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CHAPTER 12: POSTWAR AMERICAOUTLINE OF U.S. HISTORYthat California had displaced NewYork as the nation’s largest state.By 2000, Texas had moved ahead ofNew York into second place.An even more important formof movement led Americans out ofinner cities into new suburbs, wherethey hoped to find affordable housingfor the larger families spawnedby the postwar baby boom. Developerslike William J. Levitt built newcommunities — with homes thatall looked alike — using the techniquesof mass production. Levitt’shouses were prefabricated — partlyassembled in a factory rather thanon the final location — and modest,but Levitt’s methods cut costsand allowed new owners to possess apart of the American dream.As suburbs grew, businessesmoved into the new areas. Largeshopping centers containing a greatvariety of stores changed consumerpatterns. The number of these centersrose from eight at the end ofWorld War II to 3,840 in 1960. Witheasy parking and convenient eveninghours, customers could avoid cityshopping entirely. An unfortunateby-product was the “hollowing-out”of formerly busy urban cores.New highways created better accessto the suburbs and its shops.The Highway Act of 1956 provided$26,000-million, the largest publicworks expenditure in U.S. history, tobuild more than 64,000 kilometersof limited access interstate highwaysto link the country together.Television, too, had a powerfulimpact on social and economic patterns.Developed in the 1930s, it wasnot widely marketed until after thewar. In 1946 the country had fewerthan 17,000 television sets. Threeyears later consumers were buying250,000 sets a month, and by 1960three-quarters of all families ownedat least one set. In the middle of thedecade, the average family watchedtelevision four to five hours a day.Popular shows for children includedHowdy Doody Time and The MickeyMouse Club ; older viewers preferredsituation comedies like I Love Lucyand Father Knows Best. Americans ofall ages became exposed to increasinglysophisticated advertisementsfor products said to be necessary forthe good life.THE FAIR DEALThe Fair Deal was the name givento President Harry Truman’s domesticprogram. Building on Roosevelt’sNew Deal, Truman believed that thefederal government should guaranteeeconomic opportunity and socialstability. He struggled to achieve thoseends in the face of fierce political oppositionfrom legislators determinedto reduce the role of government.Truman’s first priority in theimmediate postwar period was tomake the transition to a peacetimeeconomy. Servicemen wanted tocome home quickly, but once theyarrived they faced competition forhousing and employment. The G.I.Bill, passed before the end of the war,helped ease servicemen back into civilianlife by providing benefits suchas guaranteed loans for home-buyingand financial aid for industrialtraining and university education.More troubling was labor unrest.As war production ceased, manyworkers found themselves withoutjobs. Others wanted pay increasesthey felt were long overdue. In 1946,4.6 million workers went on strike,more than ever before in Americanhistory. They challenged the automobile,steel, and electrical industries.When they took on the railroads andsoft-coal mines, Truman intervenedto stop union excesses, but in so doinghe alienated many workers.While dealing with immediatelypressing issues, Truman also provideda broader agenda for action. Lessthan a week after the war ended, hepresented Congress with a 21-pointprogram, which provided for protectionagainst unfair employmentpractices, a higher minimum wage,greater unemployment compensation,and housing assistance. Inthe next several months, he addedproposals for health insurance andatomic energy legislation. But thisscattershot approach often left Truman’spriorities unclear.Republicans were quick to attack.In the 1946 congressional electionsthey asked, “Had enough?” andvoters responded that they had. Republicans,with majorities in bothhouses of Congress for the firsttime since 1928, were determinedto reverse the liberal direction of theRoosevelt years.Truman fought with the Congressas it cut spending and reduced taxes.In 1948 he sought reelection, despitepolls indicating that he had littlechance. After a vigorous campaign,Truman scored one of the great upsetsin American politics, defeatingthe Republican nominee, ThomasDewey, governor of New York. Revivingthe old New Deal coalition,Truman held on to labor, farmers,and African-American voters.When Truman finally left officein 1953, his Fair Deal was buta mixed success. In July 1948 hebanned racial discrimination in federalgovernment hiring practices andordered an end to segregation in themilitary. The minimum wage hadrisen, and social security programshad expanded. A housing programbrought some gains but left manyneeds unmet. National health insurance,aid-to-education measures,reformed agricultural subsidies,and his legislative civil rights agendanever made it through Congress.The president’s pursuit of the ColdWar, ultimately his most importantobjective, made it especially difficultto develop support for social reformin the face of intense opposition.EISENHOWER’S APPROACHWhen Dwight Eisenhower succeededTruman as president, he acceptedthe basic framework of governmentresponsibility establishedby the New Deal, but sought to holdthe line on programs and expenditures.He termed his approach “dynamicconservatism” or “modernRepublicanism,” which meant, he ex-268269