A-Level History Notes: Truman and Post-War America (1945-1952) PDF

A-Level History Notes: Truman and post-war America (1945-1952) Chapter 1: The United States in 1945 Legacies of the world war: - The USA, like other nations, suffered with the loss of an injury to many who served in the military (400,000 men killed.) however, the USA itself was not inva...

A-Level History Notes: Truman and post-war America (1945-1952) Chapter 1: The United States in 1945 Legacies of the world war: - The USA, like other nations, suffered with the loss of an injury to many who served in the military (400,000 men killed.) however, the USA itself was not invaded, it was not bombed, there was no food shortages nor was their rationing. For many in the USA, the second world war was the "good war", especially due to the pride felt about the USA's role in the war. - The USA undoubtedly came out of the war in a dominant position, leading to the idea of "American Exceptionalism". The powers of the presidency: - The US President is often seen as the most powerful man in the world. This is in part due to the USA's economic and military strength and partly as it is in the areas of foreign relations and the military that the US President has the biggest say within their political system. They are Commander and Chief of the military and Chief Diplomat. - There are however major restraints on the President's powers domestically. All political power in the US stems from the Constitution, which sets out a series of checks and balances between the 3 branches of Federal Government (Legislature, Executive and Judiciary). - A President can effectively be blocked by the Legislature (Congress: Senate and House of Representatives) which can vote against bills the President proposes, initiate legislation the Presidents does not like, override a Presidential veto and even impeach a President. The key in a lot of this is whether the President's party controls the two houses of congress. - The Supreme Court can, if a case is brought to it deem the actions of a President or laws, they have passed to be unconstitutional. - The Checks and Balances are built into the system to prevent a president from becoming a tyrant. - Further restraint on Federal power comes from the face that the Constitutions grants many powers to the individual states and their governments. In the different states, taxes are often different as are laws on many issues such as abortion, guns, driving, education, the death penalty and segregation. President Truman: - Truman became President following the death of Roosevelt (FDR) who had been President for 12 years and won 4 presidential elections. The man who had overcome the Great Depression and led American towards victory in the war was going to be a hard man to follow. - There were concerns over the level of Federal power and in particular executive power that had grown under FDR, this led to the 22^nd^ Amendment that limits a President to two-terms (ratified in 1951). - Truman was not as popular as his predecessor and had been rather a compromise pick as Vice President. - He did however have both Houses under the control of the Democrat Party. - He took the responsibility of his office seriously with his famous "the buck stops here" sign on his desk and a reputation for honesty and a tough approach. Political System: - In the USA, the President is elected every 4 years. Roosevelt won in 1944, Truman won in 1944, Truman won in 1948, Eisenhower won in 1952. The House of Representatives a state has is dependent on the size of its population, for example in 1944, New York elected 45 members whilst Wyoming elected 1. Congressional elections take place at the same time as Presidential elections and 2 years later in mid-terms. - Senators serve 6-year terms. 1/3 of the Senate is elected every two years. Every state has 2 senators regardless of Population. - Most elections are "winner takes all" leading to a two-party system. - The President is not elected directly but rather by an electoral college (each state has a value -- members of the House + members of the senate, eg, New York 47, Wyoming 3). The main political parties: Democrats - The Democrats were going through a major transition then. They were traditionally the party of South but also the party of immigrants and liberals in the North, who sought greater political intervention in areas such as the economy. The presidency of Roosevelt had certainly shifted the Democrats with the "New Deal" that had seen enormous government intervention to overcome the Great Depression. - The Democrats in the 1850 and 1860s had been the party of slavery. In 1945, its Dixiecrats faction was behind segregation in the South. They were often at loggerheads with the New Deal Liberals faction from the Northern States. The main political parties: Republicans - The Republicans back in the 1860w had been the party of emancipation and it was the first Republican President (Lincoln) who ended slavery. - Traditionally the Republicans were the party of the North; of the Midwest; of business; of small government. They were conservative in terms of their attitudes to social issues and especially after 1964 were seen as the party that opposed the expansion of Civil Rights. - After 1964, the base of Republican voters shifted as Southern whites started to vote for them in significant numbers, something that had not been seen before. Since 1964, most of the South had been solidly Republican. - A tradition passed down through the "Know-Nothings" also tended to see the Republicans as being less pro-immigration. Post-War Prosperity: - America experienced a war-time boom that continued into the post war era. During the war there was full-employment and pay was high notably due to the rise of trade unions such as the American Federation of Labour (AFL) and Congress of Industrial Organisation (CIO). Unemployment stated at 4% or lower through the rest of the 1940s. workers had high levels of disposable income and this fed into a consumer boom. - The workers of the 1940s were considerably better off than their parents were, and standards of living were driven up as people bought goods such as refrigerators, vacuum cleaners and cars. - During the war, aircraft, electrical, pharmaceutical, motor, food processing and tobacco industries has all flourished. - The American economy was the most successful in the world and the envy of other nations. - The American Dream seemed to be a reality as many American people achieved a lifestyle that was not obtainable to most ordinary people in other countries. It appeared that levels of prosperity were an upward curve leading to great optimism. - The other nations of the world desperately needed raw materials and goods to rebuild their economies, America was in the prime position to supply these. - The allied nations started to repay loans and there were some reparations from the defeated nations. - The one real economic cloud was needed to find work for the millions of men returning from military service. Regional divisions: - Northeast: Traditionally the politically dominant and key industrial Centre with major cities (New York, Boston, Washington DC and further west Detroit and Pittsburgh). This region not only had most of the industry it also had the centres of finance and trade. There was mass migration to this region from the more agricultural regions such as the South. - Midwest: Large area with low population. Focus was on agriculture, producing enormous amounts of wheat and corn. This ensured that not only was the USA self-sufficient but that it also was able to export large amounts of food. - South: The South was also agricultural but focused on the cash crops of cotton, sugar and tobacco. The South stood out due to its more conservative views and most especially the policies of racial segregation. Still affected by the legacy of the defeat in the Civil War and ending of slavery, the old South was notably different to the rest of the USA, especially the cities of the Northeast. In the Southwest, the states of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona with their oil and very dry climates had expanding populations. - West Coast: increasingly important with the growth of LA and San Francisco. The West Coast was more liberal than the rest of the USA and increasingly wealthy. At this stage the West still lacked the political power of the East. Ethnic divisions: - The population of the USA was around 145 million, of which 130 million were white. The white population itself however was sub-divided with people still having strong connections to their country of origin: Irish Americans; Italian-Americans; Scottish Americans; Polish Americans; German Americans (though war made less people likely to stress this one). Religion remained a division with anti-Catholic prejudice (long running in the US) and the dominance of WASPS. - African Americans, around 14 million people. Largely living in the South with the legacy of slavery and suffering the injustice of segregation and "Jim Crow" laws. The African American population in Northern cities was growing due to the "Great Migration". Whilst there was not legal segregation in the North, the African American community tended to be concentrated in certain areas such as Harlem in New York. In WWII, black soldiers had fought in segregated units and having fought the racist ideology of fascism they came home to face continuing discrimination. - Hispanic Americans: around1-2 million. Largely concentrated in the Southwest in states that a hundred years earlier had been part of Mexico. - Asian-Americans: around ¼ to 1/3 of a million. Majority were Chinese Americans due to the migration in the C19th when Chinese workers came to work on the railroads. Most lived in the West. There was also a population of Japanese Americans who suffered discrimination and suspicion during the war. Many of them were put in internment camps during the war following Executive Order 9066 which excluded them from areas of the USA. Only in Hawaii (not a state until 1959) was mass internment resisted. - Native Americans: around 1/3 of a million. Largely living on reservations and having suffered greatly over the previous centuries, the Native American population had been completely marginalized. The Native American population was internally divided into different tribes. Social divisions: - Ethnicity remained the biggest divided having a huge impact on life chances, in particular African Americans who face the "Jim Crow" laws in the South. - The war had feed up social mobility to a degree with millions of men leaving their homes and seeing other parts of America and the world. The armed forces and the abundance of work gave the opportunity for people to improve their position. - The USA following the Great Depression had seen richest keep their position (the likes of Rockefellers at the top but also the kind of wealthy families that Roosevelt and Truman's wife came from) but a levelling effect between the "white collar" and "blue collar" workers particularly with the growth of "organised labour". The Trade Unions would however come under attack as anything left of centre started to be viewed as "communist". - Female workers played a massive role in the war effort (36% of the workforce in 1944, working in munitions and agriculture etc). the idea that this would lead to a permanent shift in traditional gender roles however was short lived as 12 million men returning from military service. - The GI bill was designed to help returning soldiers with access to university tuition, loans to start businesses and low-cost mortgages. In this again ethnicity led to divisions with only one in five African American servicemen getting a place in college. Summary: - The US emerged from the war as the most powerful country in the world with an economy whose dominance would inevitably be eroded as other nations recovered. Nevertheless, the head start the US had in terms of wealth, technological excellence, a united population and an established political system made it the envy of the rest of the world. - Its strength, however, was enhanced by the decimation of its rivals in Europe and Asia; only the USA had seen the living standards of its population rise during the war and continue to rise after it. While there were tensions geographically, economically and racially in 1945, the US was clearly the pre-eminent Superpower. Chapter 2: The USA as a superpower Truman's character and policies: - Truman lacked experience in foreign policy and his blunt straight talking Southern style could potentially cause issues as a time where careful diplomacy was needed. - He was strongly anti-communist and much less willing to work with Stalin than Roosevelt had been. - He is best known for the Truman Doctrine -- that the US should give support to any country threatened by Soviet forces or Communist insurrection (first expressed by Truman in 1947 in a speech to congress about aiding Greece and Turkey). - Secretary of State Dean Acheson was a key advisor. He believed in the Truman Doctrine and the "domino theory". Part of the group that produced NSC-68 which proposed shifting defence spending from \$13 billion to \$50 billion following the USSR testing a nuclear weapon in 1949. - Also trusted advice of Churchill who described the "Iron Curtain" in Europe Post-war peace making: - Yalta Conference (4-11 Feb 1945, Roosevelt) - Roosevelt met with Stalin and Churchill in the Russian resort of Yalta. Relations between Churchill and Stalin were poor, but Roosevelt and Stalin worked together. They agreed to divide Germany into 4 zones (US, British, French and Russian). Free elections to be allowed in liberated countries in Eastern Europe, notably Poland. USSR to join war with Japan after Germany was defeated, in return for occupation zones in North Korea and Manchuria. The USSR was invited to join the United Nations (came into existence in October 1945, USSR as one of the 5 permanent members of the Security Council). Nazi war-criminals would be tried after the war. Commission on reparations set up. - Potsdam Conference (17 July -- 2 August, Truman) - Truman lacked Roosevelt's charm and was less willing to work with Stalin (in part to display himself as a strong man in international relations). There were more tensions and less agreed at this conference. Very significantly Truman did not discuss the plan to drop the atomic bombs on Japan with Stalin, the bombing of Hiroshima happened just 4 days after the conference ended. - Confirmation of "zones of occupation"; Nazi war criminals to be put on trial; free elections to be held in Poland. - In Germany the Nazi Party and State were to be eliminated and de-Nazification to take place. - The USSR could take reparations from their "zone of occupation" plus 10% of industrial equipment in the Western zones. US and UK could take reparations from their zones. - September 1945: Council of Foreign Ministers from the USA, USSR, UK, China and France met in London. Aim to draft peace treaty but not achieved. - December 1945: foreign ministers of big 3 met in Moscow, disagreement over Iran - February 1946: Stalin speech suggested the inevitability of a Communism v Capitalism war. Led to the "long telegram" by George Kennan (US diplomat in Moscow) calling for US to resist USSR expansion through "containment". - March 1946: Churchill -- iron curtain has descended in Europe - June 1946: council of foreign minister met in Paris. Peace treaties for Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy and Finland agreed but not Germany Cold war and "containment" in Europe: - Truman Doctrine came into practice in March 1947 with Truman asking Congress for \$400 million economic assistance for Greece and Turkey (Greek Communists were causing problems and USA thought it was due to Soviet backing). - The Truman Doctrine remained in place for the next 40 years with the USA committed to opposing the spread of Communism. This doctrine is essential to the Cold War as it places Communist in the role as the enemy and the US as the protector of Democracy and Freedom. - Marshall Plan: financial aid for European countries to help them get back on their feet and resist the spread of Communism (Congress gave its backing after Czechoslovakia became Communist in Feb 1948). - Money was offered to all European nations including Communist ones (though they turned it down). Official name European Recovery Program (ERP) gave \$17 billion to rebuild Europe, most money went to UK, France and Germany, all of whom saw record economic growth as a result. The recovery opened markets to American goods. The Berlin Blockade and Air Lift: - 1948: US and UK had combined their zones and were discussing with France combining their zone too and creating a united West Germany under a single government. - Stalin saw this as a threat, Berlin the capital was also divided into zones but was deep inside the Soviet Zone of Control. People moving between the zones in Berlin caused the Soviets problems especially as the Western Berliners were more affluent. - Stalin blockaded Berlin (lawful), US could not get to it by land without invading (Stalin was convinced they wouldn't). - Truman ordered the supply of Berlin by air (324 days, 275000 flights, 1.5 million tons of supplies). - April 1949: creation of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) collective security, any attack on one member was an attack on all members. Essentially an anti-Soviet pact by US, Canada and Western European Countries. US also deployed B-29 bombers to Europe. West Germany would be admitted in 1955, and this led to the creation of the Warsaw Pact. - 12 May 1949: the blockade was lifted, huge victory for Truman and his doctrine. - May 1949: West Germany created - October 1949: East German state created -- 850-mile frontier quickly became heavily guarded Cold War and "containment" in Asia: Japan - 9 August 1945: second atomic bomb dropped on Japan by the USA. - 14 August: Emperor Hirohito surrendered - 2 September: General MacArthur accepts the surrender - 350000 American troops occupied Japan led by General Douglas MacArthur who was to transform the country into a democracy (with a constitution that renounced war) - Following communist revolution in China (1949), Japan became of key strategic importance, this was increased when the Korean war started in 1950 - American spending boosted the Japanese economy - Occupation ended in 1952 Cold war and "containment" in Asia: China - 1931: Japan invades China -- nationalist (led by Chiang Kai-Shek, also known as Jiang Jeshi) and Communist led by Mao Zedong united to fight the Japanese - 1946: Peace between these two groups collapsed and China had a civil war. America supported Chiang Kai Shek with \$2 billion - 1949: Mao and his Communist forces won; Chiang fled to Taiwan. From there his government represented China at the UN until 1971 - Truman seemed to have failed based on his own doctrine. Republicans spoke of the "loss of China". Blame was placed on Roosevelt's treatment of China at Yalta, lack of US intervention and even alleged "communists" working in the State Department - Fear grew of a "domino effect" in Asia Cold war and "containment" in Asia: Indochina (Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos) - Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos were French colonies - 1930: Ho Chi Minh had set up the Indo-Chinese Communist Party and fought against French occupation - During WWII, Japan invaded and occupied Indochina and Ho Chi Minh's forces fought against them - Ho Chi Ming expected support for his demands for independence after the war (after all the US had pledged support for self-determination) - The US backed the French, covering over ¾ of their costs, seeing Vietnam as crucial to the cold war and preventing the "domino effect". Further US involvement seemed inevitable Korean War: - Korea was divided between the countries that liberated it from the Japanese: USSR from the North and US from the South - The 38^th^ parallel was the notional boarder. The UN tried to reunite the country, but the USSR resisted this - In the South, the US organised elections and Syngman Rhee won - In the North, Kim Il Sung was placed in power by the USSR (ruled until 1994). Kim Il Sung claimed sovereignty over the entirety of Korea - After US troops had left the South, a 100,000 strong North Korean army invaded - The US led a UN intervention commanded by MacArthur. His attack was successful pushing deep into north Koreans as the UN forces approached their boarder - Truman aimed to unite Korea and "rollback" Communism. However, North Korean and Chinese forces pushed back the US led troops. - MacArthur (who wanted to attack China) fell out with Truman over the running of the war. MacArthur called for the use of the atomic bomb and openly complaining about Truman's approach. Truman sacked him - Truman's approval ratings fell to 22% and he decided not to contest the 1952 election - By 1953 the boarder was again roughly on the 38^th^ parallel. 138000 American men were dead or injured Summary: - For a president with limited foreign policy experience, Truman perhaps faced more significant problems than any of his peers before or since. He relied heavily on his advisors who have become known as "the wise men", of whom Acheson and Kennan were key. Truman also leaned on the experience and himself as "the greatest American". However, not all the decisions Truman made were right, and the right decisions were not necessarily made for the right reasons. Chapter 3: Truman and Post-War reconstruction The economy: - FDR had employed Keynesian economics; Truman was less enthusiastic. - The USA was the world's dominant economy, but the world economy was in disarray due to the WWII, Britain and other nations had huge debts owed to the US (Britain owed to the US (Britain owed \$31 billion on war loans) - Bretton-Woods system: meeting in New Hampshire in July 1944 of 44 Allied nations led to the creation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (both based in New York). To join and gain support governments had to tie their monetary policy to the US dollar. - In theory with some initial help, the world economy should pick up as Europe, Asia etc rebuilt after the war and trade returned to normal. The Economy: the "fair deal" - The "new deal" under FDR and then the demand in the economy created by WWII (some Americans called it the "good war") had done much to help the US recover from the Great Depression but issues remained - The GI Bill (1944, FDR) had provided: 90% mortgages, 52 weeks unemployment benefit loans for college education -- 7.8 million vets. Took advantage of the bill - Truman's flagship policy was the "fair deal" that combined liberal social policy with economic strategy to cope with the most significant challenges such as demobilising 9 million men from the army without creating unemployment and poverty - The "fair deal's" 21 points included: federal aid for education - Tax cuts for the lowest earners plus increased public housing and increases in the minimum wage (from 45-75 cents an hour) - National health insurance and broader social security coverage - Creation of Department of Welfare - Anti-lynching laws and FEPC made permanent Economy: success - GI bill invested \$20 billion into the economy - "Baby boom" (1945-1950) created massive economic demand - Car sales 2.1 million in 1946, 7.9 million in 1955 - Maturing war bonds pumped \$185 million into the economy - By 1952, industrial output had doubled and agricultural output up by 1/3. Business investment increased from \$14 billion a year to \$38 billion - Employment was up (46 million to 61 million) - Per capita income rose by 40% - The consumer boom and economic growth with record employment suggests a period of economic success Economy: failure - There was a budget deficit - Housing Act (1949) promised 810,000 federally subsidised new homes for low-income families, by 1952 only 156000 had been built - Much of the fair deal did not pass through Congress, his national health insurance scheme was attacked as "socialised medicine", education was seen as a state not Federal issue - Prolonged war in Korea amongst other things led to high inflation, which hit 25% in 1945-1946. Truman sought to control prices through the Office of Price Administration, but this largely failed - Increasing prices led to demands for increased wages and the trade unions led strikes in steelworks, rail workers and miners - 1946: strikes involved 4.6 million workers; 116 working days lost -- Republican congress passed the Taft-Harley Act to cut Union power - 1952: Truman seized control of the Steel Mills as strike action loomed -- lost in the Supreme Court -- strike -- steel output fell by a third Political divisions: - The Republicans took control of Congress in 1946 under the slogan "had enough?". They opposed his "fair deal" and sought to constrain executive power, cut taxes and restore a market economy. Truman labelled them the "do nothing Congress" as they failed to pass social reform they had claimed to support - Truman's policies were rejected by Congress, he vetoed 250 bills, 12 vetoes were overridden - The Democrats faced a split with the Dixiecrats, splitting from the party in 1948 over the liberal race policies and had a platform of "states' rights". Strom Thurmond ran for the presidency in 1948 for Progressive Party and challenge Truman. Truman was expected to lose to the Republican Dewey and the Republican Congress put aside \$80,000 for the inauguration but Truman fought a determined campaign and won - Truman could have stood again in 1952 (excluded from the 1951 22^nd^ Amendment) but was deeply unpopular and so stood aside The rise of McCarthyism: - Joseph McCarthy: senior from Wisconsin (from 1947), claimed 205 Communist Party members were working in the US State Department in 1950 - He continued to make claims of communist conspiracies but never proved any, censured by Congress in 1954 and died of alcoholism in 1957 - The Tydings Committee had investigated his reports in 1950 found them to be a fraud and a hoax - In 1952, McCarthy headed congressional committees looking into "Communist subversives" - Anti-Communism spread through American society, encouraged by the Republican Party and Cold War tensions. 500 state government employees, 600 schoolteachers and 150 college professors lost their jobs - McCarthy called Democrats "commie-crats" and this was a common and successful line of attack in the 1952 election So why did McCarthyism have such a big impact? - Fear of communist Russia and China and their military strength, especially after the USSR successfully tested a nuclear weapon in 1949. Communists replaced Nazis and the Japanese as the US's enemy. Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were arrested for betraying secrets including some relating to nuclear weapons to the USSR. They were executed, controversy remains over their trial and conviction - Anti-Communist actions were already in place: Housing Un-American Activities Committee monitored extreme groups. In 1947, HUAC began investigating the "Hollywood 10" -- writers and directors who were members of the American Communist Party, convicted of the contempt of Congress and sentenced to a year in prison. Richard Nixon was a rising star who successfully pursued Alger Hiss (accused of spying in the 1930s, convicted of perjury in 1948) - Rise of organised labour in the US - Democrats failed to defend those accused in case they were next -- those who spoke against McCarthy lost their seats in 1952 - McCarthy was supported by the press Impact of McCarthyism: - Mass hysteria - 1952 Internal Security Act: communists could be denied passports, Truman vetoed but only 58 members of Congress supported him - Executive Order 9835: Federal loyalty boards: rooting out Communists from federal government - Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan cast USSR as the enemy - Republicans used his lies to attack and weaken the Democrats and managed to win presidency for the first time in over 20 years - Restrictions on freedom of speech and even attacks on the writings of icons such as Mark Twain Summary: - Truman kept a plaque on his desk which read "The buck stops here" and, for all his failings and inadequacies, he was a man who took responsibility. His domestic agenda may have been affected by political manoeuvrings, the development of the Cold War, and the inevitable initial decline in the post-war economy, but Truman also managed to establish valuable precedents in civil rights, social welfare and union relations as well as foreign policy. Chapter 4: African Americans in North and South (1945-1952) Truman and Race: - Truman was from Missouri (a former slave state), there is evidence of racism early in his life (possibly unsurprising given where he was raised) and even a brief connection to KKK (support in his early career). Truman however had a record of voting for Civil Rights in the Senate in the 1930s (poll taxes, lynching), Roosevelt picked him as VP partly on these pro-civil rights voting record - He went on to become the first president to address the NAACP in 1947 - He spoke of his horror at stories of black servicemen being attacked in the South and no actions being taken against those responsible - In 1948, he issued an Executive order de-segregating the armed forces - In 1949, his "President's Committee on civil rights" released "to secure these rights" an attack on the discrimination against African Americans and offering a ten-point plan to bring about change. In 1948, Truman gave a pro-civil rights speech in Congress calling for action on this report African Americans in the South: - In the South, African Americans faced legalised discrimination in the form of Jim Crow Laws and segregation. Since the collapse of Reconstruction (1865-1877) following the American Civil War (1861-1865), the white population had brought in laws to separate the white and black population and treat the African American population as second-class citizens. This was reinforced by Plessey v Ferguson (1896) and the doctrine of separate but equal - Laws included: North Carolina -- books shall not be interchangeable between white and coloured schools; Georgia -- all person licensed to run a restaurant shall serve either white people exclusively or coloured people exclusively; Texas -- separate facilities are required for white and black citizens in state parks. There were even laws segregating schools for the blind and graveyards - There were laws designed to get around the 15^th^ amendment that gave everyone the right to vote. In 1940, only 3% of African Americans could vote, in 1947 it was 12%. Laws such as literacy tests and poll taxes as well as laws such as the "Grandfather clause". White registrars deliberately asked impossible questions to stop African Americans voting and/or set high poll taxes to discourage them. Rosa Parks was first failed to register due to the literacy test and when she did get the vote she had to pay a high poll tax. - Black schools were poorly funded. When George McLaurin managed to get a place at Oklahoma State University, he was forced to sit at a desk by himself outside the classroom - The legal justice system and police were institutionally racist - The threat of violence was constant for the African American community, there had been many lynchings in the 1920s and 1930s, creating a belief that anyone standing against segregation would face violent retribution with no protection of legal recourse. The KKK would sadly flourish again in the 1960s - The fact that most African Americans were dependent on the white population for work and use of land also acted as a method of control - Within the African American community, church leaders were the most respected and important group African Americans in the North: - Although legal segregation did not exist, there was de facto segregation especially in housing and the growth of African American ghettos such as Harlem in New York - Whilst many African Americans were very poor, there were some opportunities such as better paid jobs in the motor industry in Detroit - There was some growing success of Black sportsmen and artists. For example, Jackie Robinson (first black man to play Major League Baseball in 1947 and MVP in 1949), Joe Louis (boxing heavyweight champion for 12 years), Louis Armstrong (jazz musician), Billie Holiday (singer) - In 1945, there were two black congressmen in the House: William Dawson representing Illinois' 1^st^ district in Chicago and Clayton Powell representing Harlem - There was discrimination, notably in the Legal Justice system in which black people tended to get harsher sentences and were targeted by police, who were more willing to use violence against the black population - The "Great Migration" starting around 1900 saw millions of African Americans leave the South and move North. In the 1940s, around 1.4 million migrated with a further 1.1 million in the 1950s - In the Northern ghettos movements such as the Nation of Islam (established in the 1930s) emerged calling for black empowerment and independence The impact of WWII: - In WWII, black men served in segregated units - 3 million black Americans conscripted, early policies of limiting black soldiers' roles changed by 1945 - End of 1944: 701678 black soldiers in the army and non-combatant policy ended - 165000 black Americans in the navy and restrictions to only being officers' stewards was lifted - African Americans no longer excluded from the Marine Corps (17000) and Coast Guard (5000) - 761^st^ Tank Battalion fought at the Battle of the Bulge - At the same time, 2500 African Americans from behind the front line volunteered to fight alongside the white soldiers (they were later returned to segregated units) - 371^st^ Tank Battalion liberated Dachau and Buchenwald concentration camps - Black soldiers saw the world outside the South, and this demonstrated to them how things could be different. In Europe, they were warmly welcomed as liberators and were also in the unusual position of being relatively well off. In Britain when fights broke out between black and white US servicemen, the locals frequently stepped in on the black soldier's side. Churchill spoke out against segregation - The war sped up the great migration with demands for workers in Northern factories - Tensions remained demonstrated by a race riot in Detroit in 1943, which involved 100000 people and led to 34 deaths - The treatment of returning black servicemen to the South many of whom faced violence and even death was truly disgusting and something that horrified Truman William Hastie and A Philip Randolph: - William Hastie: black federal judge was appointed civilian aide to Secretary of War Cordell Hull - Hastie used his position to fight segregation and agitate for equal opportunities for black servicemen - A Philip Randolph: led the Brotherhood of sleeping car porters, which campaigned for better pay and conditions for its members. It also founded the magazine "The messenger" that championed Civil Rights and influence Roosevelt's decision to create the Fair Employment Practice Committee (FEPC) in 1941 Double V Campaign: - Black Americans were deeply worried by the rise of Fascism in Europe - Double victory hinged at the idea that defeating Fascism in Europe could be linked with defeating discrimination and oppression at home - Begun by the editors of "the courier" newspaper from Pittsburgh on 7^th^ Feb 1942 - The campaign was later headed by Asa Philip Randolph - Randolph threatened to lead a march of 50000 blacks on Washington to end discrimination in government and defence industries - Roosevelt signed Executive Order 8802, June 25^th^, 1941. This was the first Presidential directive on race since reconstruction. It aimed to prohibit discrimination in war industry. It lacked enforcement powers, but it was a symbolic shift Campaigns for civil rights: - Congress of Racial Equality (CORE): "journey of reconciliation" (April 10^th^, 1947), 8 black men and 8 white men took a two-week bus ride through Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Kentucky. The men were testing the 1946 SC judgement Morgan v Virginia that ruled against segregation on interstate transport (they were arrested and jailed repeatedly) - National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP) used a variety of tactics but most successful was their use of their Legal Defence Fund to chip away at Plessy v Ferguson: Smith v Allwright (1944), African Americans could now vote in Texan Primaries; Morgan v Virginia (1946) segregation on interstate busses illegal; Shelly v Kramer estate agents couldn't refuse to show a house due to race; McLaurin v Oklahoma State and Sweatt v Painter (both 1950) entry into previously all white universities - There were also local campaigns in South around increasing the black vote notably in Georgia in 1946 and Mississippi in 1947 The responses of the federal and state authorities: - Truman: 1946 established the "President's Committee on Civil Rights" aiming to make the Bill of rights a reality for African Americans. This committee released its report "to secure these rights" (1949) which Truman urged Congress to support. The recommendations included: anti-lynching laws; abolition of poll tax; voting rights laws; a permanent FEPC; end to discrimination on interstate travel; end to discrimination in the armed forces; a civil rights division in the justice department; administrative support for civil rights suits; establishing the United States Commission on Civil rights. Sadly, Congress did not share Truman's vision - Opposition from racists in the Democrat Party such as James O Eastland (Mississippi) and Strom Thurmond (South Carolina) held things up in the Senate whilst state Governors such as Wright (Mississippi) and Talmadge (Georgia) also fought to maintain segregation and discrimination - By 1952, only 5 states retained the poll tax Truman: executive orders and wider context - 1948: ended discrimination and segregation in the armed forces and guaranteed fair employment in the federal bureaucracy. There was resistance with the armed forces. - Executive order no 10308 established the committee on Government Contract Compliance -- aimed to ensure that only companies who complied with ending discrimination received Federal contracts - The cold war is an important backdrop, as states in Africa gained their independence during de-colonisation the segregation of races in the US, damaged the US's standing in the UN and potentially help soviet influence Summary: - In 1946, Truman described discrimination as a disease and cited the opportunity to vote, find employment and have access to quality housing, education and medical care as the cure. There is clear evidence in this chapter of how he attempted to address each of these areas, despite the considerable strains on his presidency. - Truman may not have achieved the landmark legislation of Johnson, nor the heroic status of Kennedy when it comes to popular interpretations of the Civil Rights Movement's key figures, but his efforts laid the groundwork for their successes and continued in the traditions established by Roosevelt.