Harry Truman Democrat 1945-1953

Harry TrumanDemocrat 1945-1953

Post War-1950’s• Domestic Issues

• After WW2, the nation needed to Demobilize, convert factories back to make civilian goods.

• 12 million men were released from the military

• As a way to help these veterans adjust to civilian life the government created the GI Bill of Rights- buying homes/$$$ college

Truman’s Fair Deal• An extension of the New Deal, these

domestic policies attempted to give all Americans National Health Care and Higher Wages.

• Jim Crow Laws still existed in the South after the war, and DE FACTO SEGREGATION existed in the North- in practice but not law

• Truman ordered the DESEGREGATION OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND MILITARY.

• 1947 Jackie Robinson becomes the first Black Man to play in Major League Baseball

Baby Boom1946-1964

• 76 m Americans born during these years• The need to feed, clothe and house these

new Americans led to an economic boom.• Americans also had large savings built up due

to the rationing of goods and higher wages that occurred during WW2.

• Automobile and Housing industries benefitted the most.

Truman and Foreign Affairs

THECOLDWAR

Truman and Foreign Affairs• The Cold War was a

competition between the • USA and USSR/Soviet Union•Why?• $$$ World Domination $$$

US Foreign Policy During Cold War1946-1991

•Containment-

•Stopping the spread of Communism

Policies created as part of Containment

• Truman Doctrine- USA will aid any nation in Europe to stop the spread of communism.

• Marshall Plan USA gives $13B aid to Western Europe to rebuild after war, to stop the spread of communism.

• Central Intelligence Agency- collects intelligence / information about other nations-Spying

Churchill claims people in Eastern Europe are forced to live behind and

Iron Curtain

War Department becomes Defense Department

First Hot Spot of Cold War

• Berlin 1948- USSR closes rail and roads into Berlin.

• The U.S. airlifts supplies for 321 days the USSR ends the blockade in 1949.

• This would not be the last time Berlin would be a hot spot during the Cold War.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization

• 1949 – USA joins defense alliance w/Western Europe and Canada

• This was done for Collective Security-• If one nation is attacked, all in the group will

protect it.• The USSR responds w/the Warsaw Pact-

Eastern European Countries.

Warsaw Pact

Looking for Commie Spies

Executing Spies

The Korean War 1950-1953

• Korea was divided at the 38th Parallel after WW2- North Communist- South Democratic

• June 1950- North invades South• As part of its Containment Policy the U.S. and

United Nations troops attempt to Stop the spread of communism.

• The goal was to keep the nation divided at the 38th parallel, and not to involve the Chinese or Russians.

Truman Fires MacArthur

Korean War

• U.S./U.N. troops push North Korean troops across the 38th and close in on the Chinese border, causing the Chinese to attack.

• Chinese troops push U.S./U.N. troops back across 38th and for 3 years fighting occurs around 38th.

• A truce is signed in 1953 ending the war• Communism was Contained.

Dwight EisenhowerRepublican 1953-1961

Eisenhower and The Cold War• Continues the policy of Containment- and

added the: • Eisenhower Doctrine- pledge to aid nations

fighting communism in the Middle East.

• Domino Theory - if one nation “fell” to communism all the nations around it would “fall”-especially in South East Asia/Vietnam

Eisenhower, The Cold War and Nukes• New aggressive policies/threats begin:• Brinkmanship- U.S. was willing to go to the

brink/edge of nuclear war to show its strength• Massive Retaliation- U.S. would use all its

nuclear weapons at once if attacked w/just one.• Arms Race this led to both sides building up large

nuclear arsenals-• Mutually Assured Destruction-both sides had

enough of these weapons to destroy each other, hoping the other wouldn’t use them-Deterrent

New Weapons• Hydrogen Bomb- over 1,500x’s more

powerful than the bomb’s used on Japan.• Inter Continental Ballistic Missiles –Nuclear

weapons that travel across continents

Eisenhower, The Cold War, The Space Race and a Thaw?

1957- Soviets Launch Sputnik- a satellite that orbited the earth-This led to a new emphasis on math and science in American schools.

The U.S. and U.S.S.R. realized how dangerous the situation had become, there was an easing of tensions/Thaw-1958-1960-both sides agreed to stop testing nuclear weapons.

U-2 Incident-the thaw ended when a U.S. spy plane was shot down over the U.S.S.R.

The Cold War was back!

Fear of a “Missile Gap”

The Civil Rights Movement during Eisenhower

• Brown vs. The Board of Ed. –No More Separate but Equal!!-IN SCHOOLS

• This case became a precedent/example for Civil Rights lawyers to challenge Jim Crow Laws.

• 1955 Rosa Parks and Montgomery Bus Boycott, led by Martin Luther King jr.

• 1957 Governor Faubus of Arkansas refused to integrate Central HS in Little Rock

The Civil Rights Movement during Eisenhower

• Eisenhower sent the Army to escort the “Little Rock Nine” into the school.

• This was an example of the Federal Government’s power over the States

Rosa Parks Sparks Civil Rights Movement

Non-violent Civil Disobedience-breaking of unjust laws