economy

• US and Global Economy


  -US most dominant force at end WWII

  >To retain, needed return peaceful trading w/ Europe and Pacific

  -Growing economies Europe and Asia allowed war loan repayments
• War loan Repayments


  Growing economies in Europe and Asia allowed war loan repayments

  -$31 bill from Britain

  -$3.2 bill from France

  -$1.6 bill from China
• World Bank, IMF and Bretton Woods System


  -Introduction significant

  -Obliged countries adopt monetary policy that held their currencies to US dollar

  -Promised new world economic order based on A conception of Capitalism and Trade (provide US w/ key advantage
• Baby Boom


  -Increased demand for new housing and consumer goods
• Inflation


  -Combination consumer good shortages, federal gov. budget deficits and weakening of Roosevelt's Office of Price Administration led to inflation

  -Failure win congressional support for OPA led many blame Truman for 25% inflation 1945

  -1946 proposed Price Control Bill (watered down by Congress as convinced Truman too weak to push through)
• 1946 Strikes


  -As result of inflation, labour union workers staged widespread strikes

  -Jan 800,000 steelworkers

  -April 400,000 miners

  -1947 Republican controlled congress passed Taft-Hartley Act (limited union power)

  -1952 Truman seized control steel mills when threatened strike (SC ruled exceeded executive authority even though T legal advisers assured him was legal)

  -Strikes eventually ended same terms T suggested months before