THE TRUMAN ADMINISTRATION AT HOME AND THE POLITICS OF ANTI COMMUNISM By Katherine Rangoussis and Moira Greaney
AIDING THE VETERANS GI Bill/ Service Readjustment Act (1944): gave veterans priority for jobs and offered lowinterest loans for buying homes and starting businesses Also payed four years of additional education for veterans, which gave rise to new colleges and democratized college education by making it possible for ordinary citizens to pursue higher education However, colleges accepted less women to make room for the growing number of veterans, resulting in a significantly lower number of women receiving degrees and better jobs
TRUMAN'S DOMESTIC PROGRAM Employment Act of 1946: Truman's only real domestic policy that established a Council of Economic Advisers to draft policies for maintaining employment, production, and purchasing power A price-control crisis arose as Congress worsened inflation through dismantling war-time controls and consumer demand overrunning the supply of goods, and Truman eventually lifted all price controls A United Mine Workers walkout prompted Truman to take aggressive action by threatening to draft the striking workers, and, though it was successful, Truman had angered most interest groups by this time, especially laborers
THE EIGHTIETH CONGRESS Due to Truman's decreasing popularity, Republicans had own control of Congress by 1946 and disregarded Democratic bills to raise minimum wage, provide federal funds for education, and protect organized labor Taft-Hartley Act (1947): outlawed secondary boycotts and required all union leaders to sign an anticommunism loyalty oath Truman used this time to gain support back from laborers with asking to repeal the Taft-Hartley Act, as well as Jewish Americans by sympathizing with Holocaust victims, and he ultimately won the election in 1948
THE FAIR DEAL Truman's Fair Deal involved civil rights, national healthcare laws, and funds for public education with the desired effect of economic growth However, this was rejected by Congress, which only expanded a few existing programs such as minimum wage and social security
ANTI COMMUNISM SENTIMENT The exposure of a Soviet spy network passing scientific and military secrets during World War II, along with the conviction of many soviet spies, fed the feelings of premonition and hysteria towards communist spies Millions of working Americans (teachers, workers, state and city employees, etc.) were required to sign anticommunist loyalty oaths or face unemployment Smith Act of 1940: outlawed any conspiracy that involved the overthrow of the present American government
DENNIS V. UNITED STATES (1951) Dennis v. United States (1951): upheld the Smith Act under the belief that the government could curtail the freedom of speech if national security was at risk Justice Black stated, "There is hope, however, that in calmer times, when present pressures, passions and fears subside, this or some later Court will restore the First Amendment liberties to the high preferred place where they belong in a free society." "Dennis v. U.S." American Decades Primary Sources. Ed. Cynthia Rose. Vol. 6: 1950-1959. Detroit: Gale, 2004. 280-284. U.S. History in Context. Web. 20 Apr. 2015. Analysis: What does this quote communicate about the Smith Act and other anticommunist legislation at the time How did the general public react to such restrictive legislation such as the Smith Act?
HOUSE UN-AMERICAN ACTIVITIES COMMITTEE Held hearings to expose communist influences in everyday life Analysis: Consider the culture, politics, economics, and society of the time. Which audience did this cartoon appeal to? What is this cartoon trying to communicate? Symbolism
THE TRUMAN DOCTRINE 1947 Stated that the United States would support any free people fighting subjugation Saw the situation of expanding communism as a God-fearing democracy versus atheist communists https://m.youtube.com/watch? v=rsq6jff7yns