1. American Politics & Society After the War 1945-1953

2. 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???

3. 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

4. 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.

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. Executive Order #9981 July 26, 1948 Integrated the military

9. 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.

10. 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

11. Electoral Map of 1948

12. 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

13. 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