Truman & Eisenhower

Chapters 37 & 38 Worries after World War II

• Many are still worried about a return to the 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 after WWII - 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 for cheap 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 early 1950s • Consumers went wild - had $ for the first time in 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 huge increase in the birthrate • Peaked in 1957, 50 mill. babies by 1960 – Huge effect on the economy through the decades Yalta Conference

• Feb. 1945 , original Big Three • Made final war plans & agreements – Poland would have free elections (along with 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 Soviets not promising • Economies clashed (command economy 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 and underdeveloped 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 Greece and Turkey rebuild and resist communism – Promised similar support to other nations opposing 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, relatively quickly China & the Next Bomb

• 1948 - Communist revolution led by Mao Zedong – Chaing Kai-Shek fled to Taiwan • Were now 500 million new communists – Huge loss during the Cold War • Sept, 1949 - Soviets detonated their own atomic bomb – 1952 -we detonate the first hydrogen bomb – 1953 - the Soviets detonate theirs Anti-Communism in the U.S.

• 1947 - Truman launches a “loyalty program” • 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 the govt. 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 or supposed influence in American society • Marked the real beginning of the paranoia of the Red Scare • 1951-1953 Rosenberg trial and execution 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 of Korea when Japan surrendered – Set up a communist puppet govt. • 1950 - North Korea invaded South Korea 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

Inchon invasion was larger than Normandy! Korean War Part IV Korean War Part V

38th Parallel Line 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 200 communists 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 massive nuclear retaliation to avoid conflict – Strategic Air Command (SAC) • Fleet of nuclear bombers in the air 24 hours a day, 365 days a year ready to attack – Ike actually threatened nuclear attack on China when China threatened islands near Taiwan New Hopes??

• Was a hope of a better relationship with the Soviets with the death of Stalin – Replaced by Nikita Krushchev – Didn’t last long • 1956 – a revolt against the communist 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 get rid 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 be decided at the Geneva Convention 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 Ngo Dinh Diem – French educated, Catholic, oppressive • Diem did not allow elections and Vietnam remained divided Ike & the Middle East

• Iran began to resist the power of big U.S. companies there – 1953 – the U.S. staged a coup and installed the Shah – Left a bitter, anti-Western legacy Suez Canal Ike and the Suez

• Suez Crisis – Leader of Egypt, Nassar, wanted to build a dam on 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 avoid communism 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 North America… needed to act • 1958 – est. NASA • National Defense Education Act – $ for math, science, and language education Communism in Cuba

• 1959 – Fidel Castro leads the communist revolution in Cuba – Not long after his relationship with the US became hostile and cozied up with the Soviets • Communism now 90 miles off the coast of Florida – U.S. has backing of the Organization of America against communism