THE TRUMAN PRESIDENCY
35.12 “Postwar Economic Anxieties”
35.13 “Democratic Divisions in 1948”
I. Unpopular immediately after the war (“To err is Truman”)
A. Kept soldiers in the field who wanted to return
home.
B. Reversed course after public outcry.
C. Huge demand for consumer goods led to high
inflation after WW2.
1. Truman vetoed Congress’ extension of
wartime price controls.
2. Threatened to draft striking railroad workers
into the army.
D. Republicans won control of Congress in the 1946
mid-term elections and passed the Taft-Hartley Act.
Taft-Hartley Act
•
•
•
•
AKA: “Slave Labor Bill”
Outlawed the “closed shop”
Required an 80 day cooling off period for strikes
Union leaders had to swear they are not Communists
Passed over Truman’s veto
II. Efforts to improve the economy:
A. The Employment Act of 1946
B. The G.I. Bill (1944)
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…
•
•
•
•
•
450K engineers
238K teachers
91K scientists
67K doctors
22K dentists
III. The 1948 Presidential Election.
A. Truman’s support for Civil Rights alienated
Southern Democrats.
B. South Carolina senator Strom Thurmond ran as the
“States’ Rights” Party candidate.
C. “Dewey defeats Truman” – Famous (and incorrect)
headline in the Chicago Tribune.
The 1948 Election
•
•
•
•
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.
The 1948 Election
“Dixie-crat”: Strom Thurmond
• Gov. of South Carolina
• Segregationist
• Runs in reaction to Truman's civil rights policies
The 1948 Election
Progressive: Henry Wallace
• Liberal New Dealer
• Truman’s fired him as Sec. of Commerce
• Accused of being “a tool of the communists”
Results of the 1948 Election
Truman:
Dewey:
Thurmond:
Wallace:
Party/
Democrat
Republican
Dixiecrat
Progressive
Electoral College
303
189
39
0
Pop Vote%
49.5%
45.1%
2.4%
.6%
IV. The “Fair Deal” – Truman’s Program to extend the New
Deal
A. Successes
1. Higher minimum wage
2. Federal funds for low-income housing
3. Extension of Social Security
B. Blocked by Congress
1. Anti-lynching laws.
2. Elimination of the poll tax.
3. National health insurance
4. Federal aid for education
5. Repeal of Taft-Hartley