Truman & Eisenhower

Chapters 37 & 38

Worries after World War II

• Many are still worried about a return tothe Great Depression– Lots of soldiers returning home would

compete for jobs– GNP down in ‘46 and ‘47– Prices went up after price controls were

lifted - inflation– Problems with labor again

Problems with Labor

• Were a large number of strikes afterWWII - org. labor ready to fight

• 1947 - Taft-Hartley Act– Outlawed “closed shop”– Required union leaders to take a non-

communist oath• Unions had a lot of trouble organizing

part time workers and in the South• Membership began declining in the ‘50s

Truman’s Actions

• Sold govt. installations and war factories forcheap prices to businesses

• Created the Council of Economic Advisors• Servicemen’s Re-Adjustment Act (1944)

– “GI Bill of Rights”, “GI Bill”– Sent former soldiers to school (8 mill. In 10 yrs)– Mostly technical and vocational schools– 2 million went to colleges and universities– VA guaranteed $16 billion in loans for veterans

to buy homes, farms, start small businesses

Economic Boom

• Economy started to rebound in the early1950s

• Consumers went wild - had $ for the first timein 20 years

• Middle-class emerged– owned homes and cars

• Women reaped the most benefits– Traditional role of women still emphasized– Sparked the feminist movement of the

1960s

Roots of Post-War Prosperity

• WWII boosted production– Now have a permanent war economy– Military contracts, research and

development• Cheap Energy

– Oil from the Middle East– Led to spark in items and services that

require oil or electricity• Workforce more productive and educated

“Smiling Sunbelt”

• People moved all over after WWII• Families spread all over the country• Many moved to the “Sunbelt”

– VA-FL-TX-CA– Saw huge population increase– Jobs, climate, lower taxes

“Smiling Sunbelt”

Rush to the Suburbs

• Now easier to buy a home• Govt. built roads connecting the suburbs to the

cities• Home construction shot up

– William Levitt - “mass produced” homes– “Levittowns” - first one on Long Island

• Mostly whites moved– Business and jobs followed– Minorities often didn’t get loans and local

govts. encouraged segregation

Levittowns

Baby Boom

• The 15 years after 1945 saw a hugeincrease in the birthrate

• Peaked in 1957, 50 mill.babies by 1960– Huge effect on the

economy through thedecades

Yalta Conference

• Feb. 1945 , original Big Three• Made final war plans & agreements

– Poland would have free elections (alongwith Bulgaria and Romania)

– Announced plans for the United Nations– Stalin secretly agreed to attack Japan three

months after the war in Europe ended• Was promised some land and ports

Roots of the Cold War

• History between the U.S. and Sovietsnot promising

• Economies clashed (commandeconomy vs. capitalism)

• US & GB were not open about research• Both seemed like were trying to spread

their ideology from the start– Conflict was inevitable

Shaping the Post-War World

• 1944 - International Monetary Fund– Encouraged world trade by regulating

exchange rates• 1944 - World Bank

– To promote growth in war-ravaged andunderdeveloped areas

• April, 1945 - first meeting of the U.N.– Know the basic structure of the U.N.

Problem of Germany

• Nuremburg Trials– 20 tried for “crimes against humanity” (new)– 20 executed, 2 jailed, 3 acquitted

• Divided into 4 occupation zones– Soon apparent it would remain divided after

the war– Berlin also divided up (in the Soviet zone)– Berlin Air Lift - lasted about one year

• The real beginning of the Cold War

Division of Germany

Division of Berlin

Truman Doctrine

• George Kennen - “Containment”– Communism is expansionary, will die if

contained to where it is• This led to the Truman Doctrine

– He asked for $400 million to help Greeceand Turkey rebuild and resist communism

– Promised similar support to other nationsopposing communism

Marshall Plan

• Europe was still economically in trouble• If Europe worked with the U.S. they

would get $ to help - we needed this• After the communist takeover of

Czechoslovakia Congress okayed the $– Marshall Plan

• Billions of $ to help rebuild Europe• Huge success

• 1948 - U.S. recognizes Israel

Reform during the Cold War

• 1947 - National Security Act– Created the Department of Defense– The heads of each service branch would

form the Joint Chiefs of Staff– Established the National Security Council

and the Central Intelligence Agency• Europe signed a collective defense

agreement, asked the U.S to join– N.A.T.O. - huge step for the U.S.

Europe at the start of the Cold War

Reconstruction of Japan

• Was a one man show - Gen. MacArthur– Set up an International Military Tribunal– Japan largely cooperated– 1946 - adopted a constitution (much of it

written by MacArthur)– Formed a democratic government

• Japan rebuilt successfully, relativelyquickly

China & the Next Bomb

• 1948 - Communist revolution led byMao Zedong– Chaing Kai-Shek fled to Taiwan

• Were now 500 million new communists– Huge loss during the Cold War

• Sept, 1949 - Soviets detonated theirown atomic bomb– 1952 -we detonate the first hydrogen bomb– 1953 - the Soviets detonate theirs

Anti-Communism in the U.S.

• 1947 - Truman launches a “loyaltyprogram”

• The Attorney Gen. drew up a list of“disloyal” organizations

• A Loyalty Review Board was est.– Dennis v. U.S. (1951) - upheld convictions

of persons advocating the overthrow of thegovt. under the Smith Act

Anti-Communism in the U.S.

• House Un-American Activities Comm.– HUAC, formed in 1938– investigated real and suspected

Communists in positions of actual orsupposed influence in American society

• Marked the real beginning of theparanoia of the Red Scare

• 1951-1953 Rosenberg trial andexecution

Election of 1948

• GOP - Thomas Dewey, Gov of NY• Dems - Truman (Eisenhower said no)

– Dixiecrat - Strom Thurmond (SC)• Dewey was expected to win in a

landslide– Truman campaigned his rear off and won

• Truman’s new plan - Fair Deal– Improved housing, employment, raise the

min. wage - all opposed (civil rights stance)

Dewey Defeats Truman

Problems in Korea

• The Soviets were in the northern part ofKorea when Japan surrendered– Set up a communist puppet govt.

• 1950 - North Korea invaded SouthKorea with Soviet weapons– A challenge to containment– Truman ordered a massive military build-up

and quadrupled military spending– UN voted to support South Korea

Start of the Korean War

Korean War Part II

Korean War Part III

Inchoninvasion

was largerthan

Normandy!

Korean War Part IV

Korean War Part V

38thParallelLine

Election of 1952• GOP nominated Dwight Eisenhower

– V.P. - Richard Nixon• Ike’s hatchet man• Accused of financial wrong-doing• Checker’s Speech showed importance of TV

• Dems nominated Adlai Stevenson– Gov. of Illinois

• Ike won big– Went to Korea for 3 days– Armistice signed - 54,000 Americans dead

Election of 1952

McCarthyism

• Sen. From Wisc. Said there were over 200communists employed by the State Department– When asked for proof, he lowered the number

57 (later even lower)• Began mass accusations

– Even accused George C. Marshall– Led to many lives begin destroyed and really

hurt the State Dept. (Asian experts)– Ike did nothing- thought it would pass

• His run ended when he went after the army

Eisenhower’s Domestic Policy

• Dynamic Conservatism– Halted military spending, funding for the TVA,

illegal immigration– Solidified much of the New Deal

• Interstate Highway Defense Act (1956)– Ike was impressed by the Autobahn in Germany– $ for building the interstate system– Serves multiple purposes – major one is to make

movement of troops and supplies more efficent– Hurt RRs, increased pollution and energy

consumption

Ike and Foreign Policy

• Looking for alternative to containment• Sec. of State - John Foster Dulles

– “Brinksmanship” – threaten massivenuclear retaliation to avoid conflict

– Strategic Air Command (SAC)• Fleet of nuclear bombers in the air 24

hours a day, 365 days a year ready toattack

– Ike actually threatened nuclear attack on Chinawhen China threatened islands near Taiwan

New Hopes??

• Was a hope of a better relationship with theSoviets with the death of Stalin– Replaced by Nikita Krushchev– Didn’t last long

• 1956 – a revolt against thecommunist govt. in Hungary– Crushed by the Soviet military– We could do nothing to stop it b/c the only threat

was nuclear war, too drastic for this

Ike & Vietnam

• Vietnam saw years of nationalist efforts to getrid of French colonial rule– Repeatedly appealed to the U.S. – denied– Eventually looked for help from others??

• Vietnamese, led by Ho Chi Minh,defeated the French– Dien Bien Phu

• Vietnam’s future would bedecided at the GenevaConvention in 1955

Geneva Conference (1955)

• Future of Vietnam– Elections would be held in 2 years time– Until then Vietnam would be divided in 2

• North would be controlled by Ho Chi Minh– Allied to Communist nations

• South controlled by NgoDinh Diem

– French educated, Catholic,oppressive

• Diem did not allow electionsand Vietnam remained divided

Ike & the Middle East

• Iran began to resist the power of bigU.S. companies there– 1953 – the U.S. staged

a coup and installed theShah

– Left a bitter, anti-Westernlegacy

Suez Canal

Ike and the Suez• Suez Crisis

– Leader of Egypt, Nassar, wanted to build a damon the Nile

• U.S. and G.B. would not give $, went to Soviets

• Then he nationalized the Suez Canal– G.B., France, and Israel jointly attacked Egypt in

1956• World waited while the Soviets prepared for war• Ike applied pressure to G.B., F, and Israel and they

withdrew• Eisenhower Doctrine – military & economic

aid to Middle Eastern countries to avoidcommunism

1956 Election

• Ike v. Stevenson again, Ike wins

Space Race

• 1957 – Soviets launch Sputnik– Showed the Soviets

were ahead– If a missile could reach

space, it could reach NorthAmerica… needed to act

• 1958 – est. NASA• National Defense Education Act

– $ for math, science, and languageeducation

Communism in Cuba

• 1959 – Fidel Castro leads thecommunist revolution in Cuba– Not long after his relationship with the US

became hostile and cozied up with theSoviets

• Communism now 90 miles off the coastof Florida– U.S. has backing of the Organization of

America against communism