As the United States emerged victorious from World War II, some Americans expected that positive change achieved during Franklin Roosevelt’s presidential terms would create an opportunity for further progress. However, their hopes and dreams were promptly shattered in the following years. Harry Truman’s administration failed to live up to its early promises and declarations. A significant part of Truman’s failures happened due to the inconsistency of his actions and his unwillingness to commit to social change. For instance, in 1945, Truman proposed a program of social reforms that included a full employment bill, a higher minimum wage, and national housing legislation. However, Truman also appointed a number of conservatives and moderates to his cabinet (Chafe 75).
In this regard, Truman cared more about his political position than the continuation of Roosevelt’s social policies. Overall, the U.S. government of the early postwar years demonstrated complacency in the social sphere. As Arthur F. Burns, President Eisenhower’s economic advisor, said, “The transformation in the distribution of our national income… may already be counted as one of the great social revolutions in history” (Wittner 78). As such, the U.S. authorities considered the social change a low-priority policy dimension. Their attention was focused on international affairs and the fight for global supremacy.
The postwar prosperity created a distorted outlook of American society, hiding several major social issues. In reality, the so-called “affluent society” was plagued by inequality, injustice, and tensions. For example, the postwar popular writing suggested American women return to their place at home, denying them the right to pursue a career. Women who wished to continue working were portrayed as thoughtless and greedy (Chafe 77). Racial discrimination and prejudice against Black Americans persisted as Truman attempted to retain the loyalty of conservative Democrats in the South by backing away from the action on civil rights (Chafe 84). The workers and labor union leaders’ demand for fair wages was frequently depicted as an outcome of communist influence and Soviet propaganda (Chafe 91).
By the 1960s, the social issues were acknowledged but still put behind the communist threat. In a special section dedicated to John Kennedy’s inauguration, Newsweek admitted the existence of problems with “racial violence, schools and housing” (Hodgson 99). However, communism was still called “the greatest single problem that faces John Kennedy — and the key to most of his other problems” (Hodgson 99). In this regard, the U.S. government and the public largely neglected the presence of social issues, associating them with harmful communist influence.
Anti-communism was an integral part of the U.S. postwar foreign policy. Many notable U.S. political and military figures, such as FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover and General Douglas MacArthur, shared a strong anti-communist sentiment (Chafe 104). However, the Truman Doctrine played an ultimate role in the transformation of mistrust toward Soviet Russia into a domestic strategy of political mobilization. According to Chafe, the Truman administration used anti-communism to ensure support for the Cold War (104). As a consequence, Truman’s crusade against communism resulted in an assault on pluralism and honest political discussions inside the United States.
Advocacy for social change had become dangerously close to being declared a Soviet agent. The devastating impact of the anti-communist campaign on freedom of thought can be seen in the words of Albert Einstein. In particular, Einstein claimed that he “would rather choose to be a plumber or a peddler in the hope to find that modest degree of independence still available under present circumstances” (Wittner 88). As such, the government-sanctioned extreme anti-communism crippled American society, denying it a chance to acknowledge and resolve the brewing social tensions.
Works Cited
Chafe, William H. The Unfinished Journey: America Since World War II. 9th ed., Oxford University Press, 2021.
Hodgson, G. “America in Our Time.” A History of Our Time: Readings on Postwar America, edited by William H. Chafe, Harvard Sitkoff and Beth L. Bailey, Oxford University Press, 2012, pp. 93–107.
Wittner, Lawrence S. “The Rulers and the Ruled: American Society, 1945-1960.” A History of Our Time: Readings on Postwar America, edited by William H. Chafe, Harvard Sitkoff and Beth L. Bailey, Oxford University Press, 2012, pp. 77–92.