1. Chapter 20: Society After WWII Section 1: The Challenges Of Peace

2. Postwar Measures  Congress’ first priority after WWII was preventing another economic depression and helping the soldiers coming home to adjust to civilian life GI Bill of Rights.  Congress passed the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, AKA the {GI Bill of Rights.  The bill provided pensions and government loans to help veterans start businesses, buy homes or attend college} GI Bill  {Thanks to the GI Bill almost 8 million veterans attended college} or tech. schools between 1944 and 1956

4. Postwar Economy Employment Act  To ensure economic growth after the war, Congress passed the Employment Act of 1946, which established the government would promote full employment and production Council of Economic Advisers  The Employment Act also established the Council of Economic Advisers to confer with the president on economic policy  Another Depression never came. People kept spending money, businesses transferred to making consumer goods instead of war materials smoothly and farmers continued and actually increased their export of food  However, there were problems like postwar inflation and {many people lost their jobs to make room for the returning soldiers}

5. The 1948 Election  High inflation and labor unrest had decreased public support for President Truman  But his position of civil rights became an important issue in the 1948 election  Civil rights groups urged Truman to take a stand on racism and segregation Committee on Civil Rights  {In December 1946 Truman created the Committee on Civil Rights to examine racial issues}  The committee’s report documented wide spread civil rights violations based mostly on segregation and violence  Based on the report’s findings, Truman urged Congress pass an anti-lynching law and issued executive orders to ban racial discrimination in the military and in federal hiring and in companies with government contracts

7. The Democratic Convention  The south strongly opposed Truman and his views on civil rights  The proposal of a strong campaign for civil rights divided the Democratic Party and the all white southern delegation threatened to walk out of the convention  {After a bitter debate the delegates decided to adopt the civil rights platform States’ Rights Party Dixiecrats}  The southern delegates stormed out of the convention and formed the States’ Rights Party or the Dixiecrats} Dixiecrats  {{The Dixiecrats called for continued segregation} J. Strom Thurmond  They nominated South Carolina governor J. Strom Thurmond as their presidential candidate}

9. The Progressive Party Henry Wallace  Troubled by Truman’s anti-labor actions in 1946, former vice-president Henry Wallace and other liberals broke from the Democratic Party and founded the Progressive Party.  They called for an extension of the New Deal and to repair our relations with the Soviet Union DemocratsDixiecrats Progressives  {With the Democratic Party now divided into three groups (the Democrats, the Dixiecrats and the Progressives)} the Republicans believed they were assured a victory Thomas Dewey  They nominated New York Governor Thomas Dewey as their candidate  In one of the greatest upsets of U.S. political history Truman won the election

10. The Fair Deal Fair Deal  {Truman proposed to Congress his idea of the Fair Deal  The Fair Deal promised full employment, a higher minimum wage, a national health insurance program, affordable housing, increased aid to farmers and the expansion of welfare benefits}  Some of the points of the Fair Deal came to be like minimum wage and increased Social Security  Though overall the Fair Deal had limited success because of the conservative post war political attitude  Most people just wanted peace and stability after all the recent chaos