Changes

The American public was outraged by this, and punished the Democrats on Election Day in November 1946.  Republicans won by a landslide in the races for Congress.  It was not a presidential election year, so Democrat Harry Truman remained the president.  But Republicans obtained large majorities in the House of Representatives (the "House") and the Senate, and immediately began thinking of ways to curb the power of unions.

The American public was outraged by this, and punished the Democrats on Election Day in November 1946.  Republicans won by a landslide in the races for Congress.  It was not a presidential election year, so Democrat Harry Truman remained the president.  But Republicans obtained large majorities in the House of Representatives (the "House") and the Senate, and immediately began thinking of ways to curb the power of unions.

The result was the passage in the House and Senate of the Taft-Hartley Act, in 1947.

The result was the passage in the House and Senate of the Taft-Hartley Act, in 1947. This law declared required an oath swearing not to be a communist to be taken by the leaders of unions, and the law established the right of states to become "right to work" states prohibiting unions from requiring all the workers at a company to join a union in order to work there.  (Most southern states are "right to work" states; New Jersey is not, which means that unions are still very powerful in New Jersey.)

Then Democratic President Harry Truman vetoed the legislation, as a president has the power to do under the Constitution.

Then Democratic President Harry Truman vetoed the legislation, as a president has the power to do under the Constitution.