Truman Domestic

Question 1

Midterms

Answer 1

1946 loses them

Question 2

Relationship with Congress

Answer 2

vetoes 250 bills, label them ‘do-nothing congress’
Wasn’t tactful and had to trade New Deal for help with Korea and Communism subversion

Question 3

Opinions on Truman’s actions against communism

Answer 3

1948 poll 73% say he’s too soft on Soviets
Republicans attack Democrats for waging Cold War with insufficient vigour

Question 4

GI Bill of Rights

Answer 4

1944- 52 payed unemployment
Free college education
House with majority price covered
Can buy cheap land

Question 5

How many take GI Bill

Answer 5

7.8 million soldiers

Question 6

Cost of GI Bill

Answer 6

$20 bil

Question 7

Success of GI Bill

Answer 7

delayed soldiers going back to work and some will get better payed jobs. Stops soldiers ruining economy

Question 8

Problems in 1945

Answer 8

12 mil soldiers returning to job market, businesses had to move from wartime production, inflation at 25%, shortages of consumer goods

Question 9

demobalisation of soldiers

Answer 9

9mil back 1945 then slowly brought back bit by bit

Question 10

Black Americans and GI Bill

Answer 10

record numbers attended college
Many steered away from it, Veterans Administration often pushed African Americans to vocational training instead of uni

Question 11

Poverty

Answer 11

fallen from 33% 1949 to 28% 1952

Question 12

Slums

Answer 12

clearing of them but it worsened housing for African Americans as affordable housing wasn’t built quickly enough to replace them

Question 13

unemployment

Answer 13

virtually 0

Question 14

Fair Deal

Answer 14

21-point programme introduced Sep 1945 that incorporates economic and social measures to tackle domestic problems. Revised and produced as Fair Deal Jan 1949
Never implemented in whole sale fashion

Question 15

What did Fair Deal contain?

Answer 15

federal aid to education, increase in public housing, anti-lynching laws, new Dept of Welfare
None of these passed

Question 16

What did Fair Deal pass?

Answer 16

National School Lunch Act 1946
enabled children to eat for free or low cost lunch

Question 17

1948 election opponent

Answer 17

Dewey- led an overconfident uninspired campaign with a lack of policies

Question 18

Factors leading to 1948 win

Answer 18

33 day, 30,000 mile whistle stop tour of America, personal campaign ‘common man’s man’, economy currently booming, went to republican counties, character and personality loved, challenged republicans to prove their seriousness about social reform by passing legislation July 1948- they did nothing

Question 19

Red Scare motivators

Answer 19

recent communist successes like Russia nuke, China, high profile spy scandals Feb 1950

Question 20

McCarthy rise to fame

Answer 20

claimed to have a list of 205 communist party members working for US state dept. Jan 1950
Number changed from speech to speech

Question 21

Example of McCarthy lying

Answer 21

1946 campaign said his limp was from a war wound but was from falling down the stairs at a party

Question 22

International Security Act

Answer 22

1950 Truman attempted to veto but Congress overruled. Meant members of communist affiliated organisations had to register with the federal govt or face prison or fines. Registered people could be denied passports or deported

Question 23

Red Scare stats

Answer 23

1947-52 3 mil investigations
500 state and local govt employees, 600 teachers, 150 college professors lost their jobs
over 150 deported

Question 24

HUAC

Answer 24

1947 dominated by republicans. began investigating hollywood centred communist conspiracy. Nixon gained high profile

Question 25

Truman contributions to red scare

Answer 25

scared people with 1947 Truman Doctrine speech Issued exec order to investigate loyalty of federal employees sometimes said it had gone too far

Question 26

How did McCarthy get away with lying?

Answer 26

fear, spy scares, republican ambitions, democrat fear of being labelled communist sympathisers, good relationship with press, paranoia

Question 27

To Secure these Rights

Answer 27

1947 scathing report on racism in North and South. First time Civil Rights on the agenda

Question 28

Truman civil rights actions

Answer 28

exec order desegregate army 1948 (response to threatened march on Wash), 1948 pressure on companies receiving federal contracts to end discrimination, Feb 1948 speech to Congress against lynching, denying voter registration and seeking perm funding for FEPC

Question 29

CORE

Answer 29

1947 journey of reconciliation rode buses across south to test 1946 ruling against segregation on interstate transport

Question 30

NAACP membership

Answer 30

50,000 to 450,000 after WW2

Question 31

NAACP boycott

Answer 31

New Orleans 1947 picketed stores that wouldn’t allow black women to try on hats

Question 32

3 victories for NAACP

Answer 32

1950 segregation of railroad dining cars illegal black student couldn’t be separated from white in Oklahoma uni black texan law school not equal to white one

Question 33

Adam Clayton Powell

Answer 33

elected to congress 1944 in district dominated by Harlems 250,000 black residents