Truman's Fair Deal

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The Fair Deal The Fair Deal was the nickname for President Harry Truman's domestic program he envisioned for his second term in office. President Truman thought he could build upon Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal, and use presidential power to increase the role of the federal government in every state and in every American life. Truman wanted the government to continue to ensure economic opportunity and social stability. Yet, as his second term began, America was beginning to enjoy economic prosperity, and as more Americans achieved their part of the American Dream, they became wary of the New Deal sort of social and public policies, programs, and regulations. Americans were not ready to give up their freedom to succeed in a capitalist world, and so President Truman had to…show more content…
He was able to get Congress to ban racial discrimination in federal government jobs, and he did sign an executive order to end to segregation in the military. His dream of raising the minimum wage came true, and under his leadership ten million more Americans could be a part of the social security programs Congress had expanded. A federal housing program for the urban poor brought as many problems as it did gains in that the public housing that evolved from this program did little more than replace a private landlord with a federal one. Big government and regulation chipped away even further at our freedoms as the federal government made social and economic decisions that before the progressive era had solely been within the power and freedom of the individual. Other parts of Truman’s Fair Deal never made it through Congress. He never lived to see the day when a national health insurance plan would be a safety net for all Americans. His dreams of programs that would provide financial aid to students and the civil rights laws he wanted Congress to pass never
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