How far were the late 1940s and 1950s a time of party political stability?

liberal consensus

1. Maintaining new deal social economic programmes.

2. Republicans lived the new deal and democrats abandoned criticism towards free market capitalism and embraced enterprise system.

3. Truman Doctrine.

4. Market economy.

similarities between Democrats and Republicans

1. Both parties believe American capitalism was creating abundance and decreasing social divisions,

2. agreeing that communism must be contained.

3. No longer a controversy for government to play a positive role in maintaining a high level of economic activity.

How much of a change did Eisenhower's election bring?

1. Helped republican party win control of senate and house.

2. Major revenue reform that raised taxes on the rich and lower them for the poor, making fifties a period with most equal distribution of wealth in American history.

3. Expanded new deal social security act to conclude 10m new beneficiaries and placed programme under a new cabinet level office called department of health education and welfare (1953).

How did Eisenhower manage to pass most of his legislation? What does it reveal about political attitudes?

1. Democratic controlled congress after 1954 worked closely with Eisenhower administration to solidify politics of liberal consensus under leadership of senate majority leader LBJ and speaker Sam Rayburn. There are no problem that three texans can't solve.

2. The two helped Ike pass 80% of his legislative agenda,

3. republican administration in turn adopted countercyclical policies when a recession disrupted post war economic boom in 1955.

how did truman gain support from trade unions

Truman tried to veto Taft-Hartley act 1947 to get support from unions.

Truman's New Deal Coalition

1. Starts to support black American civil rights through desegregation, uses executive powers to support NAACP and uses civil lawsuits to fight against segregation.

2. Introduces social reform legislation (minimum wage+national health insurance) and federal housing act of 1949.

3. Anti-Soviet foreign policy wins him support among Americans.

how did Transition from wartime to post-war harm Truman?

republican party is calling for end to government economic controls as the war ends. But Truman feared withdrawal of government contracts subsidies and controls may result in inflation and unemployment, so with Executive Order of August 1945, he extended wartime federal powers of the OPA (set price controls and rents) to peacetime.

how did Truman split the republican party

September 1945 proposed programme to maintain fully employment. Divided republican congress who were against extension of wartime powers and under pressure to remove price wage controls.

what ended up happening to Truman's price control and how did it affect his election

1. 1946 OPA passed by so diluted that Truman tried to Veto it. 1946 abandoned all controls, cost of living went up 30%.

2. 1946 congressional elections republican gained control of senate and house because Truman failed to handle price control and labor strikes.

John Lewis & Post War labour Strikes

1. peacetime wage reductions led to strikes in coal, iron, steel, railways and electricity.

2. May 1946 Truman threatened railraod workers with conscription

3. Truman took control of coal mines, and took UMWA leader John Lewis to court when he breached contract. Union was allies of democratic party, but now they are alienated from the democratic party.

progressive party

1948, FDR's former vice president henry Wallace and followers broke from democrats and formed progressive party for the liberal left with more pro-communist foreign policy. advocated

racial equality, economic planning, and public ownership of key sectors of the economy.

Dixiecrats

entire Mississippi delegation and half of the Alabama delegation walked out of the convention. Breakaways formed States Rights' Party (also known as the Dixiecrats). It nominated Governor J. Strom Thurmond (SC) and Governor Fielding Wright (MS) for President and vice president - began defection of Southern white Democrats to the Republican Party.

how did truman try to make dixiecrats stay

1. he tried to make his support for black civil rights more rhetorical, collapsed after pro-black civil rights Democrats—led by Minnesota's Hubert Humphrey and anti-communist liberals from the organization Americans for Democratic Action (ADA)—won support for strong civil rights in the Democratic platform of 1948 Presidential Elections

2. at the democratic convention, he tried to push through a watered-down civil-rights plank, but the civil rights liberals stopped him and forced through a strengthening amendment.

Republican party's campaign

platform tacitly accepted the New Deal but promised greater honesty and efficiency in government. Dewey, expecting an easy victory, waged a dignified, colourless, nonchalant campaign.

Truman's campaign

set out no strenuous 'whistle-stop' tour, travelling 31,000 miles and making over 350 speeches. painted the republican party as a do-nothing party

how did the extremist factions of the democratic party harm Truman

Wallace cut sufficiently into Truman's strength in New York, Connecticut, Michigan, and Maryland to throw those states to Dewey, while Thurmond deprived the Democrats of four states in the Deep South.

how did the extremist factions of the democratic party benefit Truman

the Dixiecrats by increasing Truman's appeal to black voters, the Progressives by providing (albeit involuntarily) an answer to the charge that the Administration had been soft on Communism'. He was also able to hold the labor vote and capture most of the middle western farm states

why doesn't congress listen to Truman after he won

1. Republicans were bitter at the way Truman had lambasted them during the campaign, and Southern Democrats at his civil-rights proposals.

2. Nor was there much popular support for reform: the country was prosperous and moreover distracted by foreign affairs and the issue of subversion.

3. Congress agreed to modest extensions of existing social policies, raising the minimum wage, broadening social-security coverage, and voting funds for slum clearance and low-cost housing. But it turned down the rest of the Fair Deal.

how effective was Truman's reforms

1. Southern filibustering sealed the fate of a civil-rights bill.

2. A proposal for national health insurance was killed after having been effectively stigmatized by the American Medical Association as 'socialized medicine'.

3. A plan for federal aid to education was lost because of

wrangling over whether parochial schools should benefit.

4. failed to repeal taft hartley

corruption in Truman's second term

An unsavory army of lobbyists, known as "five-percenters', had made a business of peddling influence; they bribed officials in order to obtain contracts and government loans or to smooth over tax difficulties.

Truman's further trouble with the labor unions

1. John L. Lewis led the miners out on strike yet again in 1950, Truman was only able to settle the dispute by invoking the

Taft-Hartley Act he had earlier vetoed.

2. in 1952 in order to prevent an inflationary wage settlement he seized the steel mills. the Supreme Court declared the seizure unconstitutional--the first time since 1866 it had invalidated a presidential action.

executive order 9835

March 1947, established a loyalty security programme that disqualified anyone from working for the federal government who had a sympathetic association with CPUSA or any subversive organization

effect of McCarthyism on government employees

2700 federal employees were dismissed in the 9 years to 1956 and some 12,000 resigned

effect of McCarthyism on freedom of speech

The Hollywood ten was sentenced to prison by citing the first amendment when asked if they are if they are or had been a communist

effect of McCarthyism on education

1. In NYC 300 teachers lost their jobs, hundreds of academics lost their jobs and 1500 sailors lost their jobs

2. 30,000 books were removed from overseas library programs and public libraries for example robin hood because it was seen as communist.

effect of McCarthyism on civil rights movement

1. Racial integration was presented as a communist plot

2. created laws to stop civil rights movement that is presented as curbing communism

3. NAACP was attacked for being infiltrated by communists

4. 1963 Bobby Kennedy approved the tapping of Martin Luther King's office and hotel rooms due to reported links with communists

5. Hoover's accusations of integration's link with communism led to Eisenhower's unwillingness to pass civil rights legislation.

how did McCarthyism harm the republican party

McCarthyism started to split the Republican Party into "fanatics" or "reactionary fringe" in the West & South- and Eisenhower supporters in the East like New York.

How did Eisenhower react to McCarthy?

1. Refused to publicly attack McCarthy as it would divide his Republican party.

2. Ignoring him - hoping that McCarthy would go away.

3. eventually successful in undermining McCarthy by employing "hidden-hand" He allowed the army to keep a dossier of McCarthy's attempts to promote his supporters. It was strategically leaked to the press to discredit him.

evidence that McCarthyism is not really genuine

Under investigation for tax offences and corruption. To be reelected, he came up with the idea of publicly attacking those in the democratic administration party who he believed were Moscow's people

when did china turn communist

1949

scope of red scare

In 1947 Truman took steps to determine the loyalty of the 100,000 members of the american communist party. next four years loyalty program investigated 3m americans

HAUC

1938, House Un-American Activities Committee

how did McCarthy take off

McCarthyism took off during Korean War, USA's military setbacks were blamed on communist spies. Eisenhower and Nixon supported his anti communist campaign, he reached the height of his power during 1953 when Eisenhower order an investigation of the civil service, dismissing/resigning 7000 people.

McCarthy's downfall

1. The public began to dislike McCarthy when he accused 45 army officers of being communist spies in 1954. Television coverage of HAUC hearings showed McCarthy to be a rambling bully who abused his position. Some believed he was drunk because he slurred his words. People began questing his credibility.

2. His downfall came when he quested Eisenhower of being a communist. In December 1954, he was censured by congress but continued his anti-communist campaign the country lost interest in. 1956 better cold war relations meant outing communists were no longer a interest.

McCarthy unreliable

1950 McCarthy gave speech saying there are 205 communists in US State Department without any evidence. In the next few days 205 became 57.

evidence anyone against McCarthy did not end up well

1. Senator william benton accused McCarthy of lying and practicing deception, and McCarthy smeared him as communist, accused him of abiding communists in the state department as well as purchasing and displaying lewd artworks.

2. Senator Tydings also lost his 1952 election after criticizing McCarthy and being accused of being a communist himself.

Alger Hiss

A former State Department official who was accused of being a Communist spy and was convicted of perjury. The case was prosecuted by Richard Nixon.

Rosenbergs

Couple executed for giving military secrets to the Soviets in the 1950's, despite not being very important, McCarthyism atmosphere

Truman-Mcarthur conflict

During the Korean war, McArthur wanted to use nuclear weapons on China, and publicly denounced Truman when he didn't agree on the use of nuclear weapons. Therefore Truman sacked him 1951

Ike's campaign strategy

1. didn't mention opponent's name

2. K1C2 (Korea, Communism, Corruption)

3. Travelled to 45 states and speaking to large crowds from the caboose of his campaign train.

4. used 30 seconds TV campaign ads 'I like Ike'

Ike's PR ability

1. Eisenhower omitted his defense of George Marshall, his former mentor and boss during World War II, when he gave his speech when Marshall was accused of being a communist by McCarthy

2. Nixon answered corruption allegations by saying that he will not get rid of his dog Checkers.

Ike's approval rating

1955 President approval rating 68-79%

Ike's foreign policy crisis

1. October when Israel, Britain and France attacked Egypt in retaliation for the nationalization of the Suez Canal. Even though Britain and France were members of NATO, they did not inform America. Eisenhower condemned the Anglo French Israeli action and imposed economic sanctions that forced the invaders to withdraw.

2. Soviet troops invaded Hungary, the Kremlin was determined to crush Hungarian government which withdrew from Warsaw Pact. Eisenhower decided not to aid the Hungarians in fear of a major war, but condemned it and assisted Hungarian refugees.

3. End of Korean war

how did Ike's opponent in 1956 fail?

Soviet Premier endorsed Stevenson's proposal for a ban on the testing of nuclear weapons

Eisenhower denounced Stevenson for making sensitive issues of national security matters of partisan debate. Nixon and republicans insisted that Stevenson would appease the soviets rather than stand up to them.

how did Nixon appeal to middle class voters

- Nixon's background and negative campaigning appealed to "silent majority" - the white working and middle classes of the nation's heartland, the "non-shouters" and "non-demonstrators". Won back the Midwest working class that lost with McCarthy

Ike on civil rights

1. Upheld constitution brown v. board of education forced desegregation appealed to black voters, reluctant to use his presidential authority to back up the enforcement of the Court's verdict.

2. He did send federal troops to Little Rock, Arkansas in September 1957 to enforce integration of the high school, after Elizabeth Eckford and eight other students were banned. But he acted only after the events at Little Rock were publicized in the media.

3. Passed civil rights legislation 1957 and 1960 but did not enforce them.This mean that Eisenhower could appeal to black voters but also white Southerners saying that he also understood their concerns.

percentage of black voter support in 1952

40%

how did McCarthy appeal to voters

McCarthy's appealed to voters in the Midwest, once he lost power, the Midwest voters were lost. But Nixon kept them back.