2Q - The United States in 1945 and the legacies of the world war: the powers of the presidency
Learn why victory left the United States powerful and prosperous, yet divided, and how its institutions shaped what a president could achieve.
Victory and the presidency
Victory in 1945 strengthened the United States internationally while creating a difficult transition at home. Unlike much of Europe and Asia, its industrial heartland had escaped physical destruction. Wartime production had overcome Depression unemployment and expanded factories, scientific research and the federal government. The USA possessed the atomic bomb and could supply countries whose economies had been shattered. These advantages gave Americans reasons to expect security and rising living standards, but expectations were easier to create than to fulfil.
Franklin Roosevelt's death on 12 April 1945 made Vice-President Harry S. Truman president. Truman inherited the enlarged authority of the New Deal and wartime presidency. The Constitution made him chief executive, commander-in-chief and the leading figure in diplomacy. He could appoint officials and judges, subject to Senate confirmation; propose legislation; veto bills; and issue executive orders directing the federal administration. Wartime leadership, radio addresses and Roosevelt's national electoral authority had given the office influence beyond these formal powers. Truman inherited office as the elected vice-president; he secured his own presidential election only in 1948.
The presidency was nevertheless constrained. Congress controlled legislation and spending and could override a veto with two-thirds majorities in both houses. The Senate had to consent to treaties. Courts could declare executive action unconstitutional; state and local governments retained major responsibilities for education, policing and voting arrangements. A president could direct the armed forces more readily than compel every state to abandon segregation. Roosevelt's personal authority was also not automatically transferred to Truman. The new president therefore possessed formidable resources, but needed allies and workable legal powers to turn a policy into action. The division of authority is set out in the Constitution's articles on Congress and the executive.
Federalism
A division of governmental authority between the national government and the states. A dispute over states' rights could therefore concern who had power to act, as well as what policy should be adopted.
Parties and coalitions
The two main parties were coalitions of groups with different priorities, rather than organisations whose members agreed on every issue. The Democrats had won the presidency since 1932. Their New Deal coalition joined organised labour, many urban ethnic communities, increasing numbers of African-American voters in northern cities, liberal reformers and the white South. Northern liberals often favoured federal economic protection and civil rights. Southern Democrats defended low taxes, limited federal interference and racial segregation. Their long congressional service gave them influential committee positions, so they could obstruct a Democratic president.
The Republicans generally stressed private enterprise, restraint in federal spending and opposition to aspects of the New Deal. Their support was strong among business interests, many middle-class voters and rural communities outside the South. Conservative Republicans such as Robert Taft wanted to restrict government and union power; more moderate or internationalist Republicans accepted much of the welfare settlement and supported a continuing world role. Neither party can simply be described as wholly liberal, conservative or isolationist.
A conservative coalition of Republicans and Southern Democrats could block reform in Congress across party lines. This explains a recurring puzzle of the Truman years: electing a Democratic president did not guarantee a liberal congressional programme. Black voters could also support northern Democrats while facing suppression by southern Democratic authorities. Analyse the region and issue, rather than assuming that a party label identifies a single attitude.
Continue this lesson.
You’re previewing NovaLearn without an account. Create a free account to read the rest.
Create free account