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Chapter Twenty-Six: Truman and The Cold War 1945-1952

This document summarizes key events in post-war America and the early Cold War era under President Truman from 1945-1952. It discusses the GI Bill, baby boom, suburban growth, Truman's economic and civil rights programs, Republican gains in Congress, Truman's surprise 1948 election victory, his containment policy in Europe via the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan, the Berlin Airlift, formation of NATO, split with Japan and Korea, onset of the Korean War, rise of McCarthyism and anti-communist sentiment domestically, and Truman's retirement in 1952.

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91 views

Chapter Twenty-Six: Truman and The Cold War 1945-1952

This document summarizes key events in post-war America and the early Cold War era under President Truman from 1945-1952. It discusses the GI Bill, baby boom, suburban growth, Truman's economic and civil rights programs, Republican gains in Congress, Truman's surprise 1948 election victory, his containment policy in Europe via the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan, the Berlin Airlift, formation of NATO, split with Japan and Korea, onset of the Korean War, rise of McCarthyism and anti-communist sentiment domestically, and Truman's retirement in 1952.

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TotallyInconspicuous
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Chapter Twenty-Six

Truman and the Cold War


1945-1952
Postwar America
GI Bill – Help for Veterans
• Serviceman’s Readjustment Act of 1944
– Loans for land
– Education
Baby Boom
• 50 million babies born in five years (10 million
a year :P)
Suburban Growth
• William J. Levitt
– Created Levittown
– Cheap houses in Long Island
– Many American towns became suburbs as well
Rise of the Sunbelt
• ‘Sunbelt’ states
– Florida and California
• Millions of Americans moved
– This helped fund industry and people shifts, as
well as political power
Postwar Politics
Economic Program and Civil Rights
• Employment Act of 1946
– Created the Council of Economic Advisers
– Counseled the president and Congress on how to
improve the economy
• Inflammation and Strikes
– Office of Price Administration relaxed
– Inflation rose 25%
– 4.5 million people striked.
• Civil Rights
– Truman created the Committee on Civil Rights
– Fair Employment Practices Commission
Republican Control of the Eightieth
Congress
• Twenty-Second amendment (1951)
– The presidency was limited to a max of 2 terms.
• The Taft-Hartley Act (1947)
– Workers were required to join a union before being
hired
– Could outlaw the union shop
– Outlawed secondary boycotts
– The president could call an 80 day cool off time before
national safety was considered to be endangered.
Election of 1948
• State’s Rights Party (Dixiecrats)
– J. Strom Thurmond
• Republicans
– Thomas E. Dewey
• Democrats
– Truman
• Truman was victorious, surprising everyone
The Fair Deal
• Proposed
– National health care insurance
– Federal aid to education
– Civil rights legislation
– Public housing funds
– New farm program
– Increase of minimum wage
• Most points shot down
– Truman had a conflict with congress, and foreign
policy that others disapproved of, lowering his voters
Origins of the Cold War
US-Soviet Relations to 1945
• The US refused to recognized the Soviet Union until
1933
• Allies in WWII
– Alliance with the Soviets was a matter of convenience, not
trust.
• Satellite States in Europe
– SU had leverage in many surrounding countries
• Occupation Zones in Germany
– SU had control over east Germany, the US over west
• Iron Curtain
– Metaphor used to refer to Soviet satellite states
Containment in Europe
The Truman Doctrine
• Truman’s containment policy came into effect:
– Communists were rebelling in Greece
– The Soviets demanded to have control over Turkey
The Marshall Plan
• George Marshall
– $17 billion to European recovery
– $12 billion to Western Europe over 4 years
– Helped Europe become self-sufficient by the
1950’s
– Bolstered American economy
The Berlin Airlift
• Soviets cut off all access to Berlin
• US planes flew supplies into Berlin, with
Atomic Bombs waiting in the wings
NATO and National Security
• North Atlantic Treaty Organization
– Eisenhower designated as first supreme
commander
• National Security Act (1947)
– Created a Department of Defense
– Created the National Security Council
– Created the Central Intelligence Agency
• Atomic Weapons
– Arms race to develop the next bomb
Cold War In Asia
Japan
• Under the control of the United States
• MacArthur was in charge
• Japanese generals tried and executed for war
crimes
• US-Japanese Security Treaty
– Japan gave up all land in Korea and other islands
The Philippines and the Pacific
• The Philippines became independent
The Korean War
• On June 25th, 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea
• After an amphibious landing in North Korea, the United
Nations destroyed North Korea’s army
• Truman vs. MacArthur
– MacArthur wanted to bomb North Korea, and Truman
refused. MacArthur pushed the issue, and Truman fired
him
• Political Consequences
– After the stalemate was reached in Korea, republicans
began to become dissatisfied with Truman, claiming he
was ‘too soft’ on Communism
The Second Red Scare
Security and Civil Rights
• Prosecutions under the Smith Act
– Communists were thrown in prison
– Dennis et al. vs. United States
• Supreme Court upheld the Smith Act
• McCarran Internal Security Act (1950)
– Illegal to support communism
– Stopped citizens from traveling to communism
– Created internment camps for communists
• Un-American Activities
– Un-American Activities Committee
• Sniffed out communists
Espionage Cases
• The Hiss Case
– Alger Hiss was an official in the State Department
– Convicted of perjury and imprisoned
• Rosenberg Case
– Found guilty and executed for treason
The Rise of Joseph McCarthy
• Tactics
– Unsupported accusations
• Hearings
– Showed McCarthy as a bully
– The ‘Witch-hunt’ ended
– McCarthy died 3 years later
Truman In Retirement
• Truman retired from office, and moved back
into Missouri
• In the next election, the republicans blamed
Truman for everything (Go figure)

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