Truman and Ike Domestic Policy

• impact of divided party

  struggled to pass legislation despite having Dem Congress
• 21 point programme


  Congress to pass a series of social reforms - almost all rejected
• Rep Congress by


  1946
• 22 amendment


  limited President to two terms
• why did Truman fail to pass his liberal legislation

  watered down or blocked by Congress
• criticisms of Truman


  not doing enough for CR, too much for Israel and not being able to handle Congress
• Truman's 'Fair Deal' (4)

  extension of New Deal

  - reformed tax system

  - social security

  - CR

  - federal aid for farmers, education and public housing
• In Truman's 7 years how many vetoes did he make

  250 bills vetoed and Congress passed 12 over him
• I like Ike'


  campaign broadcast produced by Roy Disney

  - 40 mil owned TVs
• 2 networks refused to air 'Eisenhower Answers America'

  NBC and CBS
• how much did Eisenhower spend on TV campaign

  $1-2 mil
• how many black candidates appointed to public positions under Ike

  200+
• Californian Desegregation


  under Ike everything (army, schools etc.) desegregated
• Interstate Highways Act


  1956

  - 41,000 miles of highway

  - fed supplied 90% of money ($30 billion)

  - created 1000s of jobs
• who created Dept of Health, Education and Welfare

  Eisenhower
• cost of polio vaccine campaign

  $30 mil
• raise in NMW under Ike

  75c to $1/hr
• Social Security extension under Ike

  extended to 10.5 mil people
• how much did Eisenhower spend on low-cost housing

  $1 billion
• National Defense Education Act


  1958

  - $887 mil for science, language teaching and student loans for science related course
• when was NASA created

  1958

  - efforts to win space race
• number of Blacks that still lived in the South under Ike

  6/10 million
• Brown vs Board


  1954-

  court decision that declared state laws segregating schools to be unconstitutional. Overturned Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
• 1957 Civil Rights legislation


  unsuccessful

  - pushed by Attorney General but not Ike
• only ../4 of eligible blacks registered to vote under Ike

  1/4
• Kerr-mills Bill


  gave matching fed money to states that set up healthcare for elderly poor

  - very few states did
• 1960 election (3)


  - 1st TV debate: JFK wore blue suit, Nixon blended into background with grey suit

  - Kennedy's call for New Frontier appealed to many amidst social and cultural divisions

  - Dirty Tricks: Illinois swung towards JFK when Nixon should have won