 to 1956

Truman and The 2nd Red Scare
 Federal Loyalty Program/Loyalty Review Board
o Order 9835, which established the Federal Employee Loyalty Program,
o meant to root out subversives in the government.
 first to be made by president and first in peacetime
 loyalty review boards were set up to investigate the loyalty or disloyalty of government
employees rather than doing so of high-risk areas.
 many silly things would put people off on suspicion of disloyalty
 liking foreign movies, favoring the unionization of government employees
 one man was quoted, “If communists like apple pie and I do, I see no reason
why i should stop eating it. But I would.”
 · Prosecutions under the Alien Registration Act (Smith Act)
o Issued in 1940
o Outlawed any conspiracy advocating the overthrow of the government.
o Cleared the way fro over a hundred other communist functionaries to be prosecuted.
 · McCarran Internal Security Act
o Adopted in 1950, it required that all communist groups to register with the attorney general,
forbade the entry into the United States of anyone suspected of communism, and authorized the
arrest and detention during a national emergency of “any person as to whom there is reason to
believe might engage in acts of espionage or sabotage.”
 · HUAC
o In 1947 they began hearings to expose influence in American life.
o Those who refused to answer their questions sometimes lost their livelihoods or were even
killed.
o Even a Stanford University biochemist poisoned himself and died instead of answering their
questions.
o frightened labor movement into expelling its communist unions and officers and avoiding
progressive causes.
 Congressman Richard Nixon
o Charged that Democrats bore responsibility for “the unimpeded growth of the communist
conspiracy in the United States”
 · Alger Hiss/Whittaker Chambers
o Was by far the most alarming of the Red conspiracies.
o In the midst of the 1948 presidential campaign, HUAC conducted a hearing in which Whittaker
Chambers, a senior editor at Time magazine anda former Soviet agent who had broken with the
communists in 1938, identified Hiss as an underground party member in the 1930s. Chambers
tried to prevent the West from the Red corruption. Hiss on the other hand appeared very
American, a graduate from Johns Hopkins University and Harvard Law School. He also worked on
the New Deal and the wartime State Department. In response in defending Hiss, Truman
denounced Chamber’s allegations. However, this only intensified the suspicions of the
Democratic administrations teeming with communists.
 · Civil Defense Act
o in response to the Cold war and the Red Scare, Truman organized the Federal Civil Defense
Administration, and became an official government agency after the Civil Defense Act of 1950.
o





Early on in the agency, they established fallout shelters in accordance to the Soviet Nuclear
Testing, and later on, they focused on evacuation as an option in case of Nuclear attack.
· The Rosenbergs
o Children of Jewish immigrants, the Rosenbergs were accused as co conspirators in the wartime
atomic spy network.
o They insisted that these were anti-Semitism and were being persecuted for their leftist beliefs.
o But a jury in March 1951 found them guilty for espionage.
o Sentenced to death by the electric chair, but would be found merciful if they named other spies.
They were executed on June 19, 1953 the last and most recent American civilians who lost their
lives due to espionage.
· The rise of Joseph McCarthy
o A Republican senator from Wisconsin who talked smack about the Democratic party.
o Said that Democrats were “soft on communism”.
o In February 1950 told a West Virginia audience that the United States now found itself in a
“position of impotency” because of “traitorous actions” of high officials in the Truman
administration. He claimed of having a list of 205 of names of known members of the Secretary
of State who are part of the Communist party. It was a laundry ticket.
o Republicans encouraged these accusations.
o Appealed to midwestern Republicans and blue collar workers who agreed with the senator’s
charge that a person was either a true American who detested “communists and queers” or an
“egg sucking phony liberal”.
o Grew increasingly popular among the people for having a quick and simple solution to the Cold
War problem. Wanted to use force and be aggressive with the Communists in America.
· The Red Scare in popular culture
o with the movies still taking up 90 percent of american spending on entertainment, many
directors decided to jump on the hype to create blockbusters revolving around the red scare, and
essentially using propaganda to show us how terrible it was.
o surprisingly, however, quite a few hollywood personalities joined the communist party, and
some movies were influenced in such ways.
· The Hollywood Blacklist and the Hollywood 10
o In response to actors and directors being questioned with the HUAC.
o Hollywood established a blacklist that would bring up any employees that seemed questionable.
o Consisted of Alva Bessie, Herbert Biberman, Lester Cole, Edward Dmytryk, King Lardner Jr., John
Howard Lawson, Albert Maltz, Samuel Ornitz, Adrian Scott, and Dalton Trumbo
Effects in the workplace/ common citizens
o Federal employees were analyzed to determine whether they were sufficiently loyal to the
government, and the House Un-American Activities Committee, as well as U.S. Senator Joseph R.
McCarthy, investigated allegations of subversive elements in the government and the Hollywood
film industry
o Schools had bomb drills regularly
o Americans felt the effects of the Red Scare on a personal level, thousands of alleged communist
sympathizers saw their lives disrupted, they were hounded by law enforcement, alienated from
friends and family, and fired from their jobs
o Only a small number of the accused may have been aspiring revolutionaries, most others were
the victims of false allegations or had done nothing more than exercise their democratic right to
join a political party.