Blog Discussion!
President Harry Truman (D) 33rd - 1945 to 1953
- Became Vice President for FDR in January 1945
- Took over for FDR when he died in April 1945
- One of the most unpopular presidents of all time when he left office - 22% approval rating
- Rating has improved greatly over the last 60 years
- His wife was a gold digger and only married him when he was making a lot of money
- The 1948 election was between him and Thomas Dewey and also Strom Thurmond
- He only won by 5%
- He was voted for in deep Southern states and it showed that he was not for civil rights
- Decided not to run in 1958 election
Accomplishments
- President when WWII ended with Germany and Japan
- Decided to use atomic bombs
- Had to deal with transition from wartime economy to peacetime economy
- Helped organize and later join the United Nations
- Took a hard-line stance against communism and the Soviet Union - Policy of Containment
- Desegregated the US military
- Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan were passed
- Created the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) and the National Security Council
- "The Buck Stops Here"
- Got the US involved in Vietnam by giving aid to France
- The Korean Conflict and firing of General Douglas MacArthur
The Fair Deal
- Similar to FDR's New Deal of the 1930s
- Aimed to promote economic development and social welfare
- Faces a lot of opposition from Southern Democrats and Republicans
- Most Fair Deal proposals did not get passed
- Civil Rights, housing, social security, etc.
President Dwight Eisenhower (R) 34th - 1953 to 1961
- Famous WWII general
- Decided to join the Republican party after WWII
- This all but guaranteed him a win in the 1952 election
- Richard Nixon was his Vice President
- Diagnosed with Crohn's disease and had a minor stroke while president
Election of 1952
- Wasn't Republican or Democratic
- Ran against Adlai Stevenson
- People thought Robert Taft (R) was cheating
- Came up with "Fair Play"
- First president to try to go for the women's votes
- Inflation and education
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