Killian Petetti
Facts
• Alger Hiss was discovered to be a
communist by the HUAC in the 1930s
• Hiss was the epitome of communists
(lawyer, Harvard, worked for FDR , etc.)
• Hiss denied all of the claims
• He was seen innocent by liberals but not
conservatives
• Truman denounced Chamber’s allegation
as a “red hearing”
Facts
• Chambers also blamed him of espionage
• Hiss gave Chambers gov’t documents and
he kept them
• Hiss was charged with perjury
• Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were arrested
for espionage charges
• Some Americans found them to be
innocent but they were sentenced to death
• In 1990, Soviet documents prove Julius did
espionage
Summary
The Cold War scared many
Americans and it made many people
worried about espionage. People who
had any suspicious activity were put on
trial to see if they were communists or
Soviet spies. People were even able to
be put to death.
Key Terms
Alger Hiss and Whittaker Chambers
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
Pics
Pics
Discussion Question
What could of happened if we
did not catch Julius Rosenburg? What
secrets could he have stole? Would
those secrets have risked national
saftey?
Alger Hiss and The Rosenburgs
By: Jack Brown
Alger Hiss
• He was an American lawyer, government official, lecturer,
and author
• Accused of being a Soviet spy
• Convicted of purgery
• Whittaker Chambers (former communist) testified that Hiss
was a communist but not a spy
• When Whittaker said this on the radio, Hiss filed a law suit
• Then Whittaker admitted to being involved in espionage
with Hiss
• Sentenced to ten years in prison
• Died after 3 years and always claimed to by innocent
The Rosenburgs
• Charged with espionage
• Accused of giving info about nuclear weapons to Soviets
• The hard evidence that confirmed that Julius Rosenburg
was a spy was only let out in 1995
• Decoded Soviet cables are what confirmed the espionage
• Cables did not prove Ethel Rosenburg guilty
• She was executed anyway
• Entire trial consisted of scientist Klaus Fuchs, Harry Gold,
David Greenglass, and the Rosenburgs
• Only rosenburgs were executed because all other spy’s
gave Americans info about the other spy’s
Summary
Both Alger Hiss and the Rosenburgs were registered
American citizens accused with espionage. During
the time of the cold war, the threat of a Soviet
attack made some paranoid accusations of
espionage were flying left and right and some of
the people who caught the bad end of it were Alger
Hiss and the Rosenburgs. The conviction of these
people only furthered the anxiety of a Soviet attack
now with the Americans knowing that they cant
trust anyone.
Key Terms
Alger Hiss and Whittaker Chambers- First two
people to be involved with an espionage case
Julius and Ethel Rosenburg- coconspirators in a
wartime spy network
Discussion
Do you think the severity of the crimes
committed were a little exaggerated due to it
being a war-time?
Was it right for Whittaker Chambers to not be
charged while Hiss went to prison?
LOYALTY AND
SECURITY
&THE
ANTICOMMUNIST
CRUSADE
BY: SAMSON TESSEMA
KEY TERMS
House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) Committee that held hearings to expose communist influence
in American life
FACTS
• The Communist Party claimed 80,000 members during
World War II
• Truman issued Executive Order 9835, establishing the
Federal Employee Loyalty Program
• People were fired for “Reasonable grounds for belief that
the person is disloyal”
• 4.7 million jobholders and applicants underwent loyalty
checks by 1952
• Some people lost jobs for associating with radical friends
or had once belonged to organizations now declared
disloyal
FACTS
• By the end of Truman’s presidency, 39 states had loyalty
programs
• School teachers, professors, and state and city employees
were forced to sign loyalty oaths
• The HUAC frightened the labor movement and made them
avoid progressive causes
• The Supreme Court Case (Dennis v. United States) allowed
the curtailment of freedom of speech for national security
purposes
• The Communist Party was fading as the politicians
magnified its threat
SUMMARY
Loyalty had a major impact on the everyday lives of millions
of Americans. It scared many Americans and companies into
background checks and many were fired because of loyalty.
The First Amendment rights were violated but the Supreme
Court ruled it okay because it was for national security
purposes. Later, however, the Anticommunist Crusade was
used a political tool to frame progressives as communists.
DISCUSSION QUESTION
Do you feel it was okay for the government to curtail freedom
of speech for national security purposes?
The Fair Deal
&
The politics of Anticommunism
Kj McBride
The Fair Deal
Truman proposed a Fair deal agenda that included
civil rights, health-care, and federal aid
Based on the belief in continual economic growth
Enacted the Displaced Persons act of 1948
Raised hourly minimum wage from 40 to 75 cents
Increased social-security benefits and coverage
Expanded appropriations for public power,
conservation, and slum clearance
Authorized the construction of nearly a million lowincome houses
The Politics of Anticommunism
A second red scare began
Some Americans concluded that the nations
difficulties lay in domestic treason and
subversion
The House Un-American Activities committee
served as a platform for right-wing
denunciations of the new deal as a communist
plot
Summary
The fair deal had many new provisions and
aids for Americans and would help with many of
Americas post war problems. The congress
rejected a large portion of the deal and was
afraid of communist plots involved. Many
people and things were impaired in this period
of time because of the fear of communism.
Key Terms
Fair Deal - an ambitious set of proposals put
forward by United States President Harry S.
Truman to the United States Congress in his
January 1949 State of the Union address.
Second Red Scare – AKA: McCarthyism - fear
of communist espionage
Discussion questions
• What issues were found in Truman's Fair Deal?
• What could be added or taken away from it to
make it better?
• Why was everyone so afraid of the
communists?
Politics of Civil Rights &
Election of 1948
Morgan Gilmer
Politics of Civil Rights
• War heightened expectations of AfricanAmericans for equality
• Many pushed for fair employment and
outlawing of lynching
• Southern whites reacted brutally
• Truman said he would act to help African
Americans
• Established President’s Committee on Civil
Rights
Election of 1948
• Considered the greatest election upset in American history
• Truman endorsed weak civil-rights bill to keep Southern support
after founding President’s Committee on Civil Rights
– Lost Democrat support because of anti-Soviet policies
• Eisenhower was urged to run but did not want to
• Dixiecrats– hoped to restore “southern way of life”
• Dewey decided to run in conservative manner because he already
had many votes
• Truman took to the road to help rebuild the broken up
Democrats
• Truman shockingly won the election
Summary
After World War II, African Americans returned
hoping to have equal rights. They were met with
protests and resistance from conservatives.
Truman tried to help them, but he decided to run
in 1948 with a weak Civil Rights plan to keep
Southern support. Everyone expected the win in
the election to go to Thomas Dewey, but Truman
was reelected with help from the moderate
Democrats because of global affairs and the
radical ways of the opposing parties.
Key Terms
• President’s Committee on Civil Rights
Politics of Civil Rights
Election of 1948
Discussion
What events and conditions in America
allowed the moderate Truman to beat the
radical Thomas Dewey in the election of 1948?
The Truman Administration at Home, 19451952
and
The Eightieth Congress, 1947-1948
Miriam van der Spek
Truman Facts
• Family and career, not public issues, interested most
Americans.
• 2nd and 3rd generation white Americans began to reject liberals
at the polls.
• Voters cared more about the growing crime rate and the
decline in family authority than about the civil rights of AfricanAmericans.
• They feared communist subversives, not the loss of civil
liberties.
• Anticommunism was wanted, and people wanted victory in the
Cold War, not a standstill like what was occurring.
Congress Facts
• Massive post-war strikes created a national consensus for
curbing union power.
• In 1947, more than 20 states passed laws restricting union
activity and Congress passed the Taft-Hartly act (LaborManagement Relations Act).
• The act weakened organizing drives in the nonunion South and
West (relocating labor intensive industries from Northeast and
Midwest),and also drove leftists from CIO positions of power
(weakening organized labor as a force for social justice).
• Truman vetoed the bill in hopes of gaining voters for the 1948
election, but Congress overrode his opposition.
• Congress defeated Democratic bill to raise the minimum wage
and to provide federal funds for education and housing.
Key Terms
• Truman
none
• Congress
Taft-Hartly Act
Summery
The Truman Administration sparked many new ideals. People in America began
to worry more about themselves then the good overall. Conservative views
began to replace the former liberal ones, and civil rights and unemployment no
longer mattered. What they wanted was a victory in the Cold War, a decline in
crime and a rise in family authority and lower taxes. They wanted an
administration who would cost them little, and didn’t worry about whether
justice was served or not.
In the Eightieth Congress, many appeals from democrats were shot down,
while congress worked to pass the Taft-Hartly Act, an act that would weaken
unions and give the power to the government to call off any strike. Truman
vetoed this bill, but was eventually over-ruled. Truman’s main reason for this
was the want to be re-elected in the 1948 elections. His want for re-election
also caused him to stress opposition for the Iron Curtain, over-rode objections
of the state department, and widely offered sympathies to Holocaust and War
survivors.
Truman Administration Pictures
The Eightieth Congress Pictures
Discussion Question
How did the Taft-Hartly Act affect America in the 1940s?
THE
KOREAN
WAR
JACK WHEATLEY
FACTS
Anti-Communist South Korean strength: 972,214
(326,863 Americans)
Communist North Korean strength: 1,642,600
Lasted June 25th, 1950-July 27th,1983
First armed conflict in the global struggle between
democracy and communism (Cold War)
Gen. Douglas MacArthur was declared commander of
the U.N. forces supporting South Korea, but was later
replaced after publicly criticizing U.S. policy and
threatening the Chinese with massive retaliation.
FACTS
South Korean strength dead/missing/wounded: 178,426
(33,741 American Deaths); 32,925; 566,434
North Korean strength: 367,283-750,282; 686,500-789,000
38th parallel divided Korea into North and South territories,
and was the location for much of the fighting
War ended with Korean Armistice Agreement, signed in
Panmunjom, which kept North and South Korea separate
after war
Also known as “Forgotten War,” “Fatherland Liberation War”
in North Korea, “Six-Two-Five War” in South Korea, & “War to
Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea” in China
SUMMARY
• After World War II, Korea was divided across thirty-eighth
parallel. The line divided the country into the Americansupported Anti-Communist South Korea and the Sovietsupported Communist North Korea. On June 25th 1950,
North Korean troops invaded South Korean troops to
capture the South Korean capital of Seoul. However, right
as the UN Troops were cornered on the tip of a peninsula,
at risk of falling into the sea, General Douglas MacArthur
of the United States made a brilliant tactical move to
provide help from the sea and push the North Koreans
back. Within two weeks, the North Koreans had been
pushed back all the way across the 38th Parallel.
MacArthur wanted to pursue the North Koreans all the
way into their home country.
SUMMARY, CONT’D
With President Harry S. Truman being angry about
the communism in North Korea, he gave the
general consent. However, when the Chinese
threatened to counterattack if the fighting raged
past the Yalu River (Border between Korea and
China), and did so, the South Korean strength
suffered a major setback. Truman fired MacArthur
for insubordination after he called for an escalation
of the war while Truman wished to prevent a world
war, not start one. However, the American citizens
supported general MacArthur to get back at
communism.
SUMMARY, CONT’D
However, the American citizens supported general MacArthur
to get back at communism. In a lose-lose situation for
Truman, the fighting raged on in a stalemate for two years
until the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed, separating
Korea into North and South Korea across the 38th Parallel
(nothing had changed.) The whole war did not accomplish
much, and cost the United States excess of $54 billion. It
increased defense spending from $13 billion to $60 billion.
The U.S. army more than doubled. And by agreeing to a
military pact with Australia and New Zealand and committing
itself to rearm Germany, the American dollars were flowing
out like waterfalls. They were also covering nearly threefourths of French war costs in Vietnam. The only main
success for the U.S. is that they prevented some of the
communism in North Korea.
KEY TERMS
Korean War
38th Parallel and Communism also very important
DISCUSSION QUESTION
Who truly won the Korean War??
Why did the North Koreans cross the 38th Parallel and attack
the South Koreans in the first place??
By: Josh Vergules




The US tried to block communist influence in
China and funded Nationalists efforts headed
by Jiang Jieshi
US failed to stop communism in China and
Mao Zedong established the Communist
People’s Republic of China (PRC)
After Jiang’s defeat he and his regime
collapsed and withdrew to Taiwan
The United Nations refused to recognize the
PRC and proclaimed Jiang’s Nationalist
regime in Taiwan the legitimate government
of China






In 1949 Soviets explode their first nuclear bomb
Americans panicked practiced air raid drills and
built bomb shelters to protect them against a
nuclear soviet attack
Truman ordered a crash program to build a
fusion-based hydrogen bomb
In November 1952 the US detonated first
Hydrogen bomb named “Mike”
Nine months later the soviets detonated their
own Hydrogen bomb
Truman Called for a review of defense policies
the secret report NSC-68, emphasized soviet
strength the US tried to counteract this with a
large army and a surplus of nuclear weapons


This chapter talks about America’s war on
communism starting with their failed attempt
to reform china
The Chapter then shifts its focus to the
increased tensions between USSR and the USA
starting with the nuclear race and then a
secret report which caused a enlargement of
the US armed forces and Nuclear weapon
supply


Mao Zedong
NSC-68

What would it be like if the Cold War with
Russia resulted in Nuclear warfare, and what
effect would it have on our daily life now?
By: Garrett Cantor
February 21, 1947 – Britain tells US they can no longer afford to help
Turkey and Greece fight the communists
March 12, 1947 – Truman asks for $400 million in military aid
Congress set up DoD and CIA
Germany divided into 4 zones, Berlin divided into 4 zones
Stalin blockaded West Berlin
Truman orders B-29 bombers to England
Stalin ends blockade after US airlifts supplies
US, Britain, and France end occupation of West Germany and allow the
Federal Republic of Germany to form
US forms NATO to protect West Europe from Russian attack
Truman convinces Congress to set aside $1.3 billion for NATO countries
and convinces Dwight Eisenhower to become Supreme Commander of
NATO forces

Starting in February of 1947, when Britain
informed the US that it could no longer afford to
fight the communist threat in Turkey and
Greece, the United States became the “global
policeman”. As the economies of Western
Europe grinded to a halt, and the communists
began to gain support for their cause, Truman
decided that something had to be done. He
convinced Congress to send $400 million In
military assistance to Turkey and Greece to fight
in the “universal struggle of freedom against
tyranny.

The Soviets response to American actions was to keep
a watchful eye on Eastern Europe. As Western powers
tried to unite their regions of Germany, the Soviets
decided to lock down Berlin. Even though it was split
into 4 parts, it was deep inside East Germany and the
USSR decided to lock down any routes through their
zone to Berlin. Truman ordered frequent air drops
until this ended in 1949. After West Germany was
officially its own nation, the United States, Canada,
and Western European powers formed NATO to keep
the Soviet Union at Bay.
Truman Doctrine
National Security Act of 1947
Marshall Plan
Berlin Airlift
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
• Why was it necessary for Truman to
call for the creation of NATO?
• Why did the United States feel the
need to combat the communists in
Greece and Turkey?
Emily Higginson
• Joseph Stalin wanted to end the Soviet Union’s weakness of
invasions from the west by having an military-free Germany
and a line of nations friendly with Russia along the its western
edge.
• Stalin wanted dominance in Eastern Europe and encouraged
independent countries to turn to a communist government.
• Truman did not want to allow Soviet rule past Russia’s borders
and opposed the idea of dictators.
• They could not get along so they stayed very separate from one
another.
• The Cold war began when the Americans met up with the
Soviets to celebrate the ending of Hitler’s ruling.
• The Soviet Union wanted to be separate from all non-communist
areas.
• The Soviet Union was to the East of this “curtain” and on the
West, states established their own global financial and armed
alliances.
• The Iron Curtain was given its name from Winston Churchill in a
speech given to warn everyone of the threat to Western
democracies (Moscow).
• The Soviet Union began to develop nuclear weapons and
Truman tried to get them to stop but they refused.
• U.S. started to develop nuclear weapons of their own to
prepare for the worst.
• Less than a year later, Soviet and American soldiers met at a
river to celebrate the defeat of Hitler when the Cold War
began.
Soviet leader Joseph Stalin and Harry S. Truman did not agree on
“enforcing sovietization” on other countries. Stalin wanted more
countries to have a communist government and Truman did not.
The U.S. and Soviet Union did not want to have military fighting
between one another. Winston Churchill gave a speech about the
separation of communist countries and independent countries using
the term Iron Curtain (A border separating the West from the
Soviets) and the president supported this speech. Many believe
this was the start to The Cold War which was a war where there
was no military action, only things like threats passed between
countries.
• George F. Keenan
• Containment
Do you think that the Cold War was successful? Why/Why not?
The Economic Boom &
Truman’s Domestic Program
By: A.J. Drobot
The Economic
Boom Facts
The Economic Boom Facts:
• During the boom Americans spent an estimated $135 billion
dollars in money saved from the war.
• New products boomed such as televisions, phonographs,
automatic transmissions and freezers.
• The Bretton Woods agreement among all the allies had set the
stage for the U.S. to become the economic leader of the
noncommunist world.
• The International Monetary Fund (IMF) stabilized exchange rates
by valuing other currencies related to the U.S. dollar.
• This helped create the International Bank for Recreation and
Development.
Truman’s Domestic
Program Facts
Truman’s Domestic Program Facts:
• Nicknamed the “fair deal”
• Marked a new stage in the history of Modern Liberalism in the U.S.,
but the Conservative Coalition dominant in Congress.
• Helped repeal the Taft-Hartley Act
• His most important proposals were to help education
• The only significant domestic accomplishment was the Employment
Act of 1946
Summary
The Economic Boom was a period of time after the war had ended.
Families were able to save a lot of money while their loved ones were
away at war and woman had to work which also brought in more
money. When the men returned American’s turned into consumers
rather than producers and spent over $135 billion dollars between
the period of late 1946-1956.
The Truman Domestic Program was a program designed to help out
American’s here at home that were not in good situations financially.
The program was known as the “fair deal” and increased minimum
wages. Truman was hoping he could focus on education but the only
real accomplishment he had was passing the Employment Act of
1946.
Economic Boom
Levittown, NY
Truman’s Domestic
Program
Political Cartoon of all the
things going on while
Truman was working on his
domestic program.
Discussion Questions
Economic Boom
Since the economy boomed as a direct result of the war, why
hasn’t that occurred with our economy after any other war?
Truman’s Domestic Program
How does Truman’s efforts in your opinion influence today’s society?
Demobilization
and Reconversion
AND
The G.I. Bill of
Rights
Josh Shikoff
Period 9
Summary of Demobilization
and Reconversion
Demobilization- the process of being discharged/disbanded
from the military
Reconversion-The act of re-converting back to a previous state
or condition
Following the Cold War in 1945, civilians want the soldiers
to return home. After Truman agreed to this popular
demand, the soldiers were able to return home, resulting in
a weaker military. The returning vets faced readjustment
problems such as divorce and a lack of available housing,
and fear of unemployment rose. As a result, by the end of
the decade, more women were working outside of the
house in traditional jobs.
•
•
•
•
•
Demobilization and
Reconversion FACTS
Civilians and Soldiers used sayings like “Home
alive in ’45” and “No Boats, No Votes” in order to
convince the Congress to let them return home
In one day in December 1945, sixty thousand
postcards arrived at the white house saying “Bring
the boys home by Christmas”
In 1948, the American military strength dropped
from 12 million to 1.5 million
In 1946, Defense spending dropped from 76 billion
to 20 billion
More than 1 million defense jobs vanished
Demobilization and Reconversion
Pictures
Summary of The GI Bill of
Rights
The GI Bill of Rights was designed to forestall the expected
recession by easing veterans back into the daily American
lifestyle.
What it provided veterans with
• Jobs in the work force, even if it meant taking jobs from women
• Occupational guidance
• 52 week unemployment benefits(if needed)
• Veterans Hospitals
• Low Interest loans to help buy homes, start businesses, start farms
• A paid four years of education or job training
The aftermath of the GI Bill was a large increase in
veterans education= veterans into the middle class=
heightening of the postwar demand for goods and
services=better economy
The GI Bill of Rights FACTS
•
•
•
•
•
•
Also know as the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of
1944
4 million vets bought loans with government loans
In 1946, 1.5 million veterans were attending
college. By 1956, 10 million vets used the GI Bill to
enroll in colleges
Veterans made up over half the college students in
1947
To make room for veterans, many colleges had to
limit the amount of women or incoming students
that were allowed to be admitted to the colleges
15 billion dollars spent by government for veterans
education
GI Bill Pictures
Key Terms
GI Bill
Discussion Questions
If you were in Truman’s position in the
1940’s, would you have agreed to send
the soldiers home well knowing your
military would take a hit?
Do you agree with the passing of the GI
Bill? If so, why, if not, why not? What
controversies do you think came up with
the passing of the GI Bill?
What do you think were some of the long
term effects of the GI Bill?