Domestic Policy and Affairs

Truman was engaged with the foreign policies, and wasn’t as successful with the domestic affairs. He presented a new legislative program, similar to FDR’s “New Deal”, called the “Fair Deal”. This program stated that “every citizen had a right to expect a fair deal from the government”. Universal Health care, federal aid to education full and fair-employment-practices bills, federal control of the unemployment compensation program, low-cost housing, 75-cent minimum wage, and development of natural resources were included in the program. Yet, they weren’t approved and many of the initiatives didn’t pass.


To ensure the security at home, Truman passed the National Security Act of 1947 on January 26, 1947. The Act combined Department of War and Department of the Navy into Department of Defense strengthening the nation. Furthermore, Department of the Air Force and CIA were created from this act as well.

Truman also had to cope with the people’s fear of communism, known as the Second Red Scare. Initiated by U.S Senator Joseph McCarthy, civilians were falsely accused of communism without proper evidence. Hundreds were imprisoned and thousands either left or were fired from their jobs. Film industry and famous actors, aka the Hollywood Blacklist, were amongst the victims of McCarthyism. Truman called these practices "the use of the big lie and the unfounded accusation against any citizen in the name of Americanism or security. It is the rise to power of the demagogue who lives on untruth; it is the spreading of fear and the destruction of faith in every level of society.” He counter attacked by charging “that McCarthy’s attacks were in effect sabotaging the nation’s bipartisan foreign policy efforts and thus aiding the Soviet Union.”