Why did Truman have limited success in implementing his domestic agenda?

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, and inflation as the economy shifted to peacetime production. At the same time, he tried to expand the New Deal 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 achieved few domestic reforms.

> CHRONOLOGY

1946
  • Postwar labor unrest affects major industries.

  • President’s Committee on Civil Rights created.

  • Employment Act passes.

  • Republicans gain control of Congress.

1947
  • Mendez v. Westminster decided.

1948
  • Truman orders desegregation of military.

  • American GI Forum founded.

  • Truman elected president.

1950
  • Senator Joseph McCarthy claims U.S. government harbors Communists.