Chapter 16, Section 1 Vocabulary, Truman
and Eisenhower.
GI Bill: Also called The Servicemen’s Readjustment Act. This law helped
to boost the post-war economy by providing our returning servicemen
with funds to buy homes, start businesses and go to college.
Legislators: People who make laws as a member of a political,
legislative body. Today Congress consists of 435 members of the
House of Representatives and 100 members of the Senate.
Closed Shop: The practice by unions to force business owners to hire only
union members. This practice was outlawed by the Taft-Hartley Act.
Right-to-work laws: Under the Taft-Hartley Act states could pass
right-to-work laws which outlawed Union Shops.
Union Shops: Shops (or places of business) in which new workers were
required to join the union.
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Do-Nothing-Congress: Label applied by President Truman to describe
the Republican controlled 1948 Congress which Truman said failed to
pass his legislative agenda.
Fair Deal: Nickname Truman gave to his legislative agenda after
winning re-election in 1948. Truman hoped that since the American
people also voted in a Democratic controlled Congress that his
proposals for national health care, civil rights, subsidies for farmers
and aid for schools would become law. Congress did not support this
part of Truman’s agenda.
Dynamic Conservatism: Nickname newly elected middle of the road
politician, President Dwight D. Eisenhower used to describe his
domestic agenda. Eisenhower meant to balance economic conservatism
with activism in areas that would benefit the country. It was
conservative because Eisenhower wanted to reduce the role of the
Federal Government in regulating business but he increased the role of
the Federal Government in creating major transportation systems in
the USA (activism).
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Federal Highway Act: With more cars being produced and purchased,
Eisenhower asked and Congress passed this law which resulted in the
largest public works program in American history. This act spent $25
billion dollars over a ten year period to construct more than 40,000
miles of state highways (I-95).
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