Post War America Chapter 19, Section 1

Readjustment and Recovery 10 million men and women are released from the army in 1946 GI Bill of Rights Would pay for their education, pay them a year’s salary, low interest rates With low interest rates GIs bought houses, soon they ran out so the suburbs are created Rise in divorce rate – women had jobs

Economic Challenges Unemployment went up, prices rose But Americans had money saved and they wanted to buy Truman becomes President in 1945 and had two major problems: stopping communism and keeping America’s economy going (remember there was a depression before the war)

Economic Woes Many workers went on strike due to lower wages and higher prices Truman threatened them in all sorts of ways to get them back to work, plus they could be labeled as communists Taft-Hartley Act – this took power away from the union

Social Unrest Truman fights for civil rights (equality for all) Federal antilynching law, ban on poll tax, and a civil rights commission Congress refused to pass these and Truman used his executive power to pass these measures first by integrating (blacks and whites together) the armed forces The 1948 election was a lively one Truman wins but these Dixiecrats emerge basically calling for segregation

Republicans Truman lost all popularity by 1951 I Like Ike McCarthyism, the Korean War hurt his image I Like Ike The Supreme Allied Commander in Europe becomes President Choose Richard Nixon as his running mate (almost lost him the election) Ike won and walked the middle ground Conservative when it comes to money, liberal when it comes to humans He was in office when Brown Vs Board of Education passed