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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 • ~ ] 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 ~ ~ 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. ~ 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? Chapter 31 659 ~ 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. 660 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. • w 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? Chapter 31 661