Monthly Archives: June 2012

As war began to end, many Americans feared that the country would fall back again into another depression that they were not prepared for. There was then a wave of strikes, layoffs, and demobilization, but fortunately, the unemployment rate did … Continue reading →

As strikes became more popular in the United States, there was an increased tension between the unions and President Truman. Many unions and union workers followed the lead of Walter Reuther, who refused to work until hourly wage increased by … Continue reading →

Handling organized labor in the postwar era was a defining issue for the Truman administration. Benefitting from the passage of the Wagner Act which restricted corporations’ ability to interfere with organized labor activities and counting on support from the Democratic … Continue reading →

At the end of the Second World War, a major question facing the United States was how the transition from a wartime to a peacetime economy should be carried out. Allocation of resources and products during the war had been … Continue reading →

In the election of 1948, all signs could have been seen to point to a Republican victory. The Democratic incumbent, Harry Truman, was in dire straits-his administration was unpopular in the country as a whole, and to compound the problem, … Continue reading →

In April 1951, President Truman dismissed General Douglas MacArthur, due to a considerable and sustained disagreement on the conduct of the Korean War, as well as public statements contradictory to the administration’s stance. Truman’s firing of MacArthur would have considerable … Continue reading →