Chapter 20:Society After WWII

Section 1:The ChallengesOf Peace

Postwar Measures Congress’ first priority after WWII was preventing

another economic depression and helping the soldiers coming home to adjust to civilian life

Congress passed the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, AKA the {GI Bill of Rights.GI Bill of Rights.

The bill provided pensions and government loans to help veterans start businesses, buy homes or attend college}

{Thanks to the GI BillGI Bill almost 8 million veterans attended college} or tech. schools between 1944 and 1956

Postwar Economy To ensure economic growth after the war, Congress

passed the Employment Act Employment Act of 1946, which established the government would promote full employment and production

The Employment Act also established the Council Council of Economic Advisersof Economic Advisers to confer with the president on economic policy

Another Depression never came. People kept spending money, businesses transferred to making consumer goods instead of war materials smoothly and farmers continued and actually increased their export of food

However, there were problems like postwar inflation and {many people lost their jobs to make room for the returning soldiers}

The 1948 Election High inflation and labor unrest had decreased public support

for President Truman But his position of civil rights became an important issue in the

1948 election Civil rights groups urged Truman to take a stand on racism

and segregation {In December 1946 Truman created the Committee on Civil Committee on Civil

Rights Rights to examine racial issues} The committee’s report documented wide spread civil rights

violations based mostly on segregation and violence Based on the report’s findings, Truman urged Congress pass

an anti-lynching law and issued executive orders to ban racial discrimination in the military and in federal hiring and in companies with government contracts

The Democratic Convention The south strongly opposed Truman and his views

on civil rights The proposal of a strong campaign for civil rights

divided the Democratic Party and the all white southern delegation threatened to walk out of the convention

{After a bitter debate the delegates decided to adopt the civil rights platform

The southern delegates stormed out of the convention and formed the States’ Rights PartyStates’ Rights Party or the Dixiecrats}Dixiecrats}

{{The Dixiecrats Dixiecrats called for continued segregation}

They nominated South Carolina governor J. Strom J. Strom Thurmond Thurmond as their presidential candidate}

The Progressive Party Troubled by Truman’s anti-labor actions in 1946,

former vice-president Henry Wallace Henry Wallace and other liberals broke from the Democratic Party and founded the Progressive Party.

They called for an extension of the New Deal and to repair our relations with the Soviet Union

{With the Democratic Party now divided into three groups (the DemocratsDemocrats, the DixiecratsDixiecrats and the ProgressivesProgressives)} the Republicans believed they were assured a victory

They nominated New York Governor Thomas Thomas Dewey Dewey as their candidate

In one of the greatest upsets of U.S. political history Truman won the election

The Fair Deal {Truman proposed to Congress his idea of the

Fair DealFair Deal The Fair Deal promised full employment, a higher

minimum wage, a national health insurance program, affordable housing, increased aid to farmers and the expansion of welfare benefits}

Some of the points of the Fair Deal came to be like minimum wage and increased Social Security

Though overall the Fair Deal had limited success because of the conservative post war political attitude

Most people just wanted peace and stability after all the recent chaos