American Politics & Society After the War

Problems with the Economy??? What should the government do with 12 million returning soldiers? Army cut to 1.5 million men? Unemployment? Women? Serving as the workforce? African-Americans? Change industry back to refrigerators, washers, and radios???

Labor Unrest (1946) Reasons:Reasons: ▫During the war, the government put restrictions on wages, prices, unions ▫Inflation StrikesStrikes ▫1945  Automobile, electrical, steel industries ▫Railroad  Spring of 1946  Lasted 1 month Nationwide  All Freight & Passenger Lines shutdown  Truman threatened to draft the striking workers into the military

GI Bill of Rights Help veterans adjust to civilian life after separation from service Benefits ▫Able to attend the college of their choice free of charge as long as they met entrance requirements ▫Loans for a home, farm, or business  Zero Down, low interest loans ▫unemployment pay of $20 a week for 52 weeks ▫job-finding assistance Eligibility ▫WWII veteran, served 90 days or more after September 16, 1940 and a honorable discharge.

Reasons for Postwar Prosperity Permanent War Economy ▫1948-$97 million, 1949-$128 million, 1951-$225 million Research and Development ▫New technologies-TV? Cheap Energy ▫Discovery of oil in Iran, Saudi Arabia, etc Increases in Productivity/Energy ▫Shift from Wartime to Peacetime Economy  US had put away $140 Billion in savings during the war  Average weekly wage up to $44/week

The Fair Deal Continuation of the Liberal Practices of FDR’s New Deal 21 Point program ▫Expand Soc. Sec. benefits, raise min. wage, Fair Employment Practices Act, environment & public works projects, gov’t supported scientific research, nationalized atomic energy, national health insurance 1946 Congressional elections = Republicans control both Houses ▫Defeat Fair Deal

Taft-Hartley Act (1947) Limited the Power of unions in the country after the war Outlawed closed shop unionsOutlawed closed shop unions ▫Shops that would only hire union workers Continued to permit union shopsContinued to permit union shops ▫Worker joined union after hired Permit states to pass “right to work laws”Permit states to pass “right to work laws” ▫Allowed states to prohibit union shops President allowed to call for a “cooling-off” period before a strikePresident allowed to call for a “cooling-off” period before a strike ▫Issue an injunction against work stoppage that endangered national safety or health Bill was passed over a Truman vetoBill was passed over a Truman veto

Executive Order #9981 July 26, 1948 Integrated the military

The Election of 1948 Candidates: Harry Truman (Democrat) Thomas Dewey (Republican, NY) -Ran in 1944, gained ground on FDR, expected to win the Presidency Strom Thurmond (Dixiecrat, SC) -Longest filibuster in US History, States’ Rights initiative, ran because of Executive Order #9981 Henry Wallace (Progressives) -Friend of the Communist Party, believed that we needed socialized medicine, friendly relations with USSR, etc.

Background on 1948 Early Polls ▫Dewey 44%, Truman 31%, Thurmond 16%, Wallace 9% Biggest Political Upset in US History Whistlestop CampaignWhistlestop Campaign ▫“Give em hell, Harry!” Dewey Defeats Truman??? Why? ▫Truman went on the attack! ▫Dewey never countered! ▫African-Americans and other minorities voted for Truman ▫Farmers remembered FDR during the Great Depression

Electoral Map of 1948

Revived Fair Deal Raised minimum wage from $0.40 to $0.75 Extend Social Security to 10 million more people & increased benefits by 75% National Housing Act on 1949 ▫Provide for construction of 810,000 low-income housing units with long-term rent subsidies Civil Rights ▫End discrimination in hiring for government jobs ▫Shelley v. Kraemer (1948)  Courts could not be used to enforce private covenants meant to ban blacks from residential neighborhoods

The Nuclear Age Conflicting Views of Nuclear Power ▫Fear = Awareness of Nuclear Weapons ▫Awe = Technological innovations  “secret of the atom” = “prosperity and a more complete life,” “ gateway to a new world,” “ set man on the road to the millennium”  2/3 of Americans think atomic energy would do more good than harm in the long run  Nuclear Power Plants= cheap & unlimited electricity