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'''Debate:  What is your view of communism, and the American response to it?'''

'''Debate:  What is your view of communism, and the American response to it?'''

== 80th Congress ==

== The 80th Congress ==

While the era after World War II was filled with prosperity and growth, the nation was anxious to get back to normal after the war ended in 1945.  But President Truman kept the wartime government controls on wages and prices in effect even after the war ended.  This infuriated voters, who wanted to return to normal life as quickly as possible.  In addition, the nation was hit by wave of big and sometimes violent strikes as soon as the war ended.  Unions had avoided strikes during the war out of patriotism, but their membership and power had grown enormously and the pent-up demand exploded when the war ended:<ref>http://www.bitsofnews.com/content/view/6638/</ref>

While the era after World War II was filled with prosperity and growth, the nation was anxious to get back to normal after the war ended in 1945.  But President Truman kept the wartime government controls on wages and prices in effect even after the war ended.  This infuriated voters, who wanted to return to normal life as quickly as possible.  In addition, the nation was hit by wave of big and sometimes violent strikes as soon as the war ended.  Unions had avoided strikes during the war out of patriotism, but their membership and power had grown enormously and the pent-up demand exploded when the war ended:<ref>http://www.bitsofnews.com/content/view/6638/</ref>

:[In] 1945 there were 4,750 strikes involving 3,470,000 workers for 38 million days, and in 1946 there were 4,985 strikes involving 4,600,000 workers for 116 million days. The US strike wave of 1945-1946 is one of the great episodes in working class history.

:[In] 1945 there were 4,750 strikes involving 3,470,000 workers for 38 million days, and in 1946 there were 4,985 strikes involving 4,600,000 workers for 116 million days. The US strike wave of 1945-1946 is one of the great episodes in working class history.

Companies had little choice but to cave in to union demands, often agreeing to immediate raises of an astounding 30% for the union workers simply to get them back to work.  A recession hit the country, and voters took out their anger on the Democrats who had been in power since 1932.  In the congressional elections of 1946, voters dealt President Truman a huge loss and returned the Republicans to control of Congress for the first time since the Great Depression.  This new Republican-controlled Congress began in 1947.

Companies had little choice but to cave in to union demands, often agreeing to immediate raises of an astounding 30% for the union workers simply to get them back to work.  A recession hit the country, and voters took out their anger on the Democrats who had been in power since 1932.  In the congressional elections of 1946, voters dealt President Truman a huge defeat and returned the Republicans to control of Congress for the first time since the Great Depression.  This new Republican-controlled Congress began in 1947.

This "80th Congress" that began in 1947 was the most productive and influential session of Congress in American history.  (Note that a "session" of Congress is the two-year period between is elections; each session is numbered starting with the first Congress in 1789.  The 80th Congress convened 79 times 2 (160) years after the First Congress in 1789, which is 1789 plus 158, which equals 1947.)

This "80th Congress" that began in 1947 was the most productive and influential session of Congress in American history.  (Note that a "session" of Congress is the two-year period between is elections; each session is numbered starting with the first Congress in 1789.  The 80th Congress convened 79 times 2 (158) years after the First Congress in 1789: 1789 plus 158, which equals 1947.)

The Republicans then moved quickly to pass important legislation.  They passed (and the states ratified) the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution in order to limit future presidents to two full terms in office, so that no one could ever again repeat what President Franklin Roosevelt did in dishonoring President Washington's precedent of no more than two terms.  President Roosevelt died in office only a few months after inauguration, as his illness was concealed from the American people and they were deprived an opportunity to vote in an informed manner for the person who would really become president.

The Republicans moved quickly to pass important legislation.  They passed (and the states ratified) the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution in order to limit future presidents to two full terms in office, so that no one could ever again repeat what President Franklin Roosevelt did in dishonoring President Washington's precedent of serving no more than two terms.  President Roosevelt died in office only a few months after his last inauguration, as his illness was concealed from the American people and they were deprived an opportunity to vote in an informed manner for the person who would really serve as president.

The 22nd Amendment also has an effect of reducing the power of the president while he is in office.  It requires by law that he leave by a time definite, in contrast with congressmen and justices who have no set limit.  That shifts power from the presidency to the other branches of government.  By limiting the duration in power of any particular president, the 22nd Amendment limits the extent of his power to control and influence others.

The 22nd Amendment also has an effect of reducing the power of the president while he is in office.  It requires by law that he leave by a time definite, in contrast with congressmen and justices who have no set limit.  That shifts power from the presidency to the other branches of government.  By limiting the duration in power of any particular president, the 22nd Amendment limits the extent of his power to control and influence others.

When the Republicans took control of Congress, that enabled them to assume control of key congressional committees and thereby hold public hearings as investigations into key issues.  One of the key congressional committees was the House Committee on Un-American Activities, and its Chairman was California Congressman (and future president) Richard Nixon.  With Republican Nixon in control, he called hearings into whether Alger Hiss was a communist, and required attendance by Hiss to answer questions.  For years Witticker Chambers had complained about Hiss, but the Democrats refused to do anything.  J. Edgar Hoover, who built up and ran the FBI for decades, had worked to force Hiss out of high-level government positions.  But is was Hiss's committee that really exposed Hiss as a communist, and the Democrats never forgave Nixon's combative tactics.  Eventually the Democrats and the media caught Nixon doing something illegal, whereupon the Watergate scandal forced him to become the only president ever to resign (in 1973).   

When the Republicans took control of Congress, that enabled them to assume control of key congressional committees and thereby hold public hearings as investigations into key issues.  One of the key congressional committees was the House Committee on Un-American Activities, featuring California Congressman (and future president) Richard Nixon.  With the Republican Nixon in control, he called hearings into whether Alger Hiss was a communist, and required attendance by Hiss to answer questions.  For years Whittaker Chambers had complained about Hiss, but the Democrats refused to do anything.  J. Edgar Hoover, who built up and ran the FBI for decades, had worked to force Hiss out of high-level government positions.  But it was Nixon's committee that really exposed Hiss as a communist, and the Democrats never forgave Nixon's combative tactics.  Eventually the Democrats and the media caught Nixon doing something illegal: the Watergate scandal forced Nixon to become the only president ever to resign (in 1973).   

There were other important achievements of the 80th Congress.  The Republicans passed, over President Truman's veto, the Taft-Hartley Act to limit the power of unions.  This was one of the most important pieces of legislation in the entire century of the 1900s, and by far the most significant labor legislation in our history.  It was written by the brilliant conservative Senator Robert Taft, who had graduated first in his class from Yale Law School and nearly defeated Eisenhower for the Republican nomination for president in 1952.  By 1947 unions had risen to the zenith of their power, having membership of nearly 10.5 million nationwide.

There were other important achievements of the 80th Congress.  The Republicans passed, over President Truman's veto, the Taft-Hartley Act to limit the power of unions.  This was one of the most important pieces of legislation in the entire century of the 1900s, and by far the most significant labor legislation in our history.  It was written by the brilliant conservative Senator Robert Taft, who had graduated first in his class from Yale Law School and nearly defeated Eisenhower for the Republican nomination for president in 1952.  By 1947 unions had risen to the zenith of their power, having membership of nearly 10.5 million nationwide.