1. Post War America
Chapter 19, Section 1

2. 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

3. 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)

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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