Fair Deal Truman – “The Buck stops here.”; had to deal with a Republican congress 1. Fair Deal: 21 point program  housing assistance, higher minimum wage, more employment compensation, national commitment to maintaining full employment  health insurance, atomic energy; wanted Keynesian policies put in place  Council of Economic advisers to make recommendations to president

Republicans gaining 2. Election of 1946: Republicans won both houses of Congress for first time since 1928; 3. Election of 1948:thought John Dewey won presidency, printed in papers a. Dixiecrats left Democratic convention because of the civil rights issue b. Nominated Strom Thurmond from SC

Truman after Labor – Taft –Hartley Act – restricted power of unions by spelling out unfair labor practices and outlawed the closed shop - Truman vetoed, but Congress overrode his veto 5. Fair Deal – Minimum wage did increase, expanded social security, desegregated the military; AMA undermined the effort for health insurance 6. Cold War – increased military spending

Republicans gain the White House 1. Election of 1952: Adlai Stevenson v. Dwight D. Eisenhower -Eisenhower wins accused Democrats of being “soft on communism” 2. Modern Republicanism: dynamic conservatism: downsize government while keeping some of the social programs; conservative with money but liberal with human beings  Preferred private development over government; state control over federal control  3 recessions: ; ; 60-1

Social Conditions of the 50s 1. Poverty – 40 million people lived below the poverty line; family of four was $3000  Michael Harrington wrote “The Other America” in African- Americans –  Migration to northern cities; black ghettos  Truman called for a Committee on civil Rights – to investigate the problems of lynching  Sent Civil rights proposal to Congress  Issued an executive order barring discrimination in federal government

African American movement 1. Brown v. Board of Education reversed the Plessy v. Ferguson decision in 1896  Brown v. Board II – with all deliberate speed 2. Emmett Till 3. Rosa Parks  MIA – 50,000 walked or car pooled  Supreme Court ruled bus segregation is like school segregation unconstitutional  MLK, Jr.  SCLC

African American movement 4. Little Rock 9  Eisenhower uses national guard to integrate 5. Civil Rights Act of 1957 – Johnson  Created a commission on Civil Rights  Gave courts power to bring charges when blacks were denied the right to vote  6. Civil Rights Act of 1960 – set stiffer penalties but ineffective

Latino Americans  braceros – helping hands to harvest crops  Agreement between U.S. and Mexico to allow farmers to come in to U.S. to help; needed during WWII  Operation Wetback sent undocumented immigrants back to Mexico  Illegal immigrants worked for less; competed against the braceros  Began organizing

Native Americans 1. Assimilation as electricity was brought to the reservations  Alcohol use increased  Struggle for equality began  Indian Claims Commission – government could be sued for lands illegally taken; cash settlements 2. FDR tried to encourage tribal autonomy while Eisenhower reverted to termination  Settle outside claims and then eliminate reservations as legitimate political entities  Policy increase Indian activism

Asian Americans 1. McCarran-Walter Act 1952 eased immigration quotas  Removed longstanding ban on Japanese immigration and allowed for citizenship  Allowed 100 immigrants a year from each Asian country