THE
TRUMAN
PRESIDENCY
Two Cold War themes…
1) Conflict with the
Soviets…
2) Conflict between
Truman & Congress…
THE
TRUMAN PRESIDENCY
Objectives…
Describe the post WW II
domestic challenges &
evaluate how HST handles
these challenges.
“To Err is Truman”
1) The two major domestic challenges...
facing the Truman Administration
following WW II…
• Demobilization…
• Re-establish the peace time economy…
Demobilization
• Slogans:
– “Home Alive in 45”
– “No Boats, No Votes”
• Postcards to the Whitehouse...
“Bring the boys home by X-mas”
• “Bring Daddy Home” Clubs
Heading home at last…
Across Europe, Asia & the Pacific, America’s victorious GIs pack up,
tear down & head home to restart their lives.
“To Err is Truman”
2) The economic problems
associated with reconverting the
economy?
The challenge of economic reconversion…
- 9M returning vets
- War plants close - 35B in contracts cancelled
- Fear of returning to the depression
- Consumers are tired of economic sacrifice
- Inflation: 16% in 1 week
- Labor unrest
Social problems in the
post war era…
– Fear of “blood lust”
– The divorce rate up
– Housing shortages
FDR signs the
Servicemen’s Readjustment Act
or
“GI Bill of Rights” in 1944
For returning veterans…
-Education… college for vets
- Medical treatment
- Business loans
- Housing loans
The "GI Bill" exceeded all
expectations…
• 21M get educated
• 1947: GIs = 50% of college enrollment
• The American workforce…
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•
•
•
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450K engineers
238K teachers
91K scientists
67K doctors
22K dentists
4) Truman’s
Twenty-one Point Program
(1945-1946)
•
•
•
•
Unemployment insurance
Higher minimum wage
Housing assistance
National health insurance
The 1946 Mid-term Elections
“Had enough???”
- The results…
5) What voter sentiments were reflected in
the 1946 midterm election?
The 80th Congress
The 80th Congress defeats most of Truman’s
proposals for dealing with these problems.
“No good, do-nothing Congress”- HST
Republicans
-Shrink New Deal
Democrats
-Extend New Deal
Summarize the opposing viewpoints of labor
and management in the post war era.
6) Taft-Hartley Act
AKA: “Slave Labor Bill”
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•
•
•
•
A reaction to labor unrest
Limits the closed shop
Requires an 80 day cooling off period for strikes
Union leaders must swear they are not Communists
Passed over Truman’s veto
THE
TRUMAN PRESIDENCY
Objective…
Describe the factors that most
influenced the outcome of the 1948
election?
The 1948 Election
7) Progressive: Henry Wallace
• Liberal New Dealer
• Truman’s fired him as Sec. of Commerce
• Accused of being “a tool of the communists”
The 1948 Election
7) Dixie-crat: Strom Thurmond
• Gov. of South Carolina
• Segregationist
• Runs in reaction to HST's civil rights policies
Senator Strom Thurmond served until age 100.
He was 103 when he died in 2003
The 1948 Election
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•
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Democrat: Harry Truman
Maintain/ expand New Deal
Adopts civil rights policies to counter Wallace
Desegregates the military
Attacks the 80th “Do-nothing Congress”
The 1948 Election
Republican: Thomas Dewey
• Gov. of NY
• Reverse the New Deal
• Attacks Truman for poorly managing the Communist
threat.
Results of the 1948 Election
HST:
Dewey:
Thurmond:
Wallace:
Party/
Dem…
Rep….
Dixiecrat
Prog…
Electoral College
303…
189…
39…
0…
Pop Vote%
49.5%
45.1%
2.4%
.6%
8) What were the factors that most influenced the outcome
of the 1948 Presidential election?
THE
TRUMAN PRESIDENCY
Objectives…
Identify the policies associated with the
Fair Deal and evaluate the success of
these Fair Deal policies.
Truman’s
Inauguration
9) & 10) The Fair Deal
What is the Fair Deal?...
Success…
-Social Security
-Minimum wage
-Housing subsidies
-Urban housing
Failure…
-Civil rights
-Taft Hartley repeal-Health Insurance
-Aid to education
HST & Civil Rights
• 1946: Forms Commission on CR:
-Recommend…
Anti-lynching law
End Poll Tax law
• 1948 HST desegregates the military
• Meets with CR leaders to discuss “racial terrorism” in
America