Harry R. Truman - Domestic policies Flashcards
Taft Hartley act (1947)
During 1946, 5000 strikes involving 4.6 million workers led to a loss of 116 million working days.
Republicans and conservative democrats tried of strikes, thus republican congress passed 1947, Taft Hartley act, reducing union powers:
- unions liable for breach of contract
- President could order an 80 day ‘cooling period’ before strikes.
Labour furious at reduction of union power. Truman vetoed the act, but congress overrode Trumans veto
Trade unions: Widespread strikes (1946)
1945, 15 million workers part of a union.
When employers refused a pay-rise, widespread strikes occurred with 800000 steelworkers walking out on January 1946, and 40000 miners in April.
To combat this, Truman said he’d conscript railroad workers and replace them with the army, but this failed as the senate deemed it as an unconstitutional.
Truman battling unions during the inflation made him an unimpressive leader in 1946.
Trade unions: Steelwork strikes (1952)
April 1952, strike threatened in steel industry with workers demanding an increase in wages due to increased production for the Korean War.
- Truman seized control of mills under executive order.
Steel companies didn’t want government intervention in factories , thus challenging presidents authority in supreme courts - court agreed with mill owners and a seven week strike followed, resulting in shortages and higher prices.
Inflation: Roosevelts OPA
Between 1945-46 inflation hit 25% due to budget deficits caused by shortage of consumer goods and withdrawal of wartime price controls.
Truman sought to solve this through Roosevelts Office of Price Administration, which controlled prices during the war.
Unpopular with republicans and democrats as they sought a free market
Unpopular with employers who sought high prices and low wages
Unpopular with unions who sought pay rises.
Truman unhappy as high prices and wages would lead to inflation.
Truman proposed 1946 price control bill to expand life of the OPA, which was watered down by congress, thus he vetoed his amendment and the economy eventually stabilised.
Demobilisation of the army
Truman wanted to slow demobilisation of the military as 12 million men would flood the job market.
But felt that giving the Cold War, it was important to keep an armed force.
The army was reduced from 12 million in 1945, to 3 million within a year, and halved again within the next year. This created short term employment but avoided the feared recession.
Unemployment never rose above 4% during Trumans presidency.
Employment (GI BILL)
With 12 million soldiers returning , there was a need for housing and jobs to prevent a recession.
GI bill passed by congress in compensation for returning military personnel, providing:
- 52 weeks unemployment relief if needed
- Low interest loans for education, housing, farming and businesses.
Between 1945-55, $20 billion given out to 7.8 million workers.
Trumans Fair Deal 1949
Truman hoped to solve domestic problems by creating a welfare safety net that was started by Roosevelts New Deal.
He quoted “ Every individual, has a right to expect from his government a fair deal”.
Fair Deal on housing
Truman pressured congress to alleviate the housing shortage, and the Housing Act 1949 was reluctantly passed, building an extra 156,000 homes in 1952, and 356,000 by 1964.
However, only 156,000 out of 810,000 federally subsidised public housing was built and poorly constructed.
Fair deal on healthcare
Health insurance scheme taking 4% on peoples first $6300 dollars. Congress felt it was not the federal governments job to tell people how to arrange their own healthcare, and described as a ‘socialised medicine’.
Fair Deal on education
National School Lunch Act of 1946 enabled poor school children to eat free or low-cost meals.
However, there was little managed in education, despite rising problems in school, as it was seen as a state rather than a federal issue.
Who was McCarthy and how was he elected into Senate ?
Mccarthy was born into a poor Irish farming family in Wisconsin - 1946, his campaign for senate owed much to his lies about his war record.
Conservative democrat ‘Millard Tyding’s set up the ‘Tydings Committee’ and reported McCarthy’s lies as a ‘fraud and a hoax’. However Tydings failed to get reelected in 1950.
Investigations during McCarthy Hysteria
McCarthy headed congressional committees that investigated communist subversives - 500 state and local government employees, 600 teachers, and 150 college professors lost their jobs.
They attacked US Information Agency Libraries that exhibited the work of ‘radicals’ eg. Mark Twain
How did McCarthy get away with it?
McCarthy got away with his untrue accusations due to:
- Fear of communist expansionism, such as China in 1949, and the North Korean attack of 1950
- hysterical anti-communism
- McCarthys good relationship with the press
HUAC
House of Representatives Committee on Un-American Activities set up in 1938, investigated a Hollywood communist conspiracy to overthrow the government - ‘Hollywood 10’ a group of writers and directors part of the American Communist Party - given a one year prison sentence.
Trumans reaction to the Red Scare
Issued Executive Order No. 9358 investigating loyalty of federal employees and ‘scared the hell’ out of American people to gain their support in his ‘Truman Doctrine’.
Congress passed ‘Internal Security Act’ which members of communist organisations had to register with federal government or face prison & fines. Those who registered could be denied passports and deported. Truman vetoed the act, but congress overrode his veto.
