President Roosevelt died on 4/12/1945, just as the war in Europe was coming to a close. VP Truman became President. His first challenge as President was making the arrangements for the first conference on organizing the United Nations. Although he asked FDR’s cabinet to stay, several of them chose to leave government service. The Democrats in Congress were displeased with Truman’s appointments and criticized him for cronyism. He was also criticized for approving the dropping of the atomic bomb over Japan as a means of avoiding a land invasion. The tactic was successful in convincing Japan that further fighting was useless.

Once the war was over, Truman was slow in returning the nation to a peace time economy. The voters responded negatively in the midterm elections by handing control of both houses of Congress to the Republicans (the Senate stood 51–45 and the House 246–188). The Republican campaign slogan “Had Enough?” was bolstered by their interest in removing the four C’s: controls, confusion, corruption, and Communism.

President Truman recognized that the nation was headed in a more conservative direction. When he began to make strong stands against Stalin and Communist aggression in Europe, many of the liberals in the administration left; this event was partially responsible for Truman’s drift to the political center. He worked with his new Secretary of State, George Marshall, to draft a proposal to help rebuild Europe. The plan, named the Marshall

[More...]

President Roosevelt died on 4/12/1945, just as the war in Europe was coming to a close. VP Truman became President. His first challenge as President was making the arrangements for the first conference on organizing the United Nations. Although he asked FDR’s cabinet to stay, several of them chose to leave government service. The Democrats in Congress were displeased with Truman’s appointments and criticized him for cronyism. He was also criticized for approving the dropping of the atomic bomb over Japan as a means of avoiding a land invasion. The tactic was successful in convincing Japan that further fighting was useless.

Once the war was over, Truman was slow in returning the nation to a peace time economy. The voters responded negatively in the midterm elections by handing control of both houses of Congress to the Republicans (the Senate stood 51–45 and the House 246–188). The Republican campaign slogan “Had Enough?” was bolstered by their interest in removing the four C’s: controls, confusion, corruption, and Communism.

President Truman recognized that the nation was headed in a more conservative direction. When he began to make strong stands against Stalin and Communist aggression in Europe, many of the liberals in the administration left; this event was partially responsible for Truman’s drift to the political center. He worked with his new Secretary of State, George Marshall, to draft a proposal to help rebuild Europe. The plan, named the Marshall Plan, was also an attempt to lure eastern European nations out of the Soviet orbit. While the plan was not successful in eastern Europe, it was responsible for restoring the economy of western Europe and bolstering Truman’s popularity at home.

The Republicans were jubilant at public opinion polls which pointed to their capturing the White House in 1948. After a tight primary race for delegates, Thomas E. Dewey won the nomination on the third ballot.

The Democrats split into three factions in 1948. The advocates of the old New Deal policies supported the new Progressive Party, which nominated Henry Wallace for President. The Southerners who disliked Truman’s civil rights policies created a States Rights Party and nominated Strom Thurmond of South Carolina. The regular Democrats supported President Truman, although his renomination was opposed by the Southern delegates.

President Truman trailed badly in the polls, but he took to the road and campaigned against the “Do-Nothing Republican Congress.” The public listened to his message and re-elected him in one of the greatest upsets in American political history.

[Less...]