Post War America

Mr. ErmerU.S. HistoryMiami Beach Senior HighPost War AmericaThe Post War EconomyAtomic bomb ends World War II months before expectedMany people expected wars end to bring a return to the Depression economyMany wartime contracts cancelled after Japans surrender, but consumer spending risesConsumer goods unavailable during war, now people who saved wages ready to buyConsumer demand drives up inflation, prices rise 14-15% annually in postwar yearsServicemens Readjustment Act of 1944 (G.I. Bill)Provided economic and educational assistance to returning WWII veteransHelps reinvigorate the economy, pushes many women and minorities from wartime jobs1946: Truman vetoes extension of Office of Price Administration, concerned over amendments added on by CongressInflation soars to 25%, Truman signs a very similar OPA Bill into lawLabor unrest contributes to slow economy, Truman acts as broker in disputesTruman forces striking workers back to work while also pushing for union demands

1945-1952: The Truman Years1945: Truman proposes Fair Deal social reform program to CongressExpansion of Social Security, raise minimum wage from 40 to 65 cents/hr, federal spending and investments toward full employment, Fair Employment Practices Act, public housing and slum clearance, long-range environmental and infrastructure planning, government support of research, funding the St. Lawrence Seaway, nationalization of atomic energy, universal health insuranceFair Deal ideas rejected by the majority Republican CongressLabor Management Relations Act of 1947 (Taft-Hartley Act)Forbids creation of closed shops and allows states to pass right to work lawsVetoed by Truman, but the veto is overridden by Congress the same dayElection of 1948Southern Democrats (Dixiecrats) split with Truman over Civil Rights, support ThurmondProgressives split to support Wallace over Trumans weakness and rift with SovietsTruman beats Dewey and Thurman in improbable, come-from-behind victoryCongress supports many Fair Deal initiatives after the election, stymies othersTruman pushes more civil rights issues through executive orders and courts

1948: Truman ReelectedThe Korean War (1950-1953)USA & USSR occupy Korea during WWII to expel JapaneseAfter war, US controlled the South, USSR controlled the NorthEach superpower establishes a friendly government in their half of KoreaSoviets leave North Korean in 1949 with a strong, Soviet supplied armyUSA leaves South Korea with a weak, anti-communist dictatorship of Syngman RheeRhee uses his small army to suppress South Korean dissidents1950: North Korea invades South Korea with Soviet supportSoviet Union boycotting the UN Security Council over Chinese recognitionUS gets United Nations support for South Korea, Soviets not there to vetoUS, under Gen. MacArthur, enters South Korea for its liberationUS invades at Inchon, pushing North Koreans back across 38th ParallelMacArthur pursues communists into North Korea, China intervenesMacArthur wants to attack China, Truman does notMacArthur expresses his displeasure with Truman in the media, Truman fires himNegotiations to end the war begin in 1951, ceasefire called in 1953

Limited MobilizationTruman responds to railroad and steel mill strikes by ordering the army to take control until strikes endUnions ultimately get many of their demandsOffice of Defense Mobilization regulates prices, inflation, wagesKorean War boosts economy by creating new government spendingStalemate in the war convinces Americans that something was wrongMany suspect Communist subversion/spyingThe New Red Scare & McCarthyismHouse Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)Targets Hollywood writers and producers as potential communistsHollywood Ten refuse to testify and are jailedWhittaker Chambers accuses Alger Hiss of spying for SovietsHiss was a State Dept. diplomat under Truman, liberal democratRep. Richard M. Nixon pursues case, Hiss convicted of perjuryTruman creates federal employee loyalty program, many firedRosenbergs convicted of spying for the SovietsAll of these cases, and the vast media coverage, creates anti-communist hysteria, paranoia of communist subversionSen. Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin takes advantage of hysteria to rise1950: McCarthy declares to know identity of 205 communists in State Dept.McCarthy calls many government workers to testify, never produces evidenceMcCarthy eventually runs afoul of other senators, Senate passes vote of censureHave you no sense of decency?~army lawyer J. Welch to Sen. McCarthy

Election of 1952Democrats nominate Gov. Adlai Stevenson of IllinoisRepublicans accuse him of weakness toward communist threatRepublicans nominate Gen. Dwight D. EisenhowerHero of WWII, Commander of NATO, president of Columbia Univ.Appealed to the electorate with geniality, military recordNominates Sen. Richard M. Nixon as running mateAppealed to the anti-communist hysteria of the time, attacked democrats as softEisenhower wins election in a landslide, ending two decades of Democratic governmentEnds much of the unrest of the early Cold War