Truman's Domestic Policies

Spy Scandals

• Alger Hiss
• Was exposed by HUAC
• Was working in the state department, a communist spy 
• Julius and Ethel Rosenburg were also found guilty and executed

HUAC

• (Formed in 1938)
• Gained importance during surge of Macarthyism 
• Hollywood blacklisting caused panic in the entertainment industry
• Large scale spy investigations

Truman

• Truman Doctrine speech 'Scared the hell' out of Americans
• Ordered an investigation into loyalty of Federal employees in 1947

• Inflation rose to 25% Post-War
• Widespread strikes in 1946: 800,000 steelworkers and 400,000 miners
• Taft Heartly Act 1947
• GI Bill 1944 provided help to ex-soldiers 
• Also helped to provide them with employment opportunities
• Lots of unemployment Post-WW2
• Workers got a 18-19% pay rise 
• However, this matched the price rises due to inflation

Poor Relations with Congress

• Congress felt that Presidential power increased dangerously
• Republicans took control of Congress for the first time since 1928
• The Fair Deal was unpopular with Congress - Regected most of the ideas proposed 
• Did have its successes e.g Social Security + Minimum wage but was generally unsuccessful 

Issues Within the Democratic Party

• Southern Conservitive democrats felt that Truman was too liberal
• Dixiecrats - A faction of the Democratic Party that was against Civil Rights
• Divided after the 1948 election - between Dewey and Truman

• CORE was established in 1942
• Southern Democrats were against civil rights 
• 450,000 were now members of NAACP after the war - originally 50,000
• Morgan vs. Virginina Supreme Court case - ruled that segregation on interstate buses was unconstitutional
• Soldiers saw the lack of segregation and racism in other countries during the war