Truman and the Fair Deal at Home

Referring to the Civil War general who coined the phrase “War is hell,” Truman said in December 1945, “Sherman was wrong. I’m telling you I find peace is hell.” Challenged by crises abroad, Truman also faced shortages, strikes, inflation, and other problems as the economy shifted to peacetime production. At the same time, he tried to expand New Deal reform with his own Fair Deal agenda of initiatives in civil rights, housing, education, and health care—efforts hindered by the wave of anti-Communist hysteria sweeping the country. In sharp contrast to the bipartisan support Truman won for his foreign policy, he won little support from Congress for his domestic agenda.