“President Truman’s economic and social policies were largely unsuccessful”. Assess
the validity of this view.
INTRO
- Continuing the legacy of FDR’s New Deal under the title Fair Deal
- Cared deeply about domestic policy and was the first president to voice his support for
civil rights
- However, plagued by economic and social issues because of the end of WWII
- Faced with hostile Congress, unable to make the change he wanted to, therefore most
of his policies were unsuccessful
INFLATION
- 9 million soldiers returned from war, saturating the market with jobseekers and inflating
demand
- The consumer boom after the war caused an inflation rate of 25% 1945-46
- Truman could not pass his Price Control Bill because it was weak and Republicans in
Congress saw it as extreme
- Truman established Council of Economic Advisors and passed an Employment Act to
stabilise the economy
- Employment Act (1946) was symbolically important as it demonstrated for the first time
the President taking responsibility for employment, however it had been watered down in
committee and did nothing in effect
- Problem worsened over his term (by 1948 $185 mil of war bonds matured causing
another consumer boom), and his legislation did little to stop it
- HOWEVER, not necessarily his fault as it was Republican obstructionism which made
the more radical price/wage control bills ineffective
- Some phenomena which worsened inflation such as the closure of the OPA (Office of
Price Administration) were not his decision, but rather Congress’ eagerness to move
away from a wartime economy
- HOWEVER, this consumer boom also brought benefits from 1939-1952:
- Industrial output increase x2
- Business investment $14 billion to $38 billion
- Employed adults 46 million to 61 million
- Unemployment never went above 5% which masked the problem and allowed him to win
a second term in 1948
SOCIAL ISSUES
- By 1947, ⅓ homes had no running water
- People were fleeing their agricultural lives en masse due to poorer living conditions
- Inflation meant a growing disparity between rich and poor
- Truman increased minimum wage from 40-75 cents per hour and increased federal aid
to education
, - However, this barely kept up with inflation and did little to improve living conditions for
the poor, still great disparities in achievement between rural, poor children and middle-
class white children
- Truman invested $20b in housing which was beneficial to poor, inner city areas however
the increase in government spending and increased taxation likely inflamed inflation
- His attempt to instate a national health insurance programme paid by a small
government tax was steamrolled by the AMA lobbying group deeming it socialist, instead
the Hill-Burton Act was passed creating an excess number of hospital beds with $4
billion in federal funds
- Had rocky relations with trade union workers; threatened to draft striking railway workers
in 1946 and in 1952, when steel workers demanded higher wages after wage controls
were ended from the war and they went on strike, when Truman signed EO 10340 to
seize the steel industry, resulting in disruption to industry, fractured relationship with the
working class and increased steel prices anyways
- Truman’s attempts at social reform for the poor were scuppered by a hostile Congress
and powerful lobbying groups, and while some progress was achieved, his Fair Deal did
not solve poverty nor bring better workers’ rights
CIVIL RIGHTS
- Education segregated and significantly poorer for black children
- Black people kept from voting by state legislation
- Lynchings were a constant threat if black people stood up to segregation
- Everything was segregated based on 1896 Plessy v Ferguson SC decision
- Despite Truman’s private comments about race, as president he publicly supported civil
rights to a greater extent than any previous president
- Truman called segregation a ‘disease’
- Truman failed to secure a permanent FEPC (Fair Employment Practice Committee) but
did assemble a committee in 1946 to advise him on civil rights issues
- Their report ‘To Secure These Rights’ advised:
- Creating federal anti-lynching laws (achieved by Truman)
- Abolition of poll tax
- Establishing a new Department of Welfare
- Desegregating armed forces (achieved by Truman)
- Desegregating housing, health and employment facilities
- The Dixiecrats hindered these attempts in Congress, and the Republican party did not
see the need to involve themselves in it
- Truman did not achieve any landmark legislation but did publicly repudiate segregation
and laid the groundwork for later Presidents
CONCLUSION
- Truman’s best efforts to pass legislation that would reduce inflation and reduce poverty
were either unsuccessful due to Republican and Dixiecrat influences, or ineffective
- His record on civil rights policy was ambitious, however he was mostly scuppered in
Congress
the validity of this view.
INTRO
- Continuing the legacy of FDR’s New Deal under the title Fair Deal
- Cared deeply about domestic policy and was the first president to voice his support for
civil rights
- However, plagued by economic and social issues because of the end of WWII
- Faced with hostile Congress, unable to make the change he wanted to, therefore most
of his policies were unsuccessful
INFLATION
- 9 million soldiers returned from war, saturating the market with jobseekers and inflating
demand
- The consumer boom after the war caused an inflation rate of 25% 1945-46
- Truman could not pass his Price Control Bill because it was weak and Republicans in
Congress saw it as extreme
- Truman established Council of Economic Advisors and passed an Employment Act to
stabilise the economy
- Employment Act (1946) was symbolically important as it demonstrated for the first time
the President taking responsibility for employment, however it had been watered down in
committee and did nothing in effect
- Problem worsened over his term (by 1948 $185 mil of war bonds matured causing
another consumer boom), and his legislation did little to stop it
- HOWEVER, not necessarily his fault as it was Republican obstructionism which made
the more radical price/wage control bills ineffective
- Some phenomena which worsened inflation such as the closure of the OPA (Office of
Price Administration) were not his decision, but rather Congress’ eagerness to move
away from a wartime economy
- HOWEVER, this consumer boom also brought benefits from 1939-1952:
- Industrial output increase x2
- Business investment $14 billion to $38 billion
- Employed adults 46 million to 61 million
- Unemployment never went above 5% which masked the problem and allowed him to win
a second term in 1948
SOCIAL ISSUES
- By 1947, ⅓ homes had no running water
- People were fleeing their agricultural lives en masse due to poorer living conditions
- Inflation meant a growing disparity between rich and poor
- Truman increased minimum wage from 40-75 cents per hour and increased federal aid
to education
, - However, this barely kept up with inflation and did little to improve living conditions for
the poor, still great disparities in achievement between rural, poor children and middle-
class white children
- Truman invested $20b in housing which was beneficial to poor, inner city areas however
the increase in government spending and increased taxation likely inflamed inflation
- His attempt to instate a national health insurance programme paid by a small
government tax was steamrolled by the AMA lobbying group deeming it socialist, instead
the Hill-Burton Act was passed creating an excess number of hospital beds with $4
billion in federal funds
- Had rocky relations with trade union workers; threatened to draft striking railway workers
in 1946 and in 1952, when steel workers demanded higher wages after wage controls
were ended from the war and they went on strike, when Truman signed EO 10340 to
seize the steel industry, resulting in disruption to industry, fractured relationship with the
working class and increased steel prices anyways
- Truman’s attempts at social reform for the poor were scuppered by a hostile Congress
and powerful lobbying groups, and while some progress was achieved, his Fair Deal did
not solve poverty nor bring better workers’ rights
CIVIL RIGHTS
- Education segregated and significantly poorer for black children
- Black people kept from voting by state legislation
- Lynchings were a constant threat if black people stood up to segregation
- Everything was segregated based on 1896 Plessy v Ferguson SC decision
- Despite Truman’s private comments about race, as president he publicly supported civil
rights to a greater extent than any previous president
- Truman called segregation a ‘disease’
- Truman failed to secure a permanent FEPC (Fair Employment Practice Committee) but
did assemble a committee in 1946 to advise him on civil rights issues
- Their report ‘To Secure These Rights’ advised:
- Creating federal anti-lynching laws (achieved by Truman)
- Abolition of poll tax
- Establishing a new Department of Welfare
- Desegregating armed forces (achieved by Truman)
- Desegregating housing, health and employment facilities
- The Dixiecrats hindered these attempts in Congress, and the Republican party did not
see the need to involve themselves in it
- Truman did not achieve any landmark legislation but did publicly repudiate segregation
and laid the groundwork for later Presidents
CONCLUSION
- Truman’s best efforts to pass legislation that would reduce inflation and reduce poverty
were either unsuccessful due to Republican and Dixiecrat influences, or ineffective
- His record on civil rights policy was ambitious, however he was mostly scuppered in
Congress
