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CHAPTER
31
The U.S. Government 1945-1960
Years 1945-1960
Rooseveh died
Harry S. Truman
became president
Taft-Hartley Act passed
Department of Defense
set up
Senator McCarthy
censured
National Defense
Education Act passed
1945
1947
1954
1958
Employment Act passed
Council of Economic
Advisers set up
1946
Dwight D. Eisenhower
elected president
Sputnik 1 laun,hed
1957
1. Winding Down from the War
Learn these important terms:
GI Bill of Rights
Council of Economic Advisers
Taft-Hartley Act
closed shop
Employment Act
National Security Act
Fair Deal
Atomic Energy Commission
Remember the main idea:
H arry s. Truman took the oath of
office only hours after President Roosevelt's death on April 12, 1945. The
following day he told the press that he
felt like the moon, the stars, and all the
planets had fallen on him. Franklin D.
Roosevelt had been a popular and
respected president. Following him
would not be easy. Truman faced the
responsibility of leading the nation
into peace. Although Truman had
been a strong decision-maker during
the war, unknown problems lay ahead
of him. You will see how well he dealt
with these problems. You will also
read about the roles Congress and
Cabinet members played.
This chapter tells about America's
return to peacetime. Think about what
this meant to the country. The economy had to change. Many families had
to start again. Soldiers had to readjust.
As you read, consider the impact of
these changes. How would American
leaders fulfill the promise of peacetime America?
Winding down from World War II
was no easy task. President Truman
and Congress had to help millions
of returning soldiers readjust to civilian life. They also had to deal
with a prospering but changing
peacetime economy.
Look for answers to these
questions:
1. What law helped veterans adjust
to peacetime conditions?
2. Why did so many workers go on
strike after the war?
3 . Why did so many Americans
support Harry Truman in the
election of 19487
The men and women in the armed
forces wanted to return quickly to peacetime living. These GIs, as they were
called, numbered 12,500,000 at the war's
end. Americans made it clear to Congress
that they expected the GIs to return from
Europe and Asia right away. So the
Chapter 31
643
Think: The USS Admiral Capps, her decks packed
with returning troops , arrived home on December 15,
1945. Respond : Why did Americans want the troops
to return so quickly?
government directed the armed forces to
release their troops as quickly as possible.
By the end of 1946, the American armed
forces were down to a little more than one
million men and women.
But problems for the GIs did not end
with their return. Most needed jobs, many
needed medical attention, and large numbers wanted to be educated.
To help the GIs readjust, Congress
passed a law known as the GI Bill of
Rights. This law helped veterans to continue their educations. It also loaned them
money to buy homes or businesses and
gave them pensions and hospital care.
Millions of veterans took advantage of
this program.
Think: After retWTring from the war, many GIs wanted to go back to school. Many also bought homes . Respond :
What did the government do to help the veterans? Why?
644
UNIT 10
Business and Industry Adjust
to Peace
The end of the war brought change to
American business and industry. The
government no longer needed to control
what was being produced. As soon as the
war ended, America's factories went back
to making the peacetime goods that
Americans needed and demanded.
At first, many American workers were
afraid that they might lose their jobs.
They feared competition from the millions
of returning soldiers. They also worried
that their workplaces would shut down as
factories stopped making war materials.
As it turned out, however, they had nothing to fear. The demand for goods was so
great that few workers lost their jobs.
Why was the demand for goods so
great? During the war, many goods were
rationed or were in short supply. Since
there was little for consumers to buy,
most people put their money into banks.
After the war, when most rationing ended, Americans began spending.
The increased demand for goods after
the war drove prices up. During World
War II, the prices of food, housing, and
most products were controlled by the federal government. In 1946, however, Congress ended most price controls. After
price controls were lifted, the prices of
most products went up . This inflation was
the main problem facing the economy
during the early postwar years.
Although the economy grew rapidly
after the war, Congress passed a law that
assured jobs. The Employment Act of
1946 made it the government's duty to try
to prevent unemployment. In addition, a
Council of Economic Advisers was set up
to help the president improve the American economy. By improving the economy,
this council and the president provided
more jobs.
The Unions Respond
The changing nature of the economy
after the war led to many strikes by
American workers. These strikes were
protests against inflation and losses in
pay. Many workers were earning less
money because their working hours had
been cut. They went from forty-eight
hours per week during the war to forty
hours after the war. Workers went on
strike to demand higher wages. Strikes
took place in the automobile, steel, coal,
and railroad industries. These strikes
brought wage increases to the workers.
Think: During the coal strike of 1946. many offices
were lit by candlelight. Respond: After the coal
strike, how and why did Congress control future
strikes?
Chapter 31
645
The map and charts below show the results of one of the most dramatic
presidential elections in history. The New York Republican Thomas E. Dewey
was favored over the Democratic President Harry S. Truman. Third party candidates, Thurmond and Wallace, weakened Truman's chances. A majority of
electoral votes is needed to win.
Look at the map, the map key, and
the charts.
R
1. Who won the election of 1948,
and by what percent? How do
you know?
2. How many people voted in this
election? How many voted for
Dewey? How many voted for
Truman? What percentage of
the people voted for Truman?
Does it make a difference
whether these votes are in
states with many electoral
votes? Why?
3 . How many electoral votes are
needed to win the presidency?
What is the fewest number of
states that can reach this total?
Name these states.
The four time zones across the
country add drama to a close
national election. By the time the
votes are counted on the west
coast, night has fallen in the East.
In 1948, the Chicago Daily Tribune
headlined Dewey as the winner, as
Truman went to bed confident of
victory. The map shows what
happened.
4. Give two reasons why Dewey,
sitting in New York, would feel
happy about the early returns.
5 . Why did Dewey' s confidence
fade with the sun in the
Midwest?
6. As election day ended, how did
each candidate and his
supporters view California?
7"''4
39
ELEClORAL VOTE
lbtal 531
Minor
2V2,.
I/s,.
285,538
1,169,021 ---:::~!ii;;~=Progressive (Wallace)
2'h" 1,157,172
POPULAR VOTE
Total 48,687,608
Democratic (Truman)
Republican (Oewey)
States' Rights Democratic .
(Thurmond)
could take place. The law also allowed the
president to stop a strike that endangered
the nation. A coal strike in 1946 had
reduced the nation's coal supply to dangerously low levels. The Taft-Hartley Act
would prevent this from ever happening again .
What angered union members the most
about the Taft-Hartley Act was that it outlawed the closed shop. A closed shop
occurs when a company agrees to hire
only workers who belong to a union.
Unions thought they would be weakened
without closed shops.
Other War-Related Problems
The war left Congress with the responsibility of deciding what to do about atomic energy. Atomic energy is the powerful
force that is set off when atoms are split.
Atomic energy is used in atomic bombs.
But it also has more peaceful uses as a
source of electric power. In 1946, Congress decided to put the development of
atomic energy in the hands of civilians,
not the military. So the Atomic Energy
Commission was created.
Congress also took a hard look at the
way the country's armed forces were
organized. In 1947, Congress decided to
unite the armed forces under one Cabinet
department. The National Security Act
set up the Department of Defense headed
by the secretary of defense.
Think: Great debates took place over the Taft-Hartley
Act. Respond: Would you have been for or against
the act? Why?
Because of these strikes, Congress
began to feel that unions must be controlled. Therefore, in 1947, Congress
passed the Taft-Hartley Act over President Truman' s veto. This law required
labor unions to give sixty days' notice
before they started a strike. This gave
business managers and workers time to
settle the ir differences before a strike
The Twenty-second Amendment
Congress made another important decision when it responded to the issue of the
number of terms a president could serve.
For example, when President Roosevelt
died, he was in his fourth term. Some
thought this was too many. Congress suggested that a president be allowed to
serve only two full terms in office. This
plan later became the Twenty-second
Amendment to the Constitution.
Chapter 31
647
Think: The victorious Truman
happily holds up a newspaper that
had reported Dewey as the wirmer.
Respond : Why had so many people
believed that Dewey would win.
not Truman?
Many American
historians consider
Harry S. Truman
(1884-1972) one
of the nation's
greatest presidents
because of his
insight into needed
changes.
The Election of 1948
In the Congressional election of 1946,
the Republican Party had won control of
both houses of Congress . Therefore, in
the 1948 presidential election, the Republicans were sure that their candidate
would win. Their choice was Thomas E.
Dewey, the governor of New York.
President Truman became the Democratic candidate, even though he lacked
the support of two important groups in his
party. One group was made up of Southerners who opposed the president 's support of equal rights. The other group disagreed with Truman's postwar policy
toward the Soviet Union . Truman's
chances of winning looked slim.
But Truman had a program of change
and reform that appealed to many Americans. He called this program the Fair
D eal. The Fair Deal promised laws to
enforce equal rights for all Americans. It
also promised more public housing and
federal aid to education. The Fair Deal
648
UNIT 10
called for the passage of a health insurance plan and the repeal ofthe Taft-Hartley Act. In a surprising upset, President
Truman won the election of 1948. Many
Democrats rode on his coattails to victory.
The Democrats won back control of Congress . In the next section, you will find
out about the problems and succe sses of
the Truman presidency.
Section Revie w
1. How did the government help
GIs returning to civilian life?
2 . What caused inflation after
World War II?
3. Why did union members oppose
the Taft-Hartley Act?
4. Why did two groups of Democrats oppose President Truman's
election in 1948?
2. Truman's Fair Deal
Learn these important terms:
social programs
National Housing Act of 1949
discrimination
communism
Internal Security Act
Remember the main idea:
President Truman's term in office
was not always smooth or successful. He failed to get Congress to
approve much of his Fair Deal program. He also had to deal with
charges that government officials
who were serving under him were
dishonest and disloyal.
ernment grow bigger by involving itself in
new and expensive social programs.
Social programs aim to assist the poor,
the sick, and the needy, improving the
quality of their lives.
Efforts To Make the Nation
Color Blind
As part of his Fair Deal program, President Truman asked Congress to pass
laws to enforce equal rights for all Americans. He called for a federal law that
would make lynching, or hanging someone without a trial, unlawful. He also
wanted a law ending discrimination in
hiring practices . Many employers would
not consider some people for certain jobs
simply because of their ethnic background. Truman wanted all jobs to be
open equally to every qualified person.
Look for answers to these
questions:
1. Why did President Truman fail to
win support for much of his Fair
Deal program?
2. For which social programs was
Truman able to win support?
3. What made the American people
become concerned that communism was spreading inside the
United States?
The Congress that President Truman
had to work with was not a very cooperative one. Southern Democrats refused to
support and vote for any part of the Fair
Deal that involved equal rights issues .
They were joined by the Republicans who
opposed most parts of the Fair Deal.
Republicans did not want to see the gov-
Think : Life in the South was slow to change. This
1947 scene could have been from 1847. Respond :
Why had it become necessary to pass a federal law
ending discrimination in hiring?
Truman also proposed a law that would
end segregation on all travel systems.
Another proposed law would have
stopped the use of the poll tax as a voting
requirement. Congress did not pass any
of these laws.
Chapter 31
649
However, on his own, President Truman did much to bring about equal treatment for all Americans . He ended discrimination in hiring in the federal civil
service system. Truman also ended segregation in the armed forces . Black and
white Americans began to fight side by
side in the army, navy, and air force.
Efforts To Help the Disadvantaged
President Truman was also defeated in
his attempt to get federal aid for education . In addition, Congress turned down
his plan for government health insurance.
His proposal to repeal the Taft-Hartley
law also fell through. It seemed as if the
Fair Deal and Congress were constantly
on a collision course.
But Congress was willing to expand
and improve the Social Security system.
The Social Security program grew to
include over ten million more Americans.
Moreover, the monthly payments to
American workers over sixty-five were
increased. Congress also agreed to raise
the minimum wage for workers. It rose
from forty cents an hour to seventy-five
cents an hour. Over one million workers
benefited from this increase.
Congress also passed the National
Housing Act of 1949. This law made it
possible to clear slums and to build lowcost public housing. The public housing
projects built under this law helped to
improve the living conditions of many
poor Americans.
Efforts To Encourage Immigration
Between the 1920s and the 1940s,
immigration to the United States had
slowed to a trickle. Laws passed in the
1920s cut down the number of immigrants allowed to enter the country. During the Great Depression and 'World War
II, immigration declined even further.
However, after the war, many homeless
650
UNIT 10
Think: The House Un-American Activities Committee
was formed to investigate Communist activities in
the United States. Above. Richard Nixon and other
members hold a hearing investigating suspected
Communists in the film industry. Many innocent
people lost their jobs. Respond : Do you think these
investigations were fair? Why, or why not?
Europeans wished to immigrate. But Congress wanted to move slowly. Large scale
immigration could lead to problems of
unemployment. As a solution, in 1948,
Congress passed a law allowing limited
immigration. Thus, about 200,000 carefully selected Europeans were permitted
to enter the United States.
President Truman felt that this law did
not go far enough. He thought that it
favored Europeans from western Europe.
Meanwhile, homeless Europeans from
southern and eastern Europe were largely
excluded. In 1950, Congress agreed to
change the law. The new law allowed
415,000 Europeans from all parts of
Europe to enter the United States.
Spy Stories
In the years after the war, a fear of
communism began to grip many Americans. Communism is a system of government that has only one party controlling
all production of goods. A Communist
government controls its people by telling
them where to work and by limiting what
they can do. Many Americans feared a
Communist takeover of America.
To some degree, this fear of communism was based on fact. Following the
war, the Soviet Union gained control of
the governments of a number of eastern
European nations. But the United States
did nothing to stop it. In addition, by the
early 1950s, various spy rings had been
uncovered in both the United States and
Canada. These spy rings had stolen secret
government documents and given the
information to the Soviets. Americans
assumed that there were many disloyal
people in the government.
President Truman had to investigate
the loyalty of government officials. In
March 1947, he ordered a loyalty investigation of all government workers. Any
employee found to be a member of a Communist organization was to be fired. By
the time the investigation was completed
in 1951, three million workers had been
cleared. Only 212 had been fired. Those
who were fired were not found guilty of
spying. They merely belonged to what
were thought to be suspicious organizations. Thus, the government considered
them bad security risks. It seemed that
Americans' fears of Communist spies in
the government were exaggerated.
But Joseph McCarthy, a senator from
Wisconsin, continued to make unfair
charges against many Americans. He
claimed to have a list of Communists who
worked for the American government.
These charges greatly increased the public's fear of communism.
As a result of these fears, Congress
passed the Internal Security Act over
President Truman's veto. This act required all Communist groups to file their
membership lists with the government.
Members were not allowed to work in
defense factories, nor were they permitted to get passports. Even with this law,
many Americans felt that the Truman
Chapter 31
651
When you previewed the section you just read, you saw the
heading "Efforts To Make the Nation
Color Blind." You knew that this was
the topic of the section, or what the
section was mainly about . Then you
read the main idea , which told you in
a few sentences the most important
thing the writer had to say about the
topic. This information helped give
you a purpose for reading.
A topic and main idea are also
important parts of every paragraph
of a section. To understand a paragraph, first ask yourself what the
topic of the paragraph is. What person, place, or thing is the paragraph
about? Then ask yourself what the
main idea is. What is the most important thing the writer is saying about
the topic? Finally, find the topic sentence, the sentence that expresses
the main idea of the paragraph.
Often it is the first sentence .
Look back at the heading " Spy
Stories" on page 651 , and read the
first paragraph under that hea ding.
The topic of the paragraph is communism in the United States. The
main idea could be stated this way :
People were afraid communism was
spreading in the United States after
the war. The writer has expressed
the main idea in a topic sentence,
which comes first in this paragraph.
Read the second, third, and fourth
paragraphs below the heading.
Then choose the best answers to
the following questions.
652
UNIT 10
o What is the topic of the second
paragraph?
a. the atomic bomb
b. World War II
c. fear of communism
iii
What is the main idea of the
second paragraph?
a. At that time, there was some
communism in the United
States.
b. The United States did not stop
the spread of communism in
east Europe .
c. Communism existed in the Soviet Union.
II
Which sentence is the topic
sentence of the paragraph?
a. the second sentence
b. the first sentence
c. the third sentence
D
What is the topic of the third
paragraph?
a. security risks
b . loyalty of U.S. government
officials
c. firing of U.S. government
workers
iii
Which sentence is the topic
sentence of the paragraph?
a. the first sentence
b. the second sentence
c. the third sentence
iii
Write a sentence that expresses
the main idea of the third
paragraph.
Think : While Congress was
pointing its finger at Truman's
staff, it ignored the wrongdoings
of its own members. To
illustrate this, cartoonist Herben.
Block presents Congress as a
sloppy, cigar-smoking
loudmouth shouting over the
fence at an ultra-clean President
Truman. Truman, looking upset,
tries to clean his staff'" s dirty
laundry. Respond . What does
Block want his readers to think?
. . ..
•
\
I
1\
"
~
\ ".
(l)I
i
"I f There's Anything I Hate I t's
Sloppy N eighbors"-from The
Herblock Book (Beacon Press, 1952)
administration was not hard enough on
Communists .
head their ticket. In the rest of th is ch a p ter, you will read about Eisenhow er's victory and his years as president.
Dishonesty in High Offices
Between 1950 and 1952, a problem
over the honesty of some important government officials developed. Investigations revealed that these officials had
accepted gifts in return for doing special
favors for their friends. President Truman
acted swiftly to remove the guilty people
from office. Although he was not involved
in any of the dishonest deals, Truman's
rep utation su ffered.
The presidential election of 1952 was
approaching. Even though Truman could
have run for another term, he chose not
to. Instead, he gave his support to Adlai
Stevenson, governor of Illinois. But the
Republicans found a wi ldly popular war
hero, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, to
Section Review
1 . Which g roups in Congress made
it difficult for President Truman
to get a pproval for his Fair Deal
programs?
2. In what ways did Truman succeed in bringing about equal
treatment for all Americans?
3. Who benefited from the social
programs that were approved
during Truman's terms?
4 . How did the government deal
with the claims t hat there were
Communist spies in America?
Chapter 31
653
3. The Middle-of-the-Road
President
Leanl these important tenns:
landslide
balanced budget
censure
National Defense
Education Act
Remember the main idea:
Dwight D. Eisenhower rode to victory in 1952 on his enormous popularity as a war hero. During his two
terms in office, Eisenhower followed a moderate course. No new
plans for reform and change were
started, but many old laws were
improved during his terms.
Look for answers to these
questions:
1. How did President Eisenhower's
style of leadership differ from
that of Presidents Truman and
Roosevelt?
2. What was Eisenhower's main
concern during his presidency?
3. What event caused Americans to
believe that American education
needed to be improved?
The personalities of the candidates
seemed to be the big issue in the campaign of 1952. The Republicans chose
General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the
famous leader of the D-day invasion in
World War II. Nicknamed Ike, Eisenhower
was a respected and familiar figure to
many Americans. His campaign slogan,
654
UNIT 10
Think: While campaigning, Eisenhower was friendly,
while Stevenson came across as intellectual,
Respond : For whom would you have voted, the nice
guy or the smart guy?
"I Like Ike," reflected the good feelings
Americans had toward him.
The Democratic candidate, Adlai Stevenson, was a man of intelligence and
wit. But he did not have Eisenhower's
popular appeal.
Ike won the election by a landslide,
receiving a vast majority of the votes cast.
Think: Politicians' personalities must fit their times.
Consider. for example. Stevenson's unsuccessful
campaign. Respond : Did his personaJity hW't him?
to solve all of the nation's problems. He
thought that state governments could
handle many of them.
Energetic and
sharp-witted,
Dwight D.
Eisenhower (18901969) excelled in
the military. His
popularity caused
Republicans to
push the reluctant
Ike into the
presidency.
He won the votes of all but eight states,
winning even in Stevenson's home state
of Illinois.
Eisenhower the President
President Eisenhower's background as
a general shaped the way he acted as
president. He chose not to try to handle all
the nation's problems himself. Instead, he
gave the members of his Cabinet the
authority to make many decisions and
plans for him. This left Eisenhower free to
concern himself with the nation's most
important problems. This plan often
worked out well. But in some cases the
president did not know enough about certain important issues. As a result, some
people criticized him, claiming that he
was losing touch.
E isenhower and Congress
Unlike the two presidents who served
before him, President Eisenhower did not
try to influence Congress. He believed
that it was up to Congress, not the president, to decide what laws should be
passed. Eisenhower felt that Congress
knew what the American people wanted.
As a result, he did not try to force Congress to pass many laws.
President Eisenhower also had different ideas about the responsibilities of the
federal government. He did not believe
that it was the federal government's job
Following a Middle Course
Eisenhower once said, "The path to
America's future lies down the middle of
the road .... " The president chose not to
undo the programs of the New Deal and
the Fair Deal simply because they were
Democratic plans. Nor did he intend to
come up with a whole new program of his
own. Instead he took a middle-of-the-road
approach. He worked to improve the New
Deal and the Fair Deal to further help the
American people.
President Eisenhower asked Congress
to raise the minimum wage to one dollar
an hour. Congress also made the Social
Security program larger, to include over
ten million more Americans. In addition,
monthly payments to those receiving
Social Security were increased. The president set up the Department of Health,
Education, and Welfare. This Cabinet
Think. Eisenhower cut program after program. Still
he had to ask for more money than any president
before him. Respond What does this tell you about
the counoy's budget?
A
uo~-
(P.M 'Iou Sl'AlI€'
AUWr,2 J!1~~1011
VOLLAR~
?
Think: In 1953. Oveta Culp
Hobby took the oath of office
as the federal security
administrator: Soon after. she
was made the first secretary
of Health, Education, and
Welfare. As such. she became
a member of Eisenhower's
Cabinet. Respond: Why was
the Department of Health,
Education. and Welfare begun?
department took charge of looking after
the needs of the American people. To
head this department, Eisenhower chose
Oveta Culp Hobby. She was only the second woman to serve as a member of a
president's Cabinet.
The president also asked Congress to
raise money to build more public housing.
By the time Eisenhower left office in
1960, many slums were cleared and many
public housing projects were built. Laws
were passed that made it easier to get
loans to buy- houses.
Eisenhower also took an interest in
expanding the nation's highway system.
He introduced the Highway Act of 1956, a
shared federal and state program. Under
this act, the nation's interstate highway
system was built.
Eisenhower and the Balanced Budget
Eisenhower's main concern throughout
his presidency was trying to create a
balanced budget. This meant that the federal government would have to take in as
much money as it spent. One way to do
this was to reduce the amount of government spending.
But Eisenhower found that reducing
government spending was difficult. Some
parts of the budget were fixed, or
656
UNIT 10
unchangeable. For example, a certain
amount of money was needed to pay the
wages of the workers. In addition, money
was spent for the nation's defense and for
foreign aid. Most Americans felt that
these two things were very important.
They did not want the amount of money
spent for them cut too much. Remarkably,
Eisenhower was able to balance three of
the government's budgets during his
years as president.
More Hunting for Communists
Many Americans voted for Eisenhower
in 1952 because they thought he would
actively rid the government of Communists. As it turned out, Eisenhower did not
have to conduct the hunt himself. Senator
McCarthy was making it his mission to
find every spy and Communistjn Washington, D.C.
However, President Eisenhower and
many members of Congress were against
Senator McCarthy's unfair methods . The
senator was accusing people of being
Communists without having hard evidence. At first the president and Congress did nothing about it. But then, in
1954, McCarthy began an attack on the
United States Army.
A series of hearings was held to look
HISTORY MAKERS
- - - Hiram Fong - - The Senator from Hawaii
Air raid sirens
wailed. Boat whistles
blew. Storekeepers
closed their doors and
joined the celebration
in the streets. Students
cheered as the voice of
their high school principal came over the
school intercom.
"I am delighted to
announce that today, in Washington,
D.C., the United States House of Representatives passed the statehood
bill. This bill admits Hawaii to the
United States and makes us the fifti eth state in the Union! All Hawaiians
are invited to join in the celebrations,
so school is dismissed for the next
two days!"
Many Hawaiians worked hard to
change Hawaii from a territory to a
state. Territory laws could be vetoed
by Congress. Furthermore, Hawaiians could not vote for president or
have a voting representative in Congress. For these reasons, Hawaiians
wanted to govern themselves as a
state. Islanders wanted to participate
in local and national government.
Hiram Fong was a leader in the
Hawaiian movement for statehood.
His parents came from China to work
on the sugar plantations. There were eleven children in the Fong
family, and very little
money to spare. When
he was four, Hiram
Fong began working
with his sisters and
brothers, earning ten
cents for every thirty
pounds of beans they
picked. As he grew older, Fong found
other jobs. He shined shoes, sold
newspapers, and worked as a delivery boy. He worked his way through
college and law school. When Hiram
Fong began practicing law, he had
three partners: a Korean, a Japanese,
and a Hawaiian. The firm mirrored
the mix of backgrounds that made up
Hawaiian society.
Hiram Fang served in the Hawaiian Territorial legislature for many
years. He was vice president of the
Hawaiian Constitutional Convention,
and he campaigned long and hard for
statehood. After Hawaii became a
state, Hiram Fong was elected
Hawaii's first U.S. Senator. Thus the
man whose parents had been indentured servants on a sugar plantation
became the first Asian-American
senator in the United States.
Chapter 31
657
into McCarthy's charges against the
army. These hearings were shown on
television. Americans saw for themselves
that McCarthy was not able to prove his
charges. Before long, Americans began
to object to McCarthy's unfair methods.
In the end, the army was cleared of all
charges. Finally in 1954, the Senate voted
to censure, or officially criticize, Senator
McCarthy. The American people realized
that the hunt for spies had, for the most
part, been a trick. McCarthy had political
ambitions. For this reason, he had used
the hunt for Communists to get the
nation's attention. With his censure, the
hunt for Communists ended.
A Second Tenn
President Eisenhower's first term was
not filled with bold change or reform.
Even still, he was very popular with the
American people. In the presidential election of 1956, Eisenhower defeated Adlai
Stevenson by an even larger margin than
in 1952. However, the Republican Party
lost seats in Congress in the elections of
1954, 1956, and 1958. As a result, the
Democrats once again assumed control
of Congress.
One ofthe biggest shocks of Eisenhower's second term came on October 4,
1957. On that day the Soviet Union put
Sputnik I, the first man-made satellite,
into orbit around the earth. Americans
could barely believe the news . The United
States had always believed it was way
ahead of the Soviet Union in scientific
achievement. No one had expected the
Soviet Union to be the first to reach
outer space.
Think: Joseph McCarthy had gone hunting for Communists from 1950 to 1954, during which time many innocent
people were hurt by his accusations. Finally. w hen be tried to attack the United States Anny. Congress censured
him. Respond : What had McCarthy hoped to gain by his actions?
658
UNIT 10
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Think: As this 1957 cartoon shows,
SpumiJc I soared into space while the
United States satellite program had yet
to get off the ground. Respi nd Why
was it appropriate for Williams. the
cartoonist, to draw Uncle Sam in the
position shown?
J
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1
L -_ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _
This one event convinced the nation
that American education was weak in
some important areas. It had to be made
better. For this reason, Congress passed
the National Defense Education Act in
1958. This law provided federal money to
help improve the teaching of science,
mathematics, and foreign languages. The
law also provided loans to help needy college students pay for their education.
The launching of Sputnik I added to the
growing rivalry between the United
States and the Soviet Union. In the next
chapter you will read about other postwar
events that made these two great powers
bitter enemies.
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Section Review
1. Why did Eisenhower win by a
landslide in the elections of 1952
and 1956?
2. How did Eisenhower's background as a general influence
the kind of president he became?
3. Why did Senator McCarthy unfairly accuse so many people of
being Communists?
4. How did the United States respond to the Soviet launching of
Sputnik I?
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Chapter
CHAPTER SUMMARY
After 1945, the United States
was again a nation at peace. But
peace required almost as much
planning and organizing as war.
Millions of GIs had to be helped to
adjust to civilian life. Problems of
inflation, unemployment, and unrest among many of the nation's
workers had to be dealt with.
Americans showed their satisfaction with Truman's post-war leadership by electing him president.
Truman promised the American
people a "Fair Deal." This was his
program of change and reform.
But many of his programs were
rejected by Congress. Truman
used his presidential powers to
end discrimination in hiring in the
federal government. He also ended the practice of segregation in
the armed forces.
Throughout his term, Truman
had to deal with charges that there
were disloyal and dishonest workers in the government. He worked
to restore the people's confidence
in their government, but many felt
he was not doing enough.
In 1952, a Republican, Dwight
D . Eisenhower, was swept into
office. Eisenhower supported social programs but felt it was
important to keep a careful eye on
government spending. He also
saw to it that the United States
would not fall behind the Soviet
Union in the field of science. The
federal government began to aid
education for the first time.
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UNIT 10
Key Words
Write a sentence to explain the
meaning of each of these tenns.
GI Bill of
Rights
social programs
communism
landslide
censure
Major Events
Choose the answer that best
completes the statement.
1. The Taft-Hartley Act
a) gave t he unions more power.
b) weakened the unions .
c) allowed more industries to
begin unionizing .
2 . To improve living conditions ,
Congress passed the
a) Twenty-second Amendment .
b) Internal Security Act.
c) National Housing Act.
3 . President Truman convinced
Congress that the nation should
a) open its doors to more
immigrants from Europe .
b) open its doors to more
immigrants from Asia.
c) limit immigration.
4 . Eisenhower' s main concern
throughout his presidency was
a) expanding the highway system.
b) clearing slums.
c) balancing the budget.
5 . The National Defense Education
Act was passed as a result of
a) the launching of Sputnik I.
b) a national teachers' strike.
c) McCarthy's hunt for spies.
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R e v ie
Important Facts
Skill Review
Answer each question with at least
one complete sentence.
Look at the map and graph, then
answer the following questions.
1. What kinds of problems did
returning GIs face?
2. What caused inflation to occur
after the war?
3. Why did so many workers go out
on strike after the war?
4. What is a closed shop? Why was
it outlawed?
1. How many Maryland districts
voted Democrat? How many voted
Republican?
2. What percentage of the popular
vote went to Eisenhower? What
percentage went to Stevenson?
3. How did Congressional results
compare with presidential results?
What does this mean?
5. What decision did Congress make
regarding the development of
atomic energy?
6. What was the Fair Deal?
7. Why did Republicans oppose the
Fair Deal?
8 . How did President Truman deal
with the problem of disloyal
government officials?
9. What role did Senator Joseph
McCarthy play in the hunt for
Communists in government?
10 . How did Eisenhower's
background as a general
influence the kind of president
he became?
11. Which social programs did
President Eisenhower support?
12. Why was it difficult for President
Eisenhower to achieve balanced
budgets?
13. What ended the hunt for
Communists in government?
14. What was Sputnik I? Why was
the news of its launching such a
shock to the American people?
.
EIsenhower
"
O
D
Democratic
victory
Republlc.n
victory
POPULAR VOTE
Maryland Presidential
Election Results, 1956
Critical Thinking
Write a paragraph to answer each
question.
1. Why do you think Truman called
his program of change and reform
the Fair Deal?
2. Why did Americans begin to fear
that communism was spreading to
the United States in the years
after World War II?
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661