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Post War politics in America had a major impact on the United States' identity at home and abroad.  After WWII, the United States was going through different political discrepancies, these issues shaped the US identity throughout the decade.  One of the most glaring areas was the industrial work force. Industrial companies were experienced many crippling union worker strikes; members of the work force walked off their jobs demanding higher minimum wages, in 1946 alone “nearly 5 million workers walked off the job, many of them in such key industries as steel production, coal mining, and oil refining”(Hart et al. 534).  These strikes greatly concerned the United States government. The strikes caused congress to fear the powers that Unions possessed; to help sustain all industries in the country congress passed the Taft-Hartley Act despite Truman’s veto. The act banned closed shops; closed shops were places of work that only hired members of a particular workers union. As well as forced 90 day “cool downs” on labor union strikes. This sparked outrage among all Union workers as they felt that the Taft-Hartley Act was like “slave labor laws".  These new restrictions on unions greatly decreased their power and worried a majority of working class individuals.

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What were the varying perspectives on/reactions to this topic in the 1950s?

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What were the varying perspectives on/reactions to this topic in the 1950s?

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Dwight Eisenhower campaigns from an open car in Maryland

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Dwight Eisenhower campaigns from an open car in Maryland

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What aspects of the post-WWII United States shaped the trends/issues in the 1950s?  Why?

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What aspects of the post-WWII United States shaped the trends/issues in the 1950s?  Why?

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Currently Inflation is steadily going down however it was high before. People are always wanting higher wages like back then. Although the inflation rates are going down they are still relatively high. Another similarity between the two time periods is now some jobs are paying way more money just to get people into work. In the 1940s there were mass strikes and people weren't working due to their demands for better wages. For example a roofer in 2023 saw a pay increase of “19 percent” on average according to CBS. Now the people in the 1940s didn't receive  the same benefits that we do currently. Examples of these are 401ks which are set up through employers which help employees create savings funds through investments. This started in the late 70s/ early 80s passed by the internal revenue act. Other benefits given now are more sick leave/vacation time. All in all, although American workers in the 1940s didn't receive the same benefits as workers in the present day, they both shared a common struggle of inflation.

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In the 1950s systemic racism was becoming more prevalent changing the entire social and cultural atmosphere of the United States impacting every aspect of daily life for people of color. Many African Americans were protesting for their rights, many of which were led by Martin Luther King Jr. These became known as boycotts, and one of these involved the racism against Rosa Parks on the bus. On buses people of color were forced to sit in different sections that were labeled for them, and if someone asked them to give up their seat they had to. Usually, they would give up their seats but Rosa Parks felt defiant that day, she wanted to stand up for herself and so she did, she ended up going to jail and getting bailed out but this triggered a chain reaction of outrage throughout the US (Batchelor). Rosa Parks had no clue she was about to become involved in one of the most significant civil rights movements in history all because she chose to say no just that one day. Feeling inspired African Americans in Montgomery Alabama began boycotting the bus company by refusing to board them. This was part of the first steps of desegregation, even though they were small steps and involved lots of controversy and violence it allowed African Americans to show they should be treated no different from others and were just as important in society.

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When looking at post-World War II, there are many factors to consider that drove the United States through the 1950s. Throughout the decade, issues and trends were shaped by two major ideas: the need for social reforms, those being the representation of women and workers' rights; as well as political reforms such as the 22nd Amendment and struggles between Democratic and Republican parties. These major factors of the 50s drove cultural, political, economic, and international change for better and for worse. Although the 50s were a time of extreme discrimination towards black Americans, it largely brought incredibly beneficial changes to the United States, like the Fair Deal, and modern Republican ideologies.

Coming fresh off the heels of WWII, the United States began to boom, both economically and socially. Many soldiers coming home from the war wanted to start their families; roughly 4 million babies were born each year during the decade. Furthermore, the gross national product increased from $200 billion at the beginning of the decade to $500 billion at the end ("The 1950s"). Like many US citizens, Truman and his administration welcomed the end of the war, presenting the Fair Deal. The Fair Deal was a revision of the New Deal that brought forward many large changes to improve people's quality of life. The Fair Deal increased the minimum wage as well as increasing aid to agriculture and education, it also enacted a national health insurance program. However, the Republican majority in Congress attempted to slow Truman’s Democratic administration (Hart et al. 535). A large amount of aid was not given, and despite efforts, a lot of slums were not improved. This can be seen in many political cartoons of the day which show families living in dilapidated homes with little food or money (Washington Post). However, due to Congress’s slow action and rising inflation, labor unions began to strike. In 1946 five million people walked off their jobs demanding an increased minimum wage, which was ultimately provided. While the 50s were an incredibly prosperous time, they also had some hitches and backlash. These backlashes were people voicing their opinions, which drove the country’s development.

Civil rights was another issue that drove the 1950s; throughout the decade, women and African Americans alike were fighting for equal rights in the eyes of the US majority. In 1954, civil rights matters began to escalate with Brown v. Board of Education, in which the Supreme Court ruled that children could not be separated by skin color or race. Later in 1955, Martin Luther King Jr. came to the public’s attention as a popular civil rights activist. These wins began to push civil rights into the public eye (Batchelor). That same year, Rosa Parks, a black activist, refused to give her seat up to a white person. This sparked a series of bus protests where, instead of taking the bus, 40,000 black workers walked to work. Rosa Parks was only charged a $14 fine ("Rosa Parks").  Furthermore, women's roles changed throughout the fifties. Throughout the decade women were portrayed in the home wearing dresses and doing household chores like cooking or cleaning. This was the widely accepted social norm for a full-time housewife. However, more women were beginning to take on full-time jobs and felt conflicted by this popular stereotype. Despite women beginning to break the cast of a housewife, not many would go on to graduate college or graduate school. This meant that women were predominantly in jobs like nurses, secretaries, or teachers, forming new stereotypes (Batchelor). Many took the 50s as a chance to speak out and make change in the US. Despite progress being slow, these early movements catalyzed change in the future.

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There were many different perspectives considering the events in the 1950s. 1 example is the passing of the Taft Hartley Act. Specifically, communists did not support this act. A little piece of the act was a non communist affidavit that was mandatory for union leaders to sign(Britannica). This limited the voice the communist party had if any at all and continued the 1950s movement against communism. Similarly progressive minded people and liberals did not have a positive reaction. They weren't happy since the act promoted older laissez faire values in putting the unions down. They thought it was a step back at the progress they gained on things like working conditions and benefits. Secondly unions were not necessarily happy because it outlawed closed shops which were businesses only hiring from unions(Hart et al). It also outlawed sympathy strikes which were strikes to promote another strike. And the overall power they lost from the Harley taft act.

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What was the impact of this topic on different groups of Americans in the 1950s? (Consider race, gender, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, age etc.)

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What was the impact of this topic on different groups of Americans in the 1950s? (Consider race, gender, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, age etc.)

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Throughout American history, women have proven that they can equally do as well as men in society but they still face the stereotype of being stay-at-home moms who aren’t meant to be involved in the working jobs. Many media outlets would depict women as stay-at-home moms but women felt defiant as they wanted to get involved in paying jobs and felt they were completely capable (Batchelor).  Throughout history, especially during wars, women have shown they can take over men's jobs and can be just as good at it. Due to the stereotype and the war ending, men returned home and took over the jobs kicking women out which left them to return back to their stay-at-home roles.

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An aspect of all groups that were affected were those who feared or faced McCarthyism, having to worry about Communists infiltrating the U.S rise after the U.S.S.R spread Communism across East Asia. Joseph McCarthy was a Senator for Wisconsin, he wasn’t exactly a well-known person, he had been sent to West Virginia to speak out when he stated he had a list of 205 names of Communist Party members that had infiltrated the State Department. (Hart et al.) With this, in society, people began to fear their own family, friends, and neighbors were members of the Communist Party and they began pointing fingers at each other without any evidence, this became known as the term McCarthyism. People became reluctant to speak out even slightly against any injustice even if it wasn’t directly related to Communism, they did not want to be known as subversive.

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In the modern day, Social Security benefits millions of Americans; it was introduced by FDR through his new deal and later expanded by the Truman and Eisenhower administrations. Social security is one of the best programs implemented by the US government. In 2024, Social Security is still being expanded to help a wider variety of Americans. On March 27, 2024, a rule was proposed to omit food from in-kind payments from Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments (Buckner). SSI is a program set up by the Social Security Administration that provides benefits to people who have limited income, are blind, older than sixty-five, or have a qualifying disability. It provides some compensation to the people listed above. The benefits come directly from the US Treasury and are not funded by income tax or Social Security taxes ("Understanding Supplemental"). The US plan, effective September 2024, will no longer calculate food into the In-Kind Support and Maintenance Calculations. And the curtain moment: if people receive food or shelter, it is counted as unearned income, reducing the amount of money people receive from Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Omitting food from the calculations means that people who benefit from SSI will no longer need to worry about food calculations. This will ultimately lead to greater SSI benefits for people who are benefiting from the program (Social Security Administration).

The act of expanding the Social Security Administration was mirrored in the 1950s, where Truman and Eisenhower both expanded the Social Security Administration. In 1950 Truman expanded the Social Security benefits by signing the 1950 Social Security Amendments, this provided insurance to 10 million more Americans and gave $160 a month for military personnel who served during WWII. Later Truman signed the The Social Security Act of 1952. This increased the benefits that people under the old-age and survivors insurance law received. The act also extended the benefits  WWII veterans received. Once Eisenhower became president, he recommended that millions of more Americans should be covered by the old-age and survivors insurance law. This was in line with Eisenhower's Modern Republican beliefs. (Social Security Administration). Both the presidents of the 50s and modern day social security is being expanded to support a wide variety of Americans.

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Another major event was the 1952 election where president Dwight D Eisenhower defeated Adlai stevenson. Republicans backed Dwight under his campaign which slogan was “I Like Ike.” He went on a vast tour of America through small towns and gained support from various groups including women which field his vote.  Republicans were very happy due to their victory and liked how he made more moderate political views since they weren't super radical. Democrats were upset due to Stevensons loss mainly because they weren't super united since there were still southern democrats and liberals in the party whose views can collide often. Conservatives were pleased due to Eisenhower's address on events like the cold war since he had a general military background with moderate political views. He had a modern republicanism view with republican economics but liberal values when it comes to human lives. Groups like labor Unions were sort of split since labor unions don't align with just 1 party necessarily.

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Mrs. Nettie Hunt and daughter Nickie on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court in 1954. Hunt holds a paper announcing the Brown v. Board of Education decision to ban segregation.

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Mrs. Nettie Hunt and daughter Nickie on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court in 1954. Hunt holds a paper announcing the Brown v. Board of Education decision to ban segregation.

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Post-war politics also played a significant role in the development of the country's identity abroad.  When Eisenhower won the presidential election in 1952 he made foreign policy a prevalent issue he would deal with.  A key factor in the voting for the 1952 election was the candidate's stance on the Soviet Union.  Eisenhower gained the people's trust and support during his campaign through his foreign policy beliefs which was a key factor for his win.  During his time as president, Eisenhower worked to protect the country’s borders and to prevent any conflict with the Soviet Union. He created the Eisenhower Doctrine as a way to protect the people and the country.  “Eisenhower singled out the Soviet threat in his doctrine by authorizing the commitment of U.S. forces‘ to secure and protect the territorial integrity and political independence of such nations, requesting such aid against overt armed aggression from any nation controlled by international communism’”(Office of The Historians).  Eisenhower's doctrine led the the United States’ foreign policy during the 50s. Eisenhower demonstrated that the Soviets should try to avoid confrontation with the US due to their greater military defenses. In all, the US post-war politics were very significant in the creation of the country's identity both on the homefront and abroad.

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Significance of post war politics to the United States identity at home and abroad.

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Significance of post war politics to the United States identity at home and abroad.