Chapter 24: Truman in Cold War America (1945-1952)

Individual Choices: Jackie Robinson

Jackie Robinson excelled in athletics in high school and college.
Participated in sports at Moyer Technical High School, Pasadena Junior College, and UCLA.
Lettered in four sports: track, baseball, football, and basketball.

Drafted into the army in 1941, joined the officer training corps.
Completed training in 1943, assigned to a segregated tank regiment.
Never deployed to Europe due to an alleged racial incident; court-martialed but acquitted.
Honorably discharged in November 1944.

Played for the Kansas City Monarchs (Negro Leagues) until recruited by Brooklyn Dodgers President Branch Rickey in 1945 to integrate Major League Baseball.
Led the Montreal Royals (Dodgers farm team) in batting and won the MVP in 1946.
Became the first African-American player in Major League Baseball on April 15, 1947.
Faced constant racial hostility and abuse but excelled on the field.
Won Rookie of the Year and played for the Dodgers for 10 seasons.
Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.

Containment Policy: Aimed to contain Soviet power in Western Europe and Asia.
Domino Theory: Commitment to preventing the spread of communism.
Cold War Impact: Affected all aspects of American life, leading to the second Red Scare.

Conservatives attacked unions as being too powerful.
Civil rights advocates faced accusations of socialist tendencies.
The House on American Activities Committee (HUAC) and Senator Joseph McCarthy led anti-communist efforts.

United Nations: Created in 1945 to promote international cooperation and peace.
IMF and World Bank: Established in 1944 at Dumbarton Oaks to support global economic development.
NATO: Formed in 1949 as a mutual defense alliance to contain communism.

Iron Curtain Speech: Winston Churchill, 1946, declaring an ideological barrier between Eastern and Western Europe.
Iran Crisis, 1946: Soviet troops remained in northern Iran past the deadline but eventually withdrew after US and UK intervention.
Berlin Airlift, 1948-1949: US and UK flew supplies to West Berlin amidst Soviet blockade.

The Truman Doctrine aimed to support free nations resisting communism, focusing on Greece and Turkey.
The Marshall Plan provided economic aid to rebuild Europe and prevent communist influence.

Soviet Union consolidated control over Eastern Europe via the Molotov Plan and coups like the one in Czechoslovakia.

China: Civil war resumed post-WWII, resulting in communist victory under Mao Zedong in 1949.
Korea: North Korea invaded South Korea in 1950, leading to US-led UN intervention; war ended in a stalemate in 1953.

Truman's Fair Deal: Extension of New Deal programs, focusing on social security, minimum wage, and housing.
Faced strong opposition and limited success from a conservative congress.
Civil Rights: Truman desegregated the armed forces and the federal workforce.

GI Bill: Provided veterans with education, housing, and job benefits.
Suburbs: Mass-produced homes, significantly in places like Levittown.
Racial and ethnic minorities faced ongoing discrimination in housing and jobs.
Women's Roles: Post-war era saw a push toward domestic life, though many women desired to continue working.

Red Scare: Fear of communist infiltration in the US government and other institutions.
HUAC: Targeted Hollywood and government officials suspected of communist ties.
McCarthyism: Senator Joseph McCarthy's claims of widespread communist infiltration sparked a national hysteria.
Notable cases included Alger Hiss and the Rosenbergs, heightening fears.

Post-WWII era marked by the onset of the Cold War, both internationally and domestically.
Truman's administration focused on containing communism and extending social reforms, though with limited success.
Suburbanization and the GI Bill reshaped American society, while the Red Scare fueled widespread fear and suspicion.