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| | The 80th Congress cut taxes, sparking an economic boom that would last through the 1950s. It balanced the federal budget for the first time in years. It also implemented the joint income tax return for married couples, which gives a financial benefit to a working man in sharing his income for tax purposes with a wife who is raising the children rather than earning an income. | | The 80th Congress cut taxes, sparking an economic boom that would last through the 1950s. It balanced the federal budget for the first time in years. It also implemented the joint income tax return for married couples, which gives a financial benefit to a working man in sharing his income for tax purposes with a wife who is raising the children rather than earning an income. |
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| − | The ultimate irony is that Truman ran for reelection in 1948 by campaigning against a "do nothing Congress." And Truman won in an upset! But by 1952, Truman was the most unpopular president in history, and was unelectable.
| + | Ironically, Truman ran for reelection in 1948 by campaigning against what he called a "do nothing Congress." And Truman won in an upset! But by 1952, Truman was the most unpopular president in history, and was unelectable. |
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| − | The last straw in Truman's impulsiveness came on April 9, 1952, when President Truman seized 88 private steel mills around the country to avert a strike during the Korean War. The American flag flew over the mills as government property. Truman told his staff that "The president has the power to keep the country from going to hell."<ref>http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/12/20/the_truman_precedent_for_bushs_eavesdropping/</ref> As President he felt he had the power to take over private factories and keep them running for the good of the country, rather than be shut down in a threatened strike. Within two months the Supreme Court, which included 4 Justices who had been appointed by Truman, ruled against Truman in ''Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer''. The President has to obey the law and respect private property too.
| + | Truman's mishandling of the Korean War hurt him the most, but he made one more impulsive mistake on April 9, 1952, when he seized 88 private steel mills around the country to avert a strike during the Korean War. The American flag then flew over the mills as government property. Truman told his staff that "The president has the power to keep the country from going to hell."<ref>http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/12/20/the_truman_precedent_for_bushs_eavesdropping/</ref> As President he felt he had the power to take over private factories and keep them running for the good of the country, rather than be shut down in a threatened strike. Within two months the Supreme Court, which included four Justices who had been appointed by Truman, ruled against Truman in ''Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer'': the President has to obey the law and respect private property too. Control of the steel mills was returned to their owners. |
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| − | World War II hero General Dwight D. Eisenhower, or "Ike", ran for president and won the White House in 1952 for the Republicans for the first in 24 years. President Eisenhower is best known for spending a great deal of time on the golf course, and near the end of his two terms he warned against growth of a "military-industrial complex" in which government and the military would feed each other's growing power. Coming from a General, this warning was often repeated in the press throughout the remainder of the Cold War. | + | World War II hero General Dwight D. Eisenhower, called "Ike", ran for president and won the White House in 1952, the first Republican presidential victory in 24 years. President Eisenhower is best known for spending his time on the golf course. Near the end of his two terms he warned against growth of a "military-industrial complex" in which government and the military would feed each other's growing power. Coming from a General, this warning was often repeated in the press throughout the remainder of the Cold War. |
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| | == The Korean War == | | == The Korean War == |