| 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 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 | |