American History Lecture Eleven

Lecture - Questions - Student Answers

This lecture we will cover up until about 1950. The next lecture we'll cover until the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980, and then the last lecture will be the Reagan Administration and the subsequent Administrations.

First, let's review a bit. Imperialism (extending power over other peoples) around turn of the century (1900). The Treaty of Paris at the end of the Spanish American War enabled the United States to annex the Philippine Islands and also Guam and Puerto Rico. Spain had held the Philippines ever since explorer Ferdinand Magellan discovered it in 1521. But after we took over, a bloody rebellion continued there by natives. We sent 70,000 soldiers to suppress them. Many Americans opposed this imperialism, including Mark Twain and Andrew Carnegie. They said it was against our American tradition. After we killed off many of the insurgents, Carnegie wrote to our government, "You seem to have about finished your work of civilizing the Filipinos. About 8000 of them have been completely civilized and sent to Heaven. I hope you like it."

President Woodrow Wilson served out his two terms from 1913 through 1921, but was very sickly towards the end. Perhaps due to overwork in his unsuccessful attempt to persuade the American public to support the League of Nations, which included a strenuous speaking tour, Wilson collapsed after one of his speeches on this topic in Pueblo, Colorado in the fall of 1919. A week later, on Oct. 2, 1919, Wilson suffered a severe stroke that left him paralyzed and blind in one eye. He never fully recovered, but the incapacity was hidden from the public and not even his Vice President, his cabinet or Congress was allowed to see him. The Constitution provided no means for substituting for an incapacitated president (later the 25th Amendment was passed to authorize a passing of power to the Vice President even if the President is still alive). Wilson's second wife (his first wife had died) essentially acted on behalf of the president for the more than a year that remained in his term.

The election of 1920 brought new faces to the White House, and a "dark horse" candidate won for the Republicans this time: Warren G. Harding.

The Roaring Twenties

The Roaring Twenties was the period from 1920 to 1929 when there was tremendous economic growth and remarkable cultural progress. It was a period of great excitement and accomplishing in our nation's history on many levels: in politics, business, literature and music. It was a great time to be an American and there was a vibrancy in the country rarely seen before or since.

Politically, the period started with the election of Warren Hardin as president. He was a conservative who nominated four (4) conservative Justices to the Supreme Court, some of whom later invalidated key parts of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR)'s liberal New Deal. Harding also supported Prohibition, which was a conservative Christian women's movement. Harding opposed the League of Nations, which was a form of "world government" that conservatives today still dislike. Harding opposed immigration, and with his support of the tightest restrictions on immigration in the nation's history.

Harding and his wife were colorful characters, opening the White House up to the public again (Wilson had closed it during his illness) and throwing regular garden parties for veterans. The President and his wife relaxed at poker parties in the White House library, where liquor was available to guests despite being illegal during Prohibition.

Harding has some immediate political achievements. The Federal Highway Act in 1921 provided $75 million to states in matching funds for state roads. The Washington Naval Conference (1921-22) was an international treaty that limited arms in navies worldwide, delayed war in Pacific, and temporarily protected China against Japan. The Fordney McCumber Act of 1922 increased tariffs to very high levels, but this was later criticized by historians for creating hardship for Europe after World War I, which had ended just a few years earlier.

Most of all, Harding laid the basis for a tremendous economic boom in America which lasted the entire decade of the 1920s.

But the Harding Administration was accused of scandals and corruption, such as the Teapot Dome Scandal. It was observed that George Washington could never tell a lie, but Warren Harding could never tell (recognize) a liar! On April 14, 1922, the Wall Street Journal reported an unprecedented secret arrangement in which the secretary of the Interior, without competitive bidding, had leased the U.S. naval petroleum reserve at Wyoming's Teapot Dome to a private oil company. Wisconsin Republican Senator Robert La Follette (remember this founder of the progressive movement!) arranged for the Senate Committee on Public Lands to investigate the matter. After his announcement, his quarters were mysteriously ransacked in the Senate Office Building!

The focus of the inquiry was this: "How did Interior Secretary Albert Fall get so rich so quickly?" The result was that Fall became the first former cabinet officer to go to prison. The investigation resulted in the landmark 1927 Supreme Court decision of McGrain v. Daugherty which held, for the first time, that Congress had the right to compel witnesses to testify before its committees.

But the scandal did not detract from the continuing prosperity. Just as the nation became very prosperous under the conservative president James Monroe, the 1920s (the "Roaring 20s") became a very prosperous time under Harding's initial leadership. But unlike James Monroe, Harding did not live to enjoy it. He died from a health problem while in office, leaving his Vice President (and former Massachusetts Governor) Calvin Coolidge to take over. Coolidge was famous for breaking a strike in Massachusetts by public workers, declaring that "there is no right to strike against the public safety by anybody, anywhere, anytime." Coolidge received the news that he was suddenly president at 2:30 am on Aug. 3, 1923. By the light of a kerosene lamp, his father (a notary public) administered the oath of office while Coolidge placed his hand on the family Bible.

Coolidge was a character who became famous for saying and doing nothing. He was neither approve of regulations to control the economic boom, nor agree to funding for farmers to help their depressed conditions. His first message to Congress in late 1923 was to limit aid to farmers, isolate the nation in foreign policy, and cut taxes. His popularity increased and he won reelection with 54% of the vote, taking credit for "Coolidge prosperity."

He became so famous for is laconic style of few words, and a young woman a social event whispered to Coolidge's wife that the woman could cause Coolidge to say at least three words. Coolidge must have overheard the whisper, because he then said, "You lose." In 1928, Coolidge lived up to his reputation by giving the following statement to an anxious public, "I do not choose to run for President in 1928." That was it. In the 1980s conservative President Ronald Reagan infuriated liberals by finding a portrait of Coolidge in the White House attic and prominently displaying it along with Washington and famous presidents.

But during the Harding and Coolidge Administrations, the rest of the nation was saying and doing a great deal. Great American authors developed who wrote tragedies about wealth (by F. Scott Fitzgerald), business and religion (by Sinclair Lewis, and war (by Ernest Hemingway). William Faulkner became one of America's most acclaimed novelists by writing (1929-1932) the books "Sound & Fury," "As I Lay Dying," "Sanctuary," and "Light in August." Liberals praised Faulkner because he described the Christian South as poor and racist. Eugene O'Neill was a playwright who became the Second American to win the Nobel Prize for Literature for in 1936; he was praised for bringing psychological realism to his plays.

Americans invented the music of jazz, and "Tin Pan Alley" was a portion of New York City known for its music culture. There was a Harlem Renaissance that became the center of black culture, and a New Negro Movement emphasized learning and pride for African Americans.

Jazz clubs and silent movies began to have the same undesirable influence on morality that Hollywood brings to culture today. The "flapper" was a new lifestyle for young ladies that encouraged smoking, shorter dresses, drinking alcohol (which was illegal), taking cocaine (which was then legal), and overall immorality. The name comes from a silent movie called "The Flapper" that was produced in 1920, and today the name is often associated with the type of dress. But an immoral lifestyle came along with it, and tobacco companies profiting from the increase in smoking by women helped promote it.

The first commercial radio broadcast was in 1920. The "talking" movies came in 1927, with the first successful one being "The Jazz Singer." Also in 1927 Charles Lindbergh completed the first solo airplane flight from New York City to Paris to win a prize. He named his small airplane the "Spirit of St. Louis." On his takeoff he narrowly missed crashing, and he encountered problems like ice on his wings and getting lost along the way. He was greeted by a huge crowd and a hero's welcome when he landed in Paris.

One more key event happened in 1927: the Great Mississippi Flood was massive flooding of the river that displaced 700,000 persons. This caused many African Americans to migrate from South to northern cities. Oh, there was one other thing that happened that year: Babe Ruth hit 60 home runs in one season!

If you like the excitement and mystery of court trials, the anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti were executed in 1927 despite having political support by liberals. Their crime was to commit murder in 1920 during a bank robbery, and to this day some doubt their real guilt. But reconsideration of their case by independent reviewers has concluded that, yes, they really committed the crime.

In 1928 the Kellogg-Briand Pact (or Treaty) was a silly international attempt to outlaw war. It proved to be ineffective because there was no way to enforce it. A country would have to start a war to make another country obey!

Stock Market Crash

Herbert Hoover won the presidency in 1928 as a Republican more liberal than Coolidge and Harding. Hoover liked big business and sought its cooperation. He opposed trust-busting and unions. Hoover did cut taxes and was critical of Europe.

But misfortune greeted him. In 1929, the stock market suddenly crashed. The era of prosperity was over. The Great Depression had begun. Historians blame this partly on speculators driving up the stock market, but actually no one really knows what the cause of the Depression was. Unemployment increased until it exceeded 20% in 1933, meaning that one out of every five families was out of work and likely without money also.

Many historians blame tariffs as a greater cause of the Great Depression than the stock market crash was. In 1930, Congress passed the Hawley-Smoot Tariff which increased tariffs, setting off a worldwide round of tariff increases in 1931, which worsened the worldwide Depression. Historians also blame the Great Depression on the gold standard, a concentration of wealth among the relatively few, and unregulated speculation in the financial markets. There is probably political bias in claiming that these were the causes of the Great Depression.

Debate: What do you think caused the Great Depression?

Hoover's reaction to the Great Depression was to seek sought voluntary wage and price controls to end Depression. He opposed new federal programs sought by the Democrats.

In 1932, Hoover did create the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, which was a federal agency that lend money to banks, and later lent money to businesses also.

Hoover had to face a pathetic march in D.C. by poor soldiers from World War I who demanded a bonus. Called the "Bonus March," this ended in riots and was a political disaster for Hoover.

The Great Depression caused voters to switch to the Democratic Party, which took control of the Presidency (through FDR) and Congress in 1932. After winning control of Congress and the White House, the Democrats ended Prohibition by passing an amendment to repeal it. They began enacting many new laws and programs to try to generate jobs.

FDR, the New Deal, and Preparing for War

We have learned that failures in the economy often determine the outcome in the presidential election, as in 2008. The presidential election in 1932 was no different: the Great Depression resulted in a complete transfer from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party, and Democratic Party candidate Franklin Delano Roosevelt won the election. He took his victory as a "mandate" to enact sweeping new legislation in order to lift the country out of the depression. In a nutshell, President Roosevelt (who is often called simply "FDR") started massive federal works and relief programs, and refused to let retire from the presidency after two terms as every other president did (beginning with George Washington).

President Roosevelt's program became known as the "New Deal," a term that is synonymous with expanded government programs supposedly to help the economy and the unemployed. The New Deal consists of new laws (legislation) and gave jobs to people. Critics of the New Deal point out that if the jobs were really needed, then free enterprise (private companies) would be doing it already.

President Roosevelt seized the initiative by trying to pass as much as possible through Congress in his first 100 days in office in 1933, when public support for change was the highest. This is known as the "Hundred Days," when FDR ended the gold standard (and thereby caused inflation) and called for a nationwide banking holiday (to stop the withdrawal of money from banks).

Other programs pushed through quickly by FDR in 1933 included:

• Emergency Banking Act, which allowed inspection of bank records, established a "bank holiday," and infused money into banks with Reconstruction Finance Corp.
• Civilian Conservation Corps, which provided jobs to men between 17 and 25 for the conservation of natural resources
• Agricultural Adjustment Act, which tried to raise prices and limit farm production by paying farmers not to farm land; this was later declared unconstitutional
• Federal Emergency Relief Act, which provided work on projects such as building roads, airports, schools, playgrounds and parks
• Tennessee Valley Act, which bought, built and operated dams, generated & sold electric power, provided flood control, and withdrew bad land from farming; it also set up the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and used its power rates to regulate private rates, which interfered with free enterprise
• Farm-Credit Act, which provided funding for farm mortgages
• Glass-Steagall Banking Act, which established the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) to insure deposits in banks in order to stabilize the banking system
• National Industrial Recovery Act, which created the public works administration, defined fair business practices; this was held unconstitutional in Schecter Poultry v. U.S.

The above series of laws constituted the most sweeping change in the nature of government in America since the passage of the Constitution. President Roosevelt quickly gave the federal (national) government vast new powers, and established an "administrative" form of government that continues to rule many industries to this day. Gone forever with this legislation was the free enterprise of the "Era of Good Feelings," the Gilded Age, and the "Roaring Twenties."

As you can see, the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated a few key aspects of the New Deal, and this infuriated President Roosevelt. We'll mention this again later.

More big things happened in 1933. The Democrats quickly ratified the 21st Amendment in order to repeal Prohibition and return to the States the power to regulate, allow or prohibit alcohol. This amendment was the only one to use ratifying conventions in each State in order to obtain the necessary 3/4 number of States for it to become part of the Constitution. Note that this process is different from holding a national constitutional convention to amend the Constitution, which has never occurred.

President Roosevelt changed foreign policy towards Latin America. In 1933 he implemented the "Good Neighbor Policy," which was more permissive towards Latin America and was in contrast with Teddy Roosevelt's "Big Stick" and Taft's "Dollar Diplomacy." Instead, FDR reduced the United States' involvement in Latin America.

The New Deal continued to expand the federal government in 1934, again with the stated goal of trying to end the Great Depression. In 1934, Congress and FDR passed the National Housing Act, which set up the Federal Housing Authority (FHA). This new federal agency encouraged banks, building and loan associations to make loans for building homes, small business establishments, and farm buildings. The FHA provided low-cost, long-term loans for modernizing old buildings and constructing new ones.

Also in 1934, the Gold Reserve Act passed which nationalized the ownership of all gold. The U.S. treasury took title to all gold, and stored most of it at Ft. Knox, Kentucky.

To regulate the financial markets, Congress passed the Securities and Exchange Act in 1934. This established the Securities Exchange Commission to regulate stock exchanges

Works Progress Administration employed 8.5 million persons between 1935 and 1943 building public works

Schecter Poultry v. U.S. 1935: S. Ct. declares Nat'l Industrial Recovery Act unconstitutional because it delegated too much power to agency Wagner Act "1935: gives unions rights, promotes their growth; prohibit employer interference, estab. Nat'l Labor Relations Board" Social Security Act 1935: provided old age insurance from tax on wages and tax on employers; biggest federal program now Congress of Indust. Organ. (CIO) "1935: labor group formed by fiery John Lewis and garment trade unions, later included auto and steelworkers" Fair Labor Standards Act 1938: abolished child labor and set national minimum wage ($.40 per hour) and the 40 hr week Trade Agreements Act 1934: amended the Tariff Act of 1930 (Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act) to give authority to negotiate mutual tariff reductions Neutrality Act 1935: forbids sale of arms to all belligerents if Pres. says a state of war exists; designed to keep us at peace

The New Deal did not help lift the nation out of the Great Depression. The economy improved a little from 1933 to 1940, but the depression never really ended. In 1937, FDR became so frustrated with the Supreme Court's invalidation of his New Deal programs that he proposed his "court-packing" scheme to appoint new Justices to the Supreme Court who would be favorable to him. Even members of FDR's own Democratic Party opposed this violation of the checks and balances in the Constitution, and FDR lost much of his credibility. He weakened himself with this proposal, which never passed.

The only end to the Great Depression was going to be our entry into war: World War II.

World War II

President Roosevelt began to prepare a reluctant nation for war.

Selective Training & Service Act 1940: first adoption of peacetime conscription (draft) Four Freedoms "1941: FDR in annual speech to Cong urges freedom of speech, worship, from want, from fear" Lend-Lease Act "1941: FDR's first step to save Britain & Allies in WWII by lending them materials, ending neutrality" Atlantic Charter "July 1941: FDR and Churchill declare purpose to WWII, based on world peace, like 14 points in WWI" U-Boats German submarines in WWII that sunk ships

At first, the American public was very reluctant to get involved in World War II. FDR did not have the public support necessary to commit to such a big war. However, there is evidence that our code-breakers had broken the Japanese codes used to communicate their military messages, and that we knew Japan was going to attack Pearl Harbor. FDR did nothing to prevent the attack, and news of the attack on Dec. 7, 1941 outraged the American public against Japan. The Constitution authorizes only Congress to declare war, which it did on the very next day (Dec. 8th). Only one congressman voted against the declaration of war. Three days later, on Dec. 11th, Congress declared war on Germany too. That was the last time in history that Congress has officially declared war.

The Japanese proved to be tenacious fighters and there was much fear in the United States of Japanese nationalism. FDR forcibly moved Japanese-Americans in California to internment camps to keep an eye on their suspected spy activity, despite their American citizenship. The Supreme Court upheld this violation of their constitutional rights in Korematsu v. United States. This reflected how the Supreme Court has always deferred to the other branches of government on military matters ever since President Andrew Jackson defied a Supreme Court ruling about the treatment of Indians in Worcester v. Georgia.

Some feared that Germany was developing an atomic bomb and so the United States government initiated the Manhattan Project to develop our own atomic bomb. As soon as it was tested and ready, President Truman ordered it to be dropped on Japanese cities in 1945. Japan then surrendered and our war with it was over. (Our war with Germany had already ended.)

As president, Truman was an impulsive and not very bright man. He still holds the record for the lowest approval rating (only 23% of the country approving of his performance) in his last year in office (1952). When there was an ugly strike against a steel company, he impulsively ordered a government takeover of the entire company (the Supreme Court later invalidated his action). When a reporter wrote a negative review about his daughter’s piano recital, Truman said he wanted to punch the reporter in the face for it. When General Douglas MacArthur wanted to be more aggressive in the Korean War, Truman simply fired him. Drop the atom bomb on Japan? Do it, Truman decided quickly, and later said he slept a good night’s sleep the night he decided. Truman’s impulsiveness may remind you of President Andrew Jackson.

Pearl Harbor "Dec. 7, 1941: Japan attacks naval base in Hawaii, sinks our fleet" D-Day "June 6, 1944 Allies finally invade mainland Europe at Normandy, France to recapture mainland" Casablanca Conference "Jan. 14–24, 1943, WW II mtg of U.S. & Britain, agree to fight until other side unconditionally surrenders" Holocaust "1941-45: systematic, racist and brutal murder by German leaders of six million Jews during WW II" CORE 1942:Congress of Racial Equality joined in struggle of African Americans banding together against segregation """Voice of America""" 1942: radio program to broadcast American message of freedom to Communist countries Teheran Conference 1943: Stalin promised to help us against Japan after the defeat of Germany. We agreed to D-Day invasion Yalta Conference Feb 1945: divide Germany into 4 military zones (denazification); Stalin lied re: free elections; plan for United Nations Potsdam Conference July/Aug 1945: Truman replaced Roosevelt and little accomplished; demanded Japan's uncondit. surrender Manhattan Project "secret project to build atomic bomb based in Los Alamos, New Mexico" Harry S Truman "Dem. Pres. 1945-52, pushed civil rights, protected South Korea, fired Gen. MacArthur, seized steel mills" "Hiroshima, Nagasaki" "Aug. 6 & 9, 1945: first and second atom bombs dropped by US on these Japanese cities; Japan surrenders Aug. 15" Korematsu v. U.S. 1944: Sup. Ct. affirms military internment camps for Japanese-Americans Servicemen's Readjustment Act "1944: ""GI Bill"" pays for soldiers' higher education" Bretton Woods/World Bank July 1944: 44 nations set up International Monetary Fund Dumbarton Oaks/United Nations "Aug-Oct. 1944: China, GB, USSR, US draft plans for UN, incl. Security Council"

Immigration

National Origins Act "1924: restricted immigrants from southern and central Europe and Asia, to stop anarchists and Bolsheviks"

Immigration 1890-1917 "mostly from central and southern Europe, also many from Eastern Europe; opposition to this increased" Emergency Quota Act "1921: limited immigrants to 3%/yr of nationality living in US in 1910, favoring older Anglo-Saxon& N Europe"

Let’s turn to a topic in the news: immigration. Immigration was free and unlimited for most of our history. William Penn actually advertised in Germany for immigrants to settle in his colony of Pennsylvania in the late 1600s. There was some hostility to immigrants in the early United States, as illustrated by the “Alien and Sedition Laws” (1798) which authorized the deportation of subversive “aliens” or immigrants who had not yet become citizens.

Nevertheless, up until the 1850s immigration was mostly welcomed in America. But after a huge influx of immigrants from Ireland due to the potato famine there, in 1854 the “American Party,” also called the “Know-Nothings” because of how they would describe themselves, was founded in order to oppose immigration. Ever since, there has been political pressure to limit immigration.

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848) ended the Mexican War and allowed Mexicans residing in territories acquired by the United States to become American citizens. However, segregation in the public schools of Mexicans was common until the Supreme Court abolished it for African-Americans in Brown v. Board of Education (1954). After 1890, hundreds of thousands of Mexicans entered the United States illegally and were called “wetbacks”.

The big flood of immigration occurred between the end of the Civil War and 1921. Up to one-third of Americans today are decedents of immigrations to America during that period. The vast majority was from Europe, but the Burlingame Treaty with China in 1868 gave Chinese unlimited rights to immigrate, and many did. Labor unions then complained about the influx of Chinese immigrants (who had built the transcontinental railroad over the Sierra Nevada mountains). In 1879, the moderate Republican Rutherford Hayes vetoed a bill restricting Chinese immigration, but three years later the new Republican president Chester Arthur signed a bill prohibiting the immigration of Chinese laborers. This bill was the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.

In 1891 the federal government established the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), which supervises lawful immigration to this day. In 1892, INS established Ellis Island in New York harbor as the primary screening point for legal immigrants before they settled in the United States. Medical tests and oaths of allegiance to the United States were administered there.

The high point of lawful immigration to the United States was 1905-14, when more than a million legal immigrants entered in each of six separate years. Most were from southern and central Europe. By origin the percentage immigration to the United States from 1890 to 1917 was:

Central, Southern and Eastern Europe – 70%
Northwest Europe – 20%
Central and South America – 3%
Canada and Newfoundland – 4%
Asia – 3%

That very high percentage of immigration from European countries other than England and Ireland caused alarm among many Americans of English descent. By the 1920s, the United States was increasingly concerned about anarchists and communists entering from southern and eastern Europe. Recall that President McKinley was assassinated in 1901 by an anarchist whose family had immigrated from Eastern Europe, and the American trial of anarchists from Italy named Sacco and Vanzetti for senseless murders had gripped our nation in 1920-21 and during the lengthy appeals afterwards. The Red Scare of 1919-20 further alarmed Americans about immigration from Eastern Europe. After the great wave of immigration leading up to World War I, Americans wanted to limit it. The Emergency Quota Act of 1921 limited immigration to 3% of that originating country’s immigration levels in 1910.

The Immigration Act of 1924 (also known as the National Origins Act) reduced the 3% further, to 2%, and changed the baseline from 1910 to 1890 in order to give preferences to immigrants from Great Britain, Germany and Ireland. Immigration from Italy, Russia and Asia was thereby sharply reduced. Strict quotas were enforced, but applied to unskilled laborers rather than professionals. President Calvin Coolidge signed the bill into law.

In 1946 immigration from India was allowed up to an annual quota, and in 1952 immigration from Asia was allowed again for the first time since 1917.

In 1965 the Immigration and Nationality Act abolished quotas for each foreign country and instead established an overall limit on visas for immigrants in the eastern hemisphere, and in 1968 a limit on visas from the western hemisphere was also established on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Illegal immigration from Mexico grew in the early 1980s and the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 allowed most illegal aliens who resided in the U.S. continuously since 1982 to apply for legal status. Employers were prohibited from hiring illegal aliens, in order to discourage future illegal immigration.

Court decisions made it difficult or impossible for states to deny government benefits (such as free public education) to illegal immigrants and their entry into the United States continued to grow. Estimates are that 10-20 million people now live in the United States illegally, most having arrived by crossing the United States-Mexico border but not all of whom are Mexican. Congress is bitterly divided about how to address this, and some propose building a wall along that border.

What is your view?

Post World War II

The return of all the soldiers from war was a time of great joy for the nation. Families were reunited. Soldiers quickly married and began to have families.

Cars were plentiful and there were good interstate roads. In 1940, the first multi-laned superhighway had been built in Pennsylvania, known as the "Pennsylvania Turnpike." The federal government helped pay for these roads and they still work well to this day.

After World War II ended in 1945, the nation was anxious to get back to normal. But President Truman kept 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 the fall elections of 1946, voters dealt President Truman a huge loss and returned the Republicans to control of Congress for the first time since before the Great Depression.

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 during his fourth term as president.

The Republicans also 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. By 1947 unions had risen to the zenith of their power, having membership of nearly 10.5 million nationwide.

The Taft-Hartley Act did the following:

• established the right of employees NOT to join unions
• a union could represent all employees only if state law permitted it and a majority of workers voted for it
• unions must give 60 days notice before striking
• the federal government could prohibit a strike for 80 days if it endangered national health or safety
• a later amendment in 1959 prohibited “secondary boycotts,” which were devastating “sympathy strikes” against additional companies to increase pressure on target company

For the purposes of American history, simply remember that the Taft-Hartley Act finally ended the unions’ enormous power. And not a moment too soon, because crippling strikes hurt the country’s economy in 1946 after the end of World War II. Ever since passage of the Taft-Hartley Act, Democrats have tried to repeal it, without success.

Full Employment Act 1946: watered-down version of fed. govt. backing full employment Loyalty Boards 1947: Truman checks on govt employees to ensure not Communists Taft-Hartley Act "1947: conservative response to growing power of unions, passed over Truman's veto. Gave workers right not to join" unions where allowed by state law; unions must give 60-day notice of strike; fed govt can block for 80 days Truman Doctrine "1947: Truman pledges economic aid for democratic countries opposing communism, beginning w/ Greece & Turkey" George Kennan/Containment "1947: State Dept official Kennan publishes US goal to ""contain"" Communism, underlay Cold War" National Security Act/Council 1947: estab. Council as advisory body to President on national security issues; used CIA as info-gatherer organiz. Marshall Plan "1947: financial assistance to European economies struggling from WWII, Communists reject it" Jackie Robinson "1947: broke ""color barrier"" by becoming first black baseball player in Major Leagues, for Brooklyn Dodgers" Organization of American States 1947: Latin American organization incl. US to handle issues Central Intelligence Agency "1947: Gathers intelligence through ""overt and covert"" methods; uses info collected by all agencies; sets intell. goals" """Iron Curtain""" 1945-90: Churchill's phrase to describe Communist capture of East. Europe nations North Atlantic Trty Org. (NATO) 1948: rejects George Washington's farewell address w/ foreign alliance to stop Communism Youngstown Sheet & Tube case "1952: Sup. Ct. invalidates Truman's seizure of steel mills, which he did to avert a strike during Korean War" House Un-American Activ. Com. "1948-50s: investigated Alger Hiss case, convicted Communists in America, including ""Hollywood Ten""" Whittaker Chambers/Alger Hiss "1948: Chambers (ed. of Time) says Hiss was Comm.; shows microfilms; Hiss convicted of perjury, jailed 5 yrs" Ethel and Julius Rosenberg 1950s: executed for selling atomic bomb secrets to USSR

United Nations

After our dropping of the atom bombs on Japan ended World War II, nations came together to form the United Nations, first in San Francisco and ultimately in New York, where it exists to this day. Alger Hiss, who was secretly a communist but served as a top aide to President Franklin Roosevelt, played a key role in founding the UN.

The United Nations has remained controversial to this day. In the 1990s, an American soldier named Michael New was ordered to fight under command of the United Nations. He refused, and was court-martialed (harshly punished) for it. He then sued, and lost. Many complain that the United Nations encroaches on the right and duty of nations like the United States to remain true to their own principles. Defenders of the United Nations say that it provides an important meeting place to discuss and defuse tensions before they escalate into wars. The United Nations did arrange for many countries to send troops to defend South Korea against invasion by communist North Korea. But as in Vietnam and most major international wars since World War II, the United States sent the vast majority of the soldiers to the battlefront.

President Woodrow Wilson would have been a supporter of the United Nations, just as he supported the League of Nations. His motto was to “make the world safe for democracy.” Today, the “neoconservatives” adopt a similar worldview. They seek to expand and install democracy in countries all around the world, such as Iraq and Iran. Others, however, argue that democracy is not compatible with religions in other parts of the world, such as Islam. Conservative Congressman Ron Paul recently wrote an essay entitled, “Making the World Safe for Christianity,” observing that democracy in Iraq has increased the persecution of Christians there.

By the way, Congressman Paul blames the treaty after World War I (Versailles Treaty) as the cause for World War II and the rise of communism. The U.S. Senate never ratified that treaty.

Communism secretly invaded the United States during the Great Depression in the 1930s. After serving secretly as a communist then, Whittaker Chambers had a religious conversion to Christianity (the Quaker religion). He then went to federal law enforcement officials and identified fellow communists, including Alger Hiss. Law enforcement agents informed President Franklin Roosevelt, but he reacted by swearing at Whittaker Chambers, and Roosevelt refused to do anything about Hiss.

Hiss remained in powerful government positions until a series of internal memos generated by J. Edgar Hoover at the FBI finally forced Hiss out. But the public never learned about this until Congressman Richard Nixon (like Chambers, a Quaker) held public hearings before the House Committee on Un-American Activities in 1948, after the Republicans had gained control of Congress in the 1946 elections. At first Hiss made the public laugh at Nixon’s committee, but when Chambers produced microfilm stored in a pumpkin on his Maryland farm to prove Hiss’s involvement the last laugh belonged to Nixon. He rode his anti-communism success to become Vice President under Eisenhower and eventually President in 1968. Hiss went to jail for perjury. Democrats never forgave Nixon’s combative tactics and eventually they caught Nixon doing something illegal, whereupon the Watergate scandal forced him to become the only president ever to resign (in 1973). The anti-communist reaction movement was also important in shaping the career of Ronald Reagan, who became president in 1980.

Several in our class have described communism as being good in theory, but bad in practice. But consider that communism requires coercion and force to enforce its requirement of equal wealth regardless of talents and efforts. That is anti-Christian in several important ways, starting with free will and ending with the unimportance of wealth to God. Also, communism inevitably requires suppressing religion, churches, private schools and even homeschooling in order to ensure conformity of beliefs.