US History 1948 Presidential Election

Chapter 28: Collision Courses, Abroad and at Home: 1946-1960

• The Postwar Economy
  • Economists worried about a flood of veterans entering the job market, fearing widespread unemployment.
  • Postwar economic boom fueled by a strong craving for cars.
  • 1920s: 31 million cars
  • 1950s: 58 million cars
  • 1960s: 77 million cars
  • The expansion of the car industry spurred related industries, especially the oil industry.
  • 1931: Gasoline consumption hit 15 billion gallons.
  • 1950: 35 billion gallons
  • 1970: 92 billion gallons
  • The motel industry developed to accommodate the increase in tourists and business travelers.
  • Government educational opportunities for veterans through the GI Bill of Rights.
  • 1944: Congress passed the GI Bill of Rights.
  • Nearly 8 million veterans utilized the GI Bill after the war.
  • Economic prosperity following World War II allowed for increased military and economic commitments without raising taxes.

Truman Becomes President

• Late 1945: Americans focused more on domestic than foreign issues.
• Born in 1884, served in WWI, and owned a men's clothing store in Kansas City, which failed during the postwar depression.
• Became a part of the Democratic political machine and was elected to the Senate in 1934.
• Work on the "watchdog" committee on defense spending earned him the vice presidency.
• Sought to continue FDR's legacy as president.
• Lost a major battle in 1947 when Congress passed the Taft-Hartley Act, which Truman vetoed but Congress overrode.

The Containment Policy

• Soviet Union's intent to dominate Eastern Europe was clear, without consultation with the West.
• Stalin sought an expansionist policy in Central Europe, Outer Mongolia, Manchuria, and Northern Korea.
• The Soviet Union annexed the Kuril Islands and regained the southern half of Sakhalin Island from Japan.
• Further trouble was fomented in Iran.
• Did not demobilize the Red Army.
• Averill Harriman, US ambassador to the Soviet Union, warned that Soviet ideology was more dangerous than Nazism.
• George Kennan argued that the Soviet Union's outwardly aggressive behavior stemmed from internal pressures and could be contained.

The Atom Bomb: A "Winning" Weapon?

• Truman hoped the atomic bomb would serve as a counterweight to the larger Red Army.
• Stalin was not intimidated by the bomb despite the US having only about a dozen of them in 1947.
• Many Americans questioned the use of the atomic bomb, given the devastation in Japan.
• November 1945: US suggested a UN to oversee all nuclear energy production.
• June 1946: Plan for the eventual outlawing of atomic weapons via UN inspectors operating without restrictions.
• US would destroy their stockpile once the UN system was established.
• Americans considered the Baruch Plan as magnanimous, with many thinking it was foolhardy.
• Soviets opposed the inspectors; did not want to surrender UN veto power; and demanded the immediate destruction of US weapons.
• The US refused to comply.

A Turning Point in Greece

• Greek communists fighting the monarchy received aid from communist Yugoslavia and Bulgaria.
• Great Britain could no longer financially support the Greek monarchists, informing Truman in February of their discontinuation of aid.
• The US feared a communist "iron curtain," so Truman asked Congress for $400 million (military and economic aid) for both Greece and Turkey.
• This became known as the Truman Doctrine.

The Marshall Plan and the Lesson of History

• 1946: George C. Marshall, army chief of staff during WWII, reminded Americans that pre-war isolationism contributed to the rise of Hitler.
• The need for the US to act against foreign aggressors was highlighted.
• 1947: Marshall Plan was proposed to aid the economic recovery of Europe; this offered aid to all of Europe (including Eastern bloc countries).
• Sixteen-nation European Committee for European Economic Cooperation was established.
• US provided over $13 billion in assistance over the next five years.
• This led to the economic recovery of Western Europe.
• The Soviet Union, however, refused aid.
• February 1948: Communist coup in Czechoslovakia.
• Jan Masaryk (Foreign Minister) died (possibly pushed from a window).
• This led to the US appropriating over $13 billion.

The Election of 1948

• Spring 1948: President Truman's popularity was at a low ebb.
• Public opinion polls considered him incompetent.
• Many Democrats considered nominating someone else.
• Two of FDR's sons were for General Eisenhower as the Democratic candidate; Republicans nominated Dewey.
• Truman had alienated southern conservatives in 1946.
• Southern delegates walked out when the Democratic Convention adopted a strong civil rights plank.
• Southerners formed the States' Rights party and nominated J. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina.
• Northern liberals saw the containment policy as a threat to world peace.
• They organized a new Progressive Party and nominated former Vice President Henry A. Wallace.
• Truman campaigned aggressively (whistle-stop campaign); he excoriated the Republican Congress and warned against Dewey’s policies.
• Millions were moved by his speeches and the Berlin Airlift.
• This, alongside midwestern farmer dissatisfaction, helped contribute to Truman's victory.
• Truman defeated Dewey by 24.1 million to 21.9 million votes (and 303 to 189 electoral votes).
• Truman's victory contributed to the passage of his Fair Deal program; he urged for the increase in wages, and funds for public housing and a national health insurance system, and the repeal of the Taft-Hartley Act.

Containing Communism Abroad

• April 1949: North Atlantic Treaty signed by US, Great Britain, Canada, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, and Iceland.
• An attack against one would count as an attack against all.
• The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was established.
• September 1949: Soviet Union detonated an atomic bomb.
• Truman called for expanding the US nuclear arsenal.
• Asked advisors about the possibility of a hydrogen bomb.
• The Atomic Energy Commission argued against development of more powerful weaponry.
• January 1950: Truman announced the US building a hydrogen bomb.
• By the end of 1949, Chinese communists defeated the Nationalists.
• Nationalists fled to Formosa which became Taiwan.

Hot War in Korea

• Korea was divided along the 38th parallel after WWII, with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in the north backed by the Soviet Union, and the Republic of Korea in the south backed by the US and the UN.
• Both powers withdrew troops from the peninsula, leaving behind forces in the north and south.
• The US felt that their military involvement in Asia was improbable.
• US and UN backed South Korea troops; Chinese aided North Korean troops.
• General Dwight D. Eisenhower was placed in command of troops from 16 countries.
• 90% were American.
• September 1950: Front stabilized around Pusan; MacArthur executed an amphibious landing at Inchon.
• October 1950: The battlefront moved north to past the 1945 boundary.
• MacArthur wanted to extend the war into China, but his proposals were rejected by Truman, and Truman removed him from command.
• November 1950: Chinese divisions attacked MacArthur's troops leading to their retreat.
• June 1951: Communists agreed to discuss an armistice.
• The war ended in 1953 (under Eisenhower's presidency).

The Communist Issue at Home

• The Korean War highlighted the US diminishing influence in world affairs.
• The US no longer held a monopoly on nuclear weapons; China was communist; and new nations in Africa & Asia were adopting a neutralist stance in the Cold War.
• Despite spending billions on armaments and foreign aid, national security seemed less secure.
• Instances of communist espionage were seen in Canada, Great Britain, and the US.
• Accusations of communist infiltration led to the establishment of the Loyalty Review Board; thousands of government workers were discharged.
• Whittaker Chambers accused Alger Hiss, president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, being a communist in the 1930s.
• Hiss was convicted of perjury.
• In 1950, it was revealed that British scientist Klaus Fuchs betrayed atomic secrets to the Soviets, and American associates of Fuchs were convicted.

McCarthyism

• February 1950: Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin claimed that the State Department was infested with communists and that he had a list of named people whom the secretary of state knew to be communists.
• McCarthy never exposed a single spy or secret American communist, but thousands were eager to believe his accusations because of the fear of communism.
• McCarthy accused a wide range of people (including General Marshall).
• Accused individuals denied the charges.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

• 1952: Eisenhower won the presidential election easily despite Truman's low popularity.
• McCarthy attacked Truman in this campaign, but Eisenhower was nominated as he was considered genial and capable (having run large war armies).
• The Democratic candidate was Illinois' Governor Adlai E. Stevenson,

The Eisenhower-Dulles Foreign Policy

• Eisenhower selected John Foster Dulles as Secretary of State.
• Dulles felt global containment was costly and ineffective.
• The US needed to focus more on nuclear weapons over conventional weapons.
• This "New Look" policy was cheaper and prevented direct involvement.

McCarthy Self-Destructs

• In 1954: McCarthy attacked the army; hearings were televised, showcasing his actions to the nation.
• December 1954: Senate censured him since the American public no longer believed his accusations.
• 1957: He died.

Asian Policy after Korea

• Nationalist rebels, led by Ho Chi Minh, were harassing the French in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.
• Truman countered by providing economic and military assistance to the French.
• Eisenhower continued this assistance.
• Early 1954: Vietminh besiegde French at Dien Bien Phu.
• France requested assistance from US, but Eisenhower refused to intervene.
• The French garrison surrendered in May 1954.

Israel and the Middle East

• Nazi extermination of Jews strengthened Jewish claims to a homeland.
• Increased immigration pressure resulted in fighting.
• 1947: UN voted to partition Palestine into Israel and a Palestinian state.
• May 14, 1948: Israel was established and recognized by the US and other nations.
• Arab armies (Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon) attacked Israel.
• Israel forced Arabs out of the region.
• Nearly 1 million Arabb refugees.
• Truman strongly supported Israel (a belief that holocaust survivors were entitled to a country of their own, and the political importance of Jewish vote in the US.).
• Eisenhower/Dulles attempted to restore balance, deemphasizing support for Israel.

Eisenhower and Khrushchev

• 1956: Eisenhower reelected, winning decisively.
• US detonated the first hydrogen bomb in November 1952, followed by the Soviets 6 months later.
• Stalin died in 1953; Khrushchev emerged as new Soviet Union leader.
• Khrushchev appealed to anti-Western prejudices in newly emerging countries, offering economic aid and highlighting Soviet scientific achievements.
• Eisenhower understood that Khrushchev's actions concealed weaknesses in the Soviet Union, including:
  • Opposition to Soviet rule in Eastern Europe
  • Lack of economic strength and especially agricultural deficiencies.
  • Bureaucratic ossification of armed forces.
  • Lack of nuclear weapons parity.
• US planes, based in Europe, Northern Africa, and Turkey, were within reach of the Soviets, even if Soviet bombers needed thousands of miles to reach the United States.
• October 1957: Soviets launched Sputnik, America's first satellite.
• This resulted in American spy flights to Soviet areas.

Latin America Aroused

• During WWII, the US supplied aid to Latin American countries for raw materials.
• After the war, a Hemispheric Defense Pact was signed in Rio de Janeiro in 1947; the Organiazation of American States (OAS) was established in 1948.
• As the Cold War proceeded, the US neglected Latin American questions.
• Economic problems plagued the region.
• Reactionary governments often controlled most countries.
• Eisenhower increased economic assistance although resisting communism remained the priority.
• 1954: Guatemala-US supported overthrow of Guatemalan leader Arbenz Guzman.
• Nixon's goodwill tour of Latin America was met with hostility.

Fighting the Cold War at Home

• The Soviet threat made the US fear Soviets more than ever before.
• Fears fueled public support for increased defense spending, so Eisenhower backed a federally-funded highway system to facilitate evacuations and rapid army mobilization.
• 1956: National Interstate and Defense Highway Act.
• Soviet success in building nuclear bombs and satellite technology encouraged Eisenhower to reform US schools.
• 1958: National Defense Education Act (federal aid to promote the study of science, mathematics, and foreign languages).
• Communism's existence was a threat; government policies reflected this (e.g. "one nation under God" added to the Pledge of Allegiance; "In God We Trust" added to currency).

Blacks Challenge Segregation

• During and after WWII, massive force developed in the South in the demanding change.
• Industrialization and the shift to commercial farms led to the development of a southern black middle class.
• Vast wartime spending for aircraft and bases impacted southern areas; the GI Bill also impacted southern colleges/universities; and black soldiers expected respect for their return home.
• 1947: Jackie Robinson's integration of major league baseball.
• Voter registraton increased from 2% to 12%.
• NAACP challenged state segregation via Plessy v. Ferguson; 1938 and 1940 rulings undermined the concept of "separate but equal"; led to later rulings.
• 1953: Earl Warren became chief justice of the US Supreme Court.
• 1954: Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka - ruling declared that separate educational facilities were inherently unequal; Court ordered desegregation "with all deliberate speed."

Direct Action Protests: The Montgomery Bus Boycott

• Blacks took action to overcome segregation
• 1955: Rosa Parks' refusal to yield her seat on the bus resulted in her arrest.
• Black-owned cars reduced pricing; carpools were organized (few owned cars; there were never more than 350 cars available to over 10,000 people).
• Boycott lasted over a year.
• Following Supreme Court decisions, local laws enforcing racial separation were deemed unconstitutional.
• Montgomery desegregated the public transportation system.
• Success encouraged similar protests; organizations were formed.

The Election of 1960

• Eisenhower endorsed Nixon for the Republican nomination.
• Nixon had used anti-communist hysteria to make a reputation.
• Democrats nominated Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy.
• Kennedy had wartime experience & served in Congress.
• Kennedy showed little interest in civil rights; accused Eisenhower in failing behind Soviets in missile/production.
• Kennedy appeared forward-looking and stressed his youth, promising a "New Frontier."
• Televised debates benefited Kennedy.
• Kennedy defeated Nixon but a narrow victory (303 to 219 electoral votes, with only 34,227,000 popular votes to 34,109,000 popular votes.)