U.S. Domestic Policies ( ) Unit VIIB AP U.S. History

Fundamental Question  Compare and contrast the administrations of Democratic presidents and Republican presidents regarding political and economical policies.

Truman’s Presidency  Republican Majority in Congress in 1946  Postwar turmoil (strikes, inflation) and rejuvenated conservatism led to Republican victories  Eliminated price controls leading to rapid inflation and strikes  Truman ordered troops to settle strikes  Taft-Hartley Act (1947) - unions  Prohibited closed shops, political contributions, sympathy strikes  Twenty-Second Amendment (1951)  Term limits  Employment Act of 1946  Council of Economic Advisers  Civil Rights  Committee on Civil Rights (1946)  Desegregated the federal government and military (1948)

Election of 1948  Democrats Split  Truman’s civil rights and foreign policy upset Democrats  Liberal Democrats and Henry Wallace  States’ Rights Party (Dixiecrats) and Strom Thurmond  Republican Confidence  Thomas Dewey ran a cautious campaign while Truman aggressively campaigned  Truman Victory  Despite the press and experts predicting a sound Republican victory, Truman won the election

Election of 1948

Truman’s Fair Deal  A continuation of New Deal-style social welfare programs  Policies:  Expansion of Social Security  Increased minimum wage 40 cents to 75 cents  Housing Act of 1949  Urban projects and public housing  Protections and relief programs in labor, agriculture, health, education, infrastructure  Failures:  National healthcare insurance  Limited civil rights legislation

22 nd Amendment  In response to FDR’s four consecutive terms  Republican Congress proposed to avoid a repeat of FDR’s dominance  Presidential term limits to two  Ratified 1951

Election of 1952  “I like Ike!” - Dwight D. Eisenhower on the Republican ticket  Richard Nixon as VP  Checkers speech  Adlai Stevenson for Democrats  Eisenhower won by landslide

Election of 1952

Eisenhower’s Republicanism  Modern Republicanism/Dynamic Conservatism  Cut federal spending and deficit spending  Federal support for business  Reduce federal powers and influence to states/locals  More Money Toward Defense and Cutbacks for Social Programs  Surpluses in some years  Per-capita increases and low inflation  Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (1953)  Soil-bank program  Interstate Highway System  Connected major cities  Significantly developed transportation and urban sectors

Interstate Highway System

The American Dream – 1950s Prosperity  Defense Spending and Investment  Why?  Production and innovation during WWII  Fear and defense against Communism  How?  Department of Defense (DOD) became the nation’s top consumer  More and more companies and contractors worked with DOD  Recessions?  Throw more money toward DOD rather than social programs  Automation in Industries  Innovation and Research and Development  Threatened blue-collars and white-collars prospered  Middle-Class Expansion  White-collar jobs increased given focus on education and defense spending

Election of 1956 Despite Eisenhower’s popularity and success, the Democratic Party won Congressional majorities in 1954 midterm elections. They would sustain those majorities until the 1982 midterms.

23 rd Amendment  District of Columbia receives right to vote and electoral college votes  Ratified 1961

Election of 1960  Republicans nominate Nixon  Democrats nominated John F. Kennedy  Massachusetts and a Catholic  Lyndon B. Johnson from Texas as VP  Television and Debates  Kennedy = born for the limelight  Nixon = tense and uncomfortable  Close Call  Kennedy won by just over 100,000 votes

Election of 1960  Nixon looked very uncomfortable and was visibly sweating.  Kennedy had a knack for the camera.

Election of 1960

Kennedy’s Policies  “Ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can for your country.”  Fiscal Conservative  New Frontier  Expansion of social welfare  Stimulus plans for slumping economy  Clean Air Act (1963)  Strong support for civil rights legislation with Attorney General Robert Kennedy  “We choose to go to the Moon…”

Kennedy’s Assassination  Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963  Warren Commission  Investigations and hearings ruled Lee Harvey Oswald as lone assassin  Conspiracy theories led to doubt of federal government  Lyndon B. Johnson assumes office JFK moments before his assassination in Dallas LBJ takes oath of office on Air Force One Lee Harvey Oswald shot by Jack Ruby

Johnson’s Great Society  War on Poverty  Office of Economic Opportunity  Food Stamps  Community Action  Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)  Significant increases in educational funding in all levels  Elementary and Secondary Education Act  Health Care  Medicare - health services for elderly  Medicaid - health services for low-income families  Department of Transportation  Urban mass transit acts  National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act  Safety belts, redesigns for protection, drunk drivers  Environmental Protection  Wilderness Act, Endangered Species Act  Cultural Promotion  National Historic Preservation  National Endowment for the Arts AND the Humanities  Public broadcasting (PBS) and public radio (NPR)  Civil Rights Legislation - ALSO SEE CIVIL RIGHTS ERA SECTION  Elimination of immigration quota laws  $10 Billion Tax Cuts  Consumer spending rose 45%  Federal government earning revenue  Consumer Protection  Fair Packaging and Labeling Act

24 th Amendment  In response to Jim Crow laws and massive civil rights movement.  Prohibited all governments from enacting poll taxes.  Ratified in 1964.

Election of 1964  Republicans and Barry Goldwater  Strong conservative Republican  Attacked Johnson’s welfare state programs  Johnson’s Campaign  “Daisy”

Election of 1964

25 th Amendment  In response to cases such as William Henry Harrison, Abraham Lincoln, and recently JFK  Presidential succession:  Ratified in 1967.

Election of 1968  Vietnam and Robert Kennedy  Johnson stepped away due to Vietnam escalation  Kennedy was frontrunner until assassination  Republicans and Nixon  Peace and Honor; Law and Order  Democrats and Hubert Humphrey  Suffered from anti-war backlash  Riots at Democratic National Convention in Chicago  Henry Wallace and American Independent Party  Ran against expanded government and civil rights legislation

Election of 1968

26 th Amendment  In response to student-led protests to the Vietnam Conflict  Right to vote extended to 18 years old.  Ratified in 1971.

Nixon’s Early Presidency  New Federalism  Revenue sharing and block grants  Stagflation and Economy  Production decreased while prices increased  Spending cuts to deficit spending  90-day price and wage freeze  Devalued dollar off gold standard  Silent Majority  Developed coalition of Southern whites and conservatives responding to counterculture and liberal youths

Election of 1972

Watergate  Committee to Re-Elect the President (CREEP)  Democratic National Headquarters Break-in (June 1972)  Enemies List and Wiretaps  Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox fired  Nixon Tapes  United States v. Nixon ruled against executive privilege  Drafting Impeachment  Obstruction of justice, abuse of power, contempt of Congress  Resignation on August 9, 1974

The Watergate Hotel Complex Nixon is captain of a sinking ship. Nixon held fast to his innocence… … then he resigned.

Gerald Ford ( )  Assumed office after Nixon’s resignation  Pardons Nixon to end “national nightmare”  Oil Crisis of 1973  Oil reductions led to economic slowdowns and increasing inflation  WIN (Whip Inflation Now)  Inflation soared despite call for voluntarism by businesses and consumers  Necessitated stimulus plan from Congressional Democrats  Election of 1976  Ford barely won Republican nomination from Reagan  Democrats nominate Jimmy Carter  Southern outsider  Democrats used Watergate and economy to win

Election of 1976

Jimmy Carter ( )  1979 Energy Crisis  Inflation skyrocketed while economy slowed further  “Malaise Speech”  Dependency on oil and non- renewable fuels will affect the future  Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker  Raised interest rates to highest levels  Resulted in higher inflation and lower GDP in the short-run  In the long-run, the economy recovered but after Carter’s administration  Election of 1980  Carter and Democrats suffered from stagflation and Iran hostage crisis  Popular Ronald Reagan secured Republican nomination and eventual presidency