H Truman - 1948 election and the Fair deal

Question 1

Why was Truman expected to lose the 1948 election?

Answer 1

His party, the Democrats, was split:

• Henry Wallace (former vice-president of FDR) set up the Progressive Party.
• Storm Thurmond (southern conservative) disliked Truman’s support for civil rights.

Question 2

What did the opinion polls suggest about the 1948 election?

Answer 2

That the Republican candidate, Thomas E. Dewey, would win the election.

Question 3

How did Truman boost his prospects of winning the 1948 election?

Answer 3

He promised New-Deal type measures and went on a 30,000-mile whistle-stop tour of the USA, defending his achievements as president and criticising the Republican ‘do-nothing’ Congress.

Question 4

What did Truman declare in 1949?

Answer 4

‘Every segment of our population and every individual has a right to expect from our government a fair deal’.

Question 5

What did Truman try to introduce?

Answer 5

A whole range of welfare measures but Republican and Democratic conservatives blocked many of his reform proposals.

Question 6

What did Truman succeed in doing?

Answer 6

• Raising the minimum wage
• Extending the Social Security Act
• Passed an act to assist slum clearance and to provide housing for the poor.