1945 Roosevelt dies; Truman becomes president.
1946 Postwar labor unrest.
President's Committee on Civil Rights created.
George F. Kennan drafts containment policy.
United States grants independence to Philippines.
Employment Act.
Republicans gain control of Congress.
1947 National Security Act.
Truman announces Truman Doctrine.
U.S. aid to Greece and Turkey.
Truman establishes loyalty program.
Mendez v. Westminster.
1948 Marshall Plan approved.
Truman orders desegregation of military.
American GI Forum founded.
United States recognizes Israel.
Truman elected president.
1948–1949 Berlin crisis and airlift.
1949 Communists take over China.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) formed.
Soviet Union explodes atomic bomb.
1950 Senator Joseph McCarthy claims U.S. government harbors Communists.
Truman approves hydrogen bomb.
Korean War begins.
1951 Truman fires General Douglas MacArthur.
U.S. occupation of Japan ends.
1952 Dwight D. Eisenhower elected president.
1953 Korean War ends.