Domestic Policy of the 1950s

Reconversion, Taft-Hartley Act, Modern Republicanism, NASA, etc.

1. Ch.20.3:
Domestic Politics and
Policies
PP. 680-686

2. Key Qs
•What were Truman’s domestic policies as outlined in
his Fair Deal?
•How was Truman able to win the election of 1948?
Why is the election notable?
•What was the Republican approach to government
during the Eisenhower presidency?

3. Key Terms
•Reconversion
•Taft-Hartley Act
•Modern Republicanism
•National Defense Education Act

4. Setting the Scene
•The 1950’s were very conservative
- Both politically and culturally
- Explain….
•Truman struggled with moving to a peacetime
economy
•Eisenhower used a low-key approach
•Genial, reassuring manner made him one of the most
popular Presidents after WWII

5. Truman’s Domestic Policies
•Truman wanted to follow in FDR’s footsteps
•He often appeared ill-prepared for the presidency
•He offered a new patch of proposals in every speech

6. The Peacetime Economy
•Truman’s first priority was reconversion
•The social and economic transition form wartime to
peacetime
•Got most soldiers home by 1946
•Keeping wartime inflation in check was more difficult
•Similar problems to those after WWI

7. The Peacetime Economy Cont.
•Truman passed the Taft-
Hartley Act:
•Passed in 1947
•Allowed the President to
declare a 80-day cooling off
period in which strikers had to
return to work
•This was only allowed in
industries that affected
national interest
•Also made union officials sign
oaths saying that they were
not Communists

8. Truman’s Fair Deal
•Truman supported Roosevelt’s New Deal
•He used the well-known name and called his
program the Fair Deal
•This extended the policies in the New Deal
•Truman thought that the Government needs to play
an active role in securing economic justice for all
American citizens
•He created a 21 point program

9. Fair Deal Cont.
•Truman ran into tremendous political opposition
•One measure that was passed was the Employment
Act of 1946
•Truman lost a lot of support during the 1946 mid-
term elections

10. Truman on Civil Rights
•He recognized that he had to take action on Civil
Rights
•He publicly supported civil rights
•Change came very slowly
•Met with African American leaders in 1946
•Created the biracial Committee on Civil Rights in
December of 1946
•They were in charge of looking into race relations

11. The Election of 1948
•Truman ran for another term
•His popularity diminished in his own party
•Southern democrats broke off and created the
Dixiecrat Party and nominated J. Strom
Thurmond
•Progressive Party was headed by Henry Wallace
•Republican was Thomas E. Dewey

13. 1948 Election Results
•All experts and polls had Dewey
winning the election
•Truman won in a big upset
•Democrats won control of Congress
•Truman finally was able to step out of FDR’s
shadow

15. 1952/Eisenhower becomes
President
•Dwight Eisenhower was the commander in chief of
the Allied forces
•Known as Ike
•During WWII, he forged agreements among Allied
military commanders
•Easy going charm
•K
1
C
2
strategy by the Republicans

16. The Checkers Speech
•In response to allegations that Eisenhower’s running mate,
Richard Nixon, was using a special fund
•Accused of receiving illegal gifts
•Nixon had done nothing wrong
•People wanted Ike to dump Nixon from his ticket
•He gave a speech denying these allegations
•He told Americans to contact the Eisenhower campaign to
say if he should stay on the ticket or not
•He got overwhelming support to stay on the ticket

19. Eisenhower as President
•He wanted to work behind the
scenes
•Critics thought this meant he lacked
leadership
•The American people approved of
his style
•In the 1956 election Dwight
Eisenhower won and was reelected
•Defeated IL Governor Adlai
Stevenson in both elections

21. Modern Republicanism
•“Conservative when it comes to money, liberal when it comes to
human beings”
•Priorities included cutting spending, reducing taxes, and balancing the
budget
•Smaller government, opposite direction of FDR & Truman
•He was in favor of big business
•Cabinet members were businessmen
•“8 millionaires & a plumber”
•But…
•In 1954 and 1956 Social Security was extended to make 10 million more
workers eligible
•Minimum wage increased from 75 cents to $1

22. Eisenhower’s Presidency
•His attempts to cut gov’t spending backfired
•The economy slumped; growth slowed
•The deficit grew
•Economic recession in 53-54, 57, & 60-61

23. Meeting the Technology
Challenge
•In response to Sputnik the US
government created the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA)
•Congress passed and Eisenhower
signed into law the National Defense
Education Act
•Designed to improve science and
math instruction in the schools
•Low-cost loans to college students if
they became teachers