U.S. Domestic Policies
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Transcript U.S. Domestic Policies
U.S. Domestic Policies
(1945-1980)
Unit VIIB
AP U.S. History
Fundamental Question
Compare and contrast the administrations of
Democratic presidents and Republican
presidents regarding political and
economical policies.
Truman’s Presidency
Postwar inflation and strikes
Congress eliminated price controls
leading to massive inflation
Worker strikes for wages to match
inflation
Truman called in troops to calm
strikes
Employment Act of 1946
Council of Economic Advisers
Civil Rights
Committee on Civil Rights (1946)
Desegregated the federal government
and military (1948)
Republican Majority in Congress in 1946
Postwar turmoil (strikes, inflation) led
to Republican victories
Taft-Hartley Act (1947)
Twenty-Second Amendment (1951)
Term limits
Election of 1948
Democrats Split
Truman’s civil rights and
foreign policy upset
Democrats
Liberal Democrats and Henry
Wallace
States’ Rights Party
(Dixiecrats) and Strom
Thurmond
Republican Confidence
Thomas Dewey ran a cautious
campaign while Truman
aggressively campaigned
Truman Victory
Despite the press and experts
predicting a sound Republican
victory, Truman won the
election
Election of 1948
Election of 1948
Truman’s Fair Deal
A continuation of New Deal-style social welfare
programs
Policies:
Expansion of Social Security
Increased minimum wage 40 cents to 75 cents
Housing Act of 1949
Urban
projects and public housing
Protections and relief programs in labor, agriculture,
health, education, infrastructure
Failures:
National healthcare insurance
Limited civil rights legislation
Election of 1952
“I like Ike!” - Dwight D. Eisenhower on the
Republican ticket
Richard Nixon as VP
Checkers
speech
Adlai Stevenson for Democrats
Eisenhower won by landslide
Election of 1952
Eisenhower’s Republicanism
Reduced government spending
Surpluses in some years
Per-capita increases and low inflation
Department of Health, Education, and Welfare
(1953)
Soil-bank program
Interstate Highway System
Connected major cities
Significantly developed transportation and urban sectors
Interstate Highway System
Election of 1956
Despite Eisenhower’s popularity and success, the Democratic
Party won Congressional majorities in 1954 midterm elections.
They would sustain those majorities until the 1982 midterms.
Election of 1960
Republicans nominate Nixon
Democrats nominated John F. Kennedy
Massachusetts and a Catholic
Lyndon B. Johnson from Texas as VP
Television and Debates
Kennedy = born for the limelight
Nixon = tense and uncomfortable
Close Call
Kennedy won by just over 100,000 votes
Election of 1960
Nixon looked very
uncomfortable and
was visibly sweating.
Kennedy had a knack
for the camera.
Election of 1960
Election of 1960
Kennedy’s Policies
“Ask not what your country can
do for you--ask what you can
for your country.”
New Frontier
Expansion of social welfare
Stimulus plans for slumping
economy
Clean Air Act (1963)
Strong support for civil
rights legislation with
Attorney General Robert
Kennedy
“We choose to go to the
Moon…”
Kennedy’s Assassination
Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963
Warren Commission
Investigations and hearings
ruled Lee Harvey Oswald as
lone assassin
Conspiracy theories led to doubt
of federal government
Lyndon B. Johnson assumes office
Lee Harvey Oswald shot
by Jack Ruby
JFK moments before
his assassination in
Dallas
LBJ takes oath
of office on Air
Force One
Johnson’s Great Society
War on Poverty
Office of Economic Opportunity
Food Stamps
Community Action
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
Significant increases in educational funding in all levels
Health Care
Medicare - health services for elderly
Medicaid - health services for low-income families
Department of Transportation
Urban mass transit acts
National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act
Safety belts, redesigns for protection, drunk drivers
Consumer Protection
Fair Packaging and Labeling Act
Environmental Protection
Wilderness Act, Endangered Species Act
Cultural Promotion
National Historic Preservation
National Endowment for the Arts AND the Humanities
Public broadcasting (PBS) and public radio (NPR)
Civil Rights Legislation - ALSO SEE CIVIL RIGHTS ERA SECTION
Elimination of immigration quota laws
Election of 1964
Republicans and Barry Goldwater
Strong conservative Republican
Attacked Johnson’s welfare state programs
Johnson’s Campaign
“Daisy”
Election of 1964
Election of 1968
Vietnam and Robert Kennedy
Johnson stepped away due to Vietnam escalation
Kennedy was frontrunner until assassination
Republicans and Nixon
Peace and Honor; Law and Order
Democrats and Hubert Humphrey
Suffered from anti-war backlash
Riots at Democratic National Convention in Chicago
Henry Wallace and American Independent Party
Ran against expanded government and civil rights
legislation
Election of 1968
Nixon’s Early Presidency
New Federalism
Revenue sharing and block
grants
Stagflation and Economy
Production decreased while
prices increased
Spending cuts to deficit spending
90-day price and wage freeze
Devalued dollar off gold standard
Silent Majority
Developed coalition of Southern
whites and conservatives
responding to counterculture and
liberal youths
Election of 1972
Watergate
Committee to Re-Elect the President (CREEP)
Democratic National Headquarters Break-in (June
1972)
Enemies List and Wiretaps
Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox fired
Nixon Tapes
United States v. Nixon ruled against executive privilege
Drafting Impeachment
Obstruction of justice, abuse of power, contempt of
Congress
Resignation on August 9, 1974
The Watergate Hotel Complex
Nixon held fast to his innocence…
Nixon is
captain of a
sinking ship.
… then he resigned.
Gerald Ford (1974-1977)
Assumed office after Nixon’s resignation
Pardons Nixon to end “national nightmare”
Oil Crisis of 1973
Oil reductions led to economic slowdowns and
increasing inflation
WIN (Whip Inflation Now)
Inflation soared despite call for voluntarism by
businesses and consumers
Necessitated stimulus plan from Congressional
Democrats
Election of 1976
Ford barely won Republican nomination from
Reagan
Democrats nominate Jimmy Carter
Southern outsider
Democrats used Watergate and economy
to win
Election of 1976
Jimmy Carter (1977-1981)
1979 Energy Crisis
Inflation skyrocketed while economy
slowed further
“Malaise Speech”
Dependency on oil and nonrenewable fuels will affect the future
Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker
Raised interest rates to highest levels
Resulted in higher inflation and lower
GDP in the short-run
In the long-run, the economy recovered
but after Carter’s administration
Election of 1980
Carter and Democrats suffered from
stagflation and Iran hostage crisis
Popular Ronald Reagan secured
Republican nomination and eventual
presidency