Harry Truman Flashcards
Term
1945-1949 (finished FDR’s term), 1949-1953
Fair Deal
Announced in 1949, Truman proposed the “Fair Deal” as his plan to handle national health insurance to increase the national minimum wage and to guarantee that all Americans had equal rights. Congress did not agree with Truman’s deal, and rejected both national health insurance and the national minimum wage.
Anti-Communism and Joseph McCarthy
Was a US senator who claimed that Communists had infiltrated the higher levels of the US government and military. McCarthy claimed he had a list of Communists spies and targeted journalists, authors, diplomats, actors, and scholars. McCarthy used the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) to conduct trials against the suspected Communists. Truman never outwardly acted against McCarhty.
Transition to a peacetime economy
After the soldiers returned home, it was feared that the wartime economy would collapse. Factories had a difficult time converting to consumer products and, as a result, inflation rates skyrocketed to 25%. Truman was able to maneuver out of this tight spot and was able to bring about real wages, dropped unemployment rates, and the GDP would grow 250x in the next two decades. It was a bountiful time for the majority of Americans, however, poverty was both democratic and color-blind.
Price Controls
Truman needed to reinstate wages and price controls, similar to Roosevelt’s presidency, to avoid major inflation. This did not work and in one famous incident, the price of beef doubled in two weeks. These price controls angered producers and created a public relations disaster for Truman’s administration. Truman accepted the blame and his approval ratings dropped.
Taft-Hartley Act of 1947
Labor Unions were attacked on the grounds of their collective bargaining rights. The Act gave the President the ability to demobilize a strike if he deemed it a threat to national health, welfare, or security. This act alienated the party from the Unions. Unions were supposed to report the names of any republican party members in the government and this further ruined the relationship between the Unions and the Republicans. Truman vetoed the act, and the republican Congress overrode it; yet Truman never used the act.
House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC)
Was created in 1938 to investigate any allegations of Communism against citizens, business, organizations. The HUAC would gain serious momentum during the McCarthy days, and even Truman would announce the need to investigate the government officials after news was released that several hundred government employees were supplying information to the Soviets.
Alger Hiss
Hiss was a former aide to Roosevelt and State Department Official who was accused during the hysteria of the Red Scare for spying. After this accusation, the HUAC began investigating the charge, but couldn’t give Hiss more than 14 years of jail since the spying charges would not stick. Hiss is an example of a powerful authority being brought low by Communist hysteria.
Julius Rosenberg
The Rosenbergs were famously accused of being spies for the Soviet Union and were tried for allegedly being a part of the ring that passed information about the A-Bomb to the USSR. The revelations became more shocking when, in 1949, the USSR successfully tested a nuclear bomb. The Rosenbergs were found guilty of espionage and were hung. Although evidence was lacking back then, due to released Soviet intelligence, Julius Rosenberg was heavily incriminated as being a spy.
Hollywood Ten
The Hollywood Ten was a publication that contained a list of writers and directors who were blacklisted as Communists and who, subsequently, were unable to get jobs from boycotting studios. Eventually, around 300 artists were interrogated under the hysteria of the Red Scare. Artists provoke thought through their works, which is dangerous to a government that seeks to silence dissenters by any means. This is why several artists were blacklisted in the United States.
Committee on Civil Rights
Truman ensured that Civil Rights would be pushed to the forefront of attention. Truman established the Committee on Civil Rights in order to achieve more rights for all Americans. Although Truman’s cabinet was split on getting Congressional support for these rights, Truman proposed a law calling for the prohibition of lynching, a federal fair-employment practice, and protection of voting rights. These laws were never passed, but Truman was outspoken about the civil rights, even though he did little in the legislative branch. This suggests he wanted to appease southern Democrats while trying to keep his stance.
Desegregation of military
Truman desegregated the military with an Executive Order. This was very controversial and groundbreaking for Civil Rights. This order is important because not even the society within the United States was fully integrated yet. As such, there were several complaints from within the military about this integration however, Truman’s success is evidenced by the fact that by the time the Korean War started, the military was almost totally integrated (Archives.org).
Double V campaign
The Double V Campaign was a lesser known campaign for desegregation within the military during World War II. The Double V campaign was started by African Americans in order to promote equality within the mechanisms of the U.S. society and government, due to success abroad. The goal of the campaign was to highlight the two victories of World War II, success against enemies, and racist structure at home.
Potsdam Conference
The Potsdam Conference was similar to the Yalta conference in that FDR, Churchill, and Stalin attended as allies against Hitler. The Potsdam Conference was different in that the leaders had changed to Truman and Atlee and the topic at hand was what to do with Nazi Germany. At this point, the tensions between the US and the USSR were beginning to emerge that would eventually lead to the Cold War. Truman mentioned that the United States was in possession of a powerful weapon, but by means of spies, Stalin already knew about the A-bomb long before Truman did.
George Kennan’s long telegram Feb. 1946
George Kennan was the ambassador to Russia from the United States. His “Long Telegram” is a document that recounts his thoughts on the people of Russia. This document negatively affected the United States in that it was the reason for the cold relationship the United States would foster with the USSR. It was one of the underpinnings that caused the United States to begin a show of force and strength in world matters.
