1. Life After WWII GI Bill –June 1944 FDR signed “government issue” –Included several features aimed to help vets make smooth transition money for college Advanced job training Loans for home, farm, business Help finding work or year of unemployment benefits Demand –Because of rationing, after war, demand for consumer goods increased sharply Labor Unions –1946, number of strikes increased –Taft-Hartley Act (1947) Congress passed, decreased power of unions –Ex. President could stop strikes when national interest at stake

3. 1950s Home Front Baby Boom –2 decades after WWII > dramatic increase in birthrate –Large families > increase in demand Racial Minorities –Truman Executive Order 9981 (1948) ended segregation in armed forces –Hispanic vets formed American GI Forum to get veteran benefits

4. Baby Boom

5. Post-War Politics 1948 Presidential Election –Truman’s popularity with voters low, lacked support from fellow Democrats, Liberals broke off, Southerners were angry because of Truman’s support of Civil Rights –Seemed certain to lose –Republican candidate: Thomas Dewey –Whirlwind campaign > people responded to tough-talking, plain style

6. 1948 Presidential Election

7. Truman’s Fair Deal Truman criticized Republican Congress as “do-nothings” Fair Deal: programs in tradition of New Deal –Included federal health insurance program –Funding for education –Not supported by Congress

9. Global Issues World Bank (1944)Organization for providing loans, advice to countries to reduce poverty International Monetary Fund (1944) System for promoting orderly financial relationships between countries; Designed to prevent economic crises & encourage trade/growth United Nations (1945)Organization in which nations agree to settle disputes peacefully; established commission on human rights General Agreement on Tariffs & Trade (1946) Agreement on rules, regulations for international trade; focused on reducing tariffs & trade barriers

10. 2 nd Red Scare Growing fear of communism (1 st in 1920s) because of: –Soviet atomic weapons (late Aug. 1949) Soviets detonated a-bomb –Mao Zedong victorious in Chinese Civil War (Communist)

11. Fighting Communism at Home HUAC –Since 1930s House of Representatives had (House on Un-Amer Activities Commission) –Purpose: investigate radical groups –Overtime, focused on communists Hollywood 10 –Most famous HUAC investigation –1947 HUAC collected names of Hollywood writers, producers, directors with radical views –They refused to answer questions > guilty of contempt > jail –Blacklist: list all major Hollywood employers refused to hire

14. Communist Fears Atomic Energy Commission –Accused a-bomb scientist Oppenheimer of communist sympathies > stripped of top-secret loyalty Truman –Plan to investigate federal employees –3 million investigated > few 1000 resigned, 200 disloyal Smith Act (1940) –Truman showed commitment to fight communism > federal crime to call for overthrow of U.S. government or belong to an organization that did McCarran Act (1950) –Congress passed; required communist organizations to register with government –Illegal to plan for totalitarian government –Tried to prevent communists from entering U.S.

15. Major Spy Cases Alger Hiss (1948) –Whittaker Chambers accused Hiss of 1930s plot to place communists inside U.S. government –Hiss denied –Chambers took investigators to Hiss’ farm & found carved out pumpkins with top- secret government microfilm “Pumpkin Papers” –Convicted of perjury > prison

16. Rosenberg’s Ethel & Julius (1951) –Brother in Manhattan Project accused them of providing atomic secrets to spy ring –Denied charges > refused to answer questions regarding political or communist involvement –Convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage –Death sentence > executed 1953

17. Senator Joseph McCarthy Feb. 9, 1950 Speech, McCarthy claimed 250 known communists working for U.S. State Department –Charges created sensationalism > used to explain loss of China, Soviet development of a-bomb

19. McCarthyism –Spread fear based baseless charges –Spread to universities, unions, businesses –Officials & employers feared failed compliance = soft on communism –Wild in charges, alcoholic, 1954 attacked U.S. Army > fall of career –“Good Night & Good Luck”