The Fair Deal was a set of proposals put forward by U.S. president Harry S. Truman to Congress in 1945 and in his January 1949 State of the Union Address. More generally, the term characterizes the entire domestic agenda of the Truman administration, from 1945 to 1953. It offered new proposals to continue New Deal liberalism, but with a conservative coalition controlling Congress during most of Truman's presidency, only a few of its major initiatives became law and then only if they had considerable Republican Party support. As Richard Neustadt concludes, the most important proposals were aid to education, national health insurance, the Fair Employment Practices Commission, and repeal of the Taft–Hartley Act. They were all debated at length, then voted down. Nevertheless, enough smaller and less controversial items passed that liberals could claim some success.Richard E. Neustadt, "Congress and the Fair Deal: A Legislative Balance Sheet", Public Policy, 5 (1954): 349–81, reprinted in Alonzo L. Hamby ed., Harry S. Truman and the Fair Deal (1974), p. 29
The Korean War made military spending the nation's priority and killed almost the entire Fair Deal, but did encourage the pursuit of economic growth. Some of the Fair Deal's progressive policies were enacted piecemeal by legislation during Truman's time in office, and further enactments continued under the Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations, culminating in the sweeping tide of progressive legislation under Lyndon Johnson's Great Society agenda.
Philosophy A liberal Democrat of the Midwestern populist tradition, Truman was determined to both continue the legacy of the New Deal and to make Franklin Roosevelt's proposed Economic Bill of Rights a reality, while making his own mark on social policy.Mark S. Byrnes, The Truman Years 1945–1953
In a scholarly article published in 1972, historian Alonzo Hamby argued that the Fair Deal reflected the "vital center" approach to liberalism which rejected totalitarianism, was suspicious of excessive concentrations of government power, and "idealized the New Deal as an effort to establish a mixed economy that would preserve the essentials of capitalism while mitigating its abuses."Alonzo L. Hamby, "The Vital Center, the Fair Deal, and the Quest for a Liberal Political Economy", American Historical Review, June 1972, Vol. 77, Issue 3, pp. 653–78. . Solidly based upon the New Deal tradition in its advocacy of wide-ranging social legislation, the Fair Deal differed enough to claim a separate identity. The Great Depression did not return in the post-war era and the Fair Deal had to contend with prosperity and an optimistic future. The Fair Dealers thought in terms of abundance rather than the Depression era's scarcity.
Economist Leon Keyserling argued that the liberal task was to spread the benefits of abundance throughout society by stimulating economic growth. Agriculture Secretary Charles F. Brannan wanted to unleash the benefits of agricultural abundance and to encourage the development of an urban-rural Democratic coalition. However, the Brannan Plan was defeated by strong conservative opposition in the United States Congress, his unrealistic confidence in the possibility of uniting urban labor, and by farm owners who distrusted rural insurgency. The Korean War made military spending the nation's priority and thwarted some Fair Deal proposals, but did stimulate economic growth.Alonzo L. Hamby, "The Vital Center, the Fair Deal, and the Quest for a Liberal Political Economy", American Historical Review, June 1972, Vol. 77, Issue 3, pp. 653–78. .
Following the midterm elections in 1948, the House acquired a liberal majority, but the Senate remained under conservative control, as noted by The Elevator Constructor in 1949:
First of all, only one-third of the Senate is up for election every two years. In spite of the fact that the House has a narrow liberal majority, there are only 38 votes in the Senate wholeheartedly committed to the liberal program endorsed by the American voters last November.The Elevator Constructor Volumes 46–47 1949 P.1
Nevertheless, some of the Fair Deal's progressive policies were enacted by legislation during Truman's time in office, and further enactments continued under the Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations, culminating in the sweeping tide of progressive legislation under Lyndon Johnson's Great Society agenda.
1945 proposals In September 1945, Truman addressed Congress and presented a 21-point program of domestic legislation outlining a series of proposed actions in the fields of economic development and social welfare.Hamby, Alonzo L. Harry S. Truman and the Fair Deal (1974) page vii. The measures that Truman proposed to Congress included:Harry S. Truman: Special Message to the Congress Presenting a 21-Point Program for the Reconversion Period. Presidency.ucsb.edu. Retrieved on 2013-07-15.
Major improvements in the coverage and adequacy of the unemployment compensation system. Substantial increases in the minimum wage, together with broader coverage. The maintenance and extension of price controls to keep down the cost of living in the transition to a peacetime economy. A pragmatic approach towards drafting legislation eliminating wartime agencies and wartime controls, taking legal difficulties into account. Legislation to ensure full employment. Legislation to make the Fair Employment Practice Committee permanent. The maintenance of relations with both industry and unions. The extension of the United States Employment Service to provide jobs for demobilized military personnel. Increased aid to farmers. The removal of the restrictions on eligibility for voluntary enlistment and allowing the armed forces to enlist a greater number of volunteers. The enactment of broad and comprehensive housing legislation. The establishment of a single Federal research agency. A major revision of the taxation system. The encouragement of surplus-property disposal. Greater levels of assistance to small businesses. Improvements in federal aid to war veterans. A major expansion of public works, conserving and building up natural resources. The encouragement of post-war reconstruction and settling the obligations of the Lend-Lease Act. The introduction of a decent pay scale for all Federal Government employees—executive, legislative, and judicial. The promotion of the sale of ships to remove the uncertainty regarding the disposal of America's large surplus tonnage following the end of hostilities. Legislation to bring about the acquisition and retention of stockpiles of materials necessary for meeting the defense needs of the nation.
Finally, Truman announced that he would soon "communicate with the Congress recommending a national health program to provide adequate medical care for all Americans and to protect them from financial loss and hardships resulting from illness and accident." (See the Healthcare section below.)
Truman did not send proposed legislation to Congress; he expected Congress to draft the bills. Many of these proposed reforms, however, were never realized due to the opposition of the conservative majority in Congress, further solidified after the Republicans took control of both houses in the 1946 midterm elections. Despite these setbacks, Truman's proposals to Congress became more and more abundant over the course of his presidency, and by 1948 a legislative program that was more comprehensive came to be known as the "Fair Deal".Hamby, Harry S. Truman and the Fair Deal, page 15.
1949 proposals In his 1949 State of the Union address to Congress on January 5, 1949, Truman stated that "Every segment of our population, and every individual, has a right to expect from his government a fair deal." The proposed measures included:The Truman Years 1945–1953 by Mark S. Byrnes
federal aid to education,Truman delivers his Fair Deal speech –This Day in History – 1/5/1949. History.com. Retrieved on 2013-07-15. a large tax cut for low-income earnersTruman to Carter: A post-War History of the United States of America by Peter J. Mooney and Colin Brown the abolition of poll taxes an anti-lynching law a permanent Fair Employment Practices Commission a farm aid program increased public housing an immigration bill new TVA-style public works projects the establishment of a new Department of Welfare the repeal of the Taft–Hartley Act, regulating the activities of labor unions an increase in the minimum wage from 40 to 75 cents an hour national health insurance expanded Social Security coverage, and a $4 billion tax increase to reduce the national debt and finance these programs.
Despite a mixed record of legislative success, the Fair Deal remains significant in establishing the call for universal health care as a rallying cry for the Democratic Party. Lyndon B. Johnson credited Truman's unfulfilled program as influencing Great Society measures such as Medicare that Johnson successfully pushed through Congress during the 1960s.Hamby 1995
Opposition and progress The Fair Deal reforms helped to transform the United States from a wartime economy to a peacetime economy."The Fair Deal". United States History. 30 Mar. 2008 <http://countrystudies.us/united-states/history-115.htm>. In the context of postwar reconstruction and the Cold War, the Fair Deal sought to preserve and extend the liberal tradition of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal. However, the Fair Deal faced much opposition from the many conservative politicians who wanted a reduced role of the federal government. During these postwar years, the nation enjoyed a return to prosperity not seen since before the Great Depression, and support for conservative politicians grew.De Luna, Phyllis Komarek. Public Versus Private Power During the Truman Administration : a Study of Fair Deal Liberalism. New York: Peter Lang, 1997. 35–36.
The Fair Deal faced opposition by a coalition of conservative Republicans and predominantly southern conservative Democrats. However, despite strong opposition, there were elements of Truman's agenda that did win congressional approval, such as the public housing subsidies cosponsored by Republican Robert A. Taft under the 1949 National Housing Act, which funded slum clearance and the construction of 810,000 units of low-income housing over a period of six years.Robert A. Taft, The Papers of Robert A. Taft: 1949–1953 edited by Clarence E. Wunderlin (2006) p. 81
Truman was also helped by the election of a Democratic Congress in 1948. According to Eric Leif Davin, the 1949–50 Congress 'was the most liberal Congress since 1938 and produced more "New-Deal-Fair Deal" legislation than any Congress between 1938 and Johnson's Great Society of the mid-1960s." As noted by political scientist Richard Neustadt, a former adviser to President Truman:
This was the Congress that reformed the Displaced Persons Act, increased the minimum wage, doubled the hospital construction program, authorized the National Science Foundation and the rural telephone program, suspended the 'sliding scale' on price supports, extended the soil conservation program, provided new grants for planning state and local public works and plugged the long-standing merger loophole in the Clayton Act...Moreover, as protector, as defender, wielder of the veto against encroachments on the liberal preserve, Truman left a record of considerable success – an aspect of the Fair Deal not to be discounted.