S. David Broscious
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- November 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780198294689
- eISBN:
- 9780191601538
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198294689.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
Although Harry Truman embraced the idea of a ’nuclear revolution’, he also remained convinced that, despite this revolution, other environmental factors still held force – namely, international ...
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Although Harry Truman embraced the idea of a ’nuclear revolution’, he also remained convinced that, despite this revolution, other environmental factors still held force – namely, international anarchy, aggression, and the need to defend against aggression. In short, there was a clash within Truman's mind between the imperatives of the nuclear age and of the anarchic international system within which the nuclear revolution evolved. While hoping that an international control system could eliminate the prospect of nuclear war and foster the peaceful use of the atom, he was also ready and willing to rely on US lead in the field of nuclear energy to contain the horrors inherent in nuclear war. Having defined the Soviet Union as a non‐cooperative partner and as a threat, Truman accepted the need for American nuclear superiority in order to deter Soviet aggression and prevent nuclear war.Less
Although Harry Truman embraced the idea of a ’nuclear revolution’, he also remained convinced that, despite this revolution, other environmental factors still held force – namely, international anarchy, aggression, and the need to defend against aggression. In short, there was a clash within Truman's mind between the imperatives of the nuclear age and of the anarchic international system within which the nuclear revolution evolved. While hoping that an international control system could eliminate the prospect of nuclear war and foster the peaceful use of the atom, he was also ready and willing to rely on US lead in the field of nuclear energy to contain the horrors inherent in nuclear war. Having defined the Soviet Union as a non‐cooperative partner and as a threat, Truman accepted the need for American nuclear superiority in order to deter Soviet aggression and prevent nuclear war.
Robert Mickey
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691133386
- eISBN:
- 9781400838783
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691133386.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
This chapter examines President Harry S. Truman's commitment of the National Democratic Party to the cause of racial equality and the responses to them by Deep South authoritarian enclaves. It first ...
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This chapter examines President Harry S. Truman's commitment of the National Democratic Party to the cause of racial equality and the responses to them by Deep South authoritarian enclaves. It first provides an overview of the central state, national party, and southern enclaves during the period 1932–1946 before discussing the causes and consequences of the revolt by the States' Rights Party (SRP), also known as the Dixiecrats. It then considers southern enclaves' growing unease with the national party through the 1930s and 1940s, along with the experiences of South Carolina, Mississippi, and Georgia. It shows that the Truman shock and responses to it varied within the Deep South depending on different configurations of intraparty conflict and party–state institutions.Less
This chapter examines President Harry S. Truman's commitment of the National Democratic Party to the cause of racial equality and the responses to them by Deep South authoritarian enclaves. It first provides an overview of the central state, national party, and southern enclaves during the period 1932–1946 before discussing the causes and consequences of the revolt by the States' Rights Party (SRP), also known as the Dixiecrats. It then considers southern enclaves' growing unease with the national party through the 1930s and 1940s, along with the experiences of South Carolina, Mississippi, and Georgia. It shows that the Truman shock and responses to it varied within the Deep South depending on different configurations of intraparty conflict and party–state institutions.
Amanda Kay McVety
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199796915
- eISBN:
- 9780199933266
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199796915.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, American History: 20th Century, World Modern History
Truman introduced the idea of Point Four during his 1949 inaugural address, because he was convinced that America’s future depended upon the development of the underdeveloped world and he was certain ...
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Truman introduced the idea of Point Four during his 1949 inaugural address, because he was convinced that America’s future depended upon the development of the underdeveloped world and he was certain that that development could not happen without U.S. assistance. Poor nations anywhere threatened America’s influence everywhere, he insisted, so they needed to become not-poor. Growth theory economics argued that any nation could become developed if it adopted the right policies and had the right opportunities. The United States was going to help ensure that its allies got both and, in the process, that its allies became strong and stable. When the Korean War erupted, American aid rapidly expanded, with economic, technical, and military aid wrapped up together under the aegis of the new Mutual Security Program, which would last throughout the 1950s. By the time Truman left office, foreign aid had become an accepted tool of foreign policy.Less
Truman introduced the idea of Point Four during his 1949 inaugural address, because he was convinced that America’s future depended upon the development of the underdeveloped world and he was certain that that development could not happen without U.S. assistance. Poor nations anywhere threatened America’s influence everywhere, he insisted, so they needed to become not-poor. Growth theory economics argued that any nation could become developed if it adopted the right policies and had the right opportunities. The United States was going to help ensure that its allies got both and, in the process, that its allies became strong and stable. When the Korean War erupted, American aid rapidly expanded, with economic, technical, and military aid wrapped up together under the aegis of the new Mutual Security Program, which would last throughout the 1950s. By the time Truman left office, foreign aid had become an accepted tool of foreign policy.
John Gaddis, Philip Gordon, Ernest May, and Jonathan Rosenberg (eds)
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- November 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780198294689
- eISBN:
- 9780191601538
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198294689.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
This book aims to promote debate about John Mueller's thesis that questions whether nuclear weapons had revolutionary effects in international relations. By bringing together evidence of how ten Cold ...
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This book aims to promote debate about John Mueller's thesis that questions whether nuclear weapons had revolutionary effects in international relations. By bringing together evidence of how ten Cold War statesmen thought about nuclear weapons, especially at moments when they had to contemplate setting in motion chains of events that might present them with a clear choice of using or not using them, it concludes that nuclear weapons did play the determining role in making great‐power war obsolete. The essays deal not only with Truman, Churchill, and Stalin but also with Truman's immediate successors: Dwight Eisenhower and John Kennedy; Stalin's successor, Nikita Khrushchev; Eisenhower's Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles; and three leaders of other nations: France's Charles de Gaulle, Germany's Konrad Adenauer, and China's Mao Zedong.Less
This book aims to promote debate about John Mueller's thesis that questions whether nuclear weapons had revolutionary effects in international relations. By bringing together evidence of how ten Cold War statesmen thought about nuclear weapons, especially at moments when they had to contemplate setting in motion chains of events that might present them with a clear choice of using or not using them, it concludes that nuclear weapons did play the determining role in making great‐power war obsolete. The essays deal not only with Truman, Churchill, and Stalin but also with Truman's immediate successors: Dwight Eisenhower and John Kennedy; Stalin's successor, Nikita Khrushchev; Eisenhower's Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles; and three leaders of other nations: France's Charles de Gaulle, Germany's Konrad Adenauer, and China's Mao Zedong.
Desmond King
- Published in print:
- 1997
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198292494
- eISBN:
- 9780191599682
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019829249X.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
Examines post‐Reconstruction race relations—focusing mainly from 1856–1964—and outlines the legal and political factors permitting its dissemination. King formulates segregation as an arrangement ...
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Examines post‐Reconstruction race relations—focusing mainly from 1856–1964—and outlines the legal and political factors permitting its dissemination. King formulates segregation as an arrangement whereby Black Americans, as a minority, were systematically treated in separate, but constitutionally sanctioned, ways. He examines various laws and policies that condoned segregation ever since the Supreme Court accepted the ‘separate but equal’ doctrine as a justification of segregation in 1896 up until the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. King also examines the congressional and presidential politics of race relations under the administrations of Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Harry Truman.Less
Examines post‐Reconstruction race relations—focusing mainly from 1856–1964—and outlines the legal and political factors permitting its dissemination. King formulates segregation as an arrangement whereby Black Americans, as a minority, were systematically treated in separate, but constitutionally sanctioned, ways. He examines various laws and policies that condoned segregation ever since the Supreme Court accepted the ‘separate but equal’ doctrine as a justification of segregation in 1896 up until the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. King also examines the congressional and presidential politics of race relations under the administrations of Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Harry Truman.
John Acacia
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813125510
- eISBN:
- 9780813135304
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813125510.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Military History
Although not a household name, Clark Clifford (1906–1998) advised Democratic presidents from Harry S. Truman to Lyndon B. Johnson. The author, American History Professor at William Paterson ...
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Although not a household name, Clark Clifford (1906–1998) advised Democratic presidents from Harry S. Truman to Lyndon B. Johnson. The author, American History Professor at William Paterson University, has absorbed a mass of material and delivers an insightful if not always flattering biography. Fiercely ambitious, Clifford was a successful St. Louis lawyer when Truman, a fellow Missourian, became president in 1945. A senior colleague invited Clifford to Washington, where within a year his organizational skills won him promotion to Truman's special counsel. Happy to take credit for Truman's spectacular 1948 election upset, Clifford kept his reputation as a political genius for the next 20 years, although his opposition to sending troops to Vietnam put him in Johnson's doghouse until 1968, when—thanks to the possibility of peace talks and his own deft maneuvering—he replaced Robert McNamara as secretary of defense. This political biography concentrates on Washington infighting, position papers, memos, debates, and quarrels on subjects ranging from the trivial to the world-shaking. Clifford comes across as a clear-eyed political strategist with genuinely noble ideals, but who looked after his own interests, often claiming others' ideas as his own and parlay[ing] his government service into a lucrative private legal career.Less
Although not a household name, Clark Clifford (1906–1998) advised Democratic presidents from Harry S. Truman to Lyndon B. Johnson. The author, American History Professor at William Paterson University, has absorbed a mass of material and delivers an insightful if not always flattering biography. Fiercely ambitious, Clifford was a successful St. Louis lawyer when Truman, a fellow Missourian, became president in 1945. A senior colleague invited Clifford to Washington, where within a year his organizational skills won him promotion to Truman's special counsel. Happy to take credit for Truman's spectacular 1948 election upset, Clifford kept his reputation as a political genius for the next 20 years, although his opposition to sending troops to Vietnam put him in Johnson's doghouse until 1968, when—thanks to the possibility of peace talks and his own deft maneuvering—he replaced Robert McNamara as secretary of defense. This political biography concentrates on Washington infighting, position papers, memos, debates, and quarrels on subjects ranging from the trivial to the world-shaking. Clifford comes across as a clear-eyed political strategist with genuinely noble ideals, but who looked after his own interests, often claiming others' ideas as his own and parlay[ing] his government service into a lucrative private legal career.
Desmond King
- Published in print:
- 1997
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198292494
- eISBN:
- 9780191599682
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019829249X.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
Explores segregation in the military and resistance to its abolition ever since the founding of the country and the War of Independence to President Truman's 1947 Committee on Civil Rights and well ...
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Explores segregation in the military and resistance to its abolition ever since the founding of the country and the War of Independence to President Truman's 1947 Committee on Civil Rights and well into the 1960s. King examines original transcripts of testimony before Truman's committee and other investigations into segregation especially prior to and during the Second World War. He also looks at the policies and reports of the American Navy, Marine Corps, and the Army as well as those of Black American soldiers stationed abroad in Britain and Europe. Throughout the chapter, he traces the tensions arising from the war's premise to promote democracy in the new global community while tolerating the suppression of civil rights domestically.Less
Explores segregation in the military and resistance to its abolition ever since the founding of the country and the War of Independence to President Truman's 1947 Committee on Civil Rights and well into the 1960s. King examines original transcripts of testimony before Truman's committee and other investigations into segregation especially prior to and during the Second World War. He also looks at the policies and reports of the American Navy, Marine Corps, and the Army as well as those of Black American soldiers stationed abroad in Britain and Europe. Throughout the chapter, he traces the tensions arising from the war's premise to promote democracy in the new global community while tolerating the suppression of civil rights domestically.
Amanda Kay McVety
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199796915
- eISBN:
- 9780199933266
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199796915.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, American History: 20th Century, World Modern History
In 1949, the U.S. House of Representatives opened hearings H.R. 5615, the “International Technical Cooperation Act of 1949.” While discussing the specific act, which had grown out of Truman’s ...
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In 1949, the U.S. House of Representatives opened hearings H.R. 5615, the “International Technical Cooperation Act of 1949.” While discussing the specific act, which had grown out of Truman’s inaugural address earlier that year, the Congressmen discussed the much larger question of the value of using economic and technical assistance as foreign policy tools. In the end, they voted for foreign aid and established the Point Four Program. Using Ethiopia as a test case, this book explores the consequences of that decision.Less
In 1949, the U.S. House of Representatives opened hearings H.R. 5615, the “International Technical Cooperation Act of 1949.” While discussing the specific act, which had grown out of Truman’s inaugural address earlier that year, the Congressmen discussed the much larger question of the value of using economic and technical assistance as foreign policy tools. In the end, they voted for foreign aid and established the Point Four Program. Using Ethiopia as a test case, this book explores the consequences of that decision.
John Acacia
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813125510
- eISBN:
- 9780813135304
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813125510.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, Military History
Relegated to a largely ceremonial role when he first arrived at the White House, Clark Clifford succeeded in parlaying proximity to power into an actual position of power. When President Harry S. ...
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Relegated to a largely ceremonial role when he first arrived at the White House, Clark Clifford succeeded in parlaying proximity to power into an actual position of power. When President Harry S. Truman was confronted with his first major crisis, the labor wars of 1946, Clifford's wise counsel enabled the president not only to weather the storm but also to emerge a stronger leader. Clifford helped Truman sidestep a political disaster brought on by a wayward cabinet member whom Truman had usurped as vice president and who believed that by rights the presidency should have been his. A master at synthesizing the ideas of others, Clifford served as a conduit for getting policy proposals to the president while burnishing his own reputation. Initially relegated to what he called the role of a “potted palm,” Clifford soon ascended to a position commensurate with his talent and ambition: special counsel to the president.Less
Relegated to a largely ceremonial role when he first arrived at the White House, Clark Clifford succeeded in parlaying proximity to power into an actual position of power. When President Harry S. Truman was confronted with his first major crisis, the labor wars of 1946, Clifford's wise counsel enabled the president not only to weather the storm but also to emerge a stronger leader. Clifford helped Truman sidestep a political disaster brought on by a wayward cabinet member whom Truman had usurped as vice president and who believed that by rights the presidency should have been his. A master at synthesizing the ideas of others, Clifford served as a conduit for getting policy proposals to the president while burnishing his own reputation. Initially relegated to what he called the role of a “potted palm,” Clifford soon ascended to a position commensurate with his talent and ambition: special counsel to the president.
John Acacia
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813125510
- eISBN:
- 9780813135304
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813125510.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, Military History
In November 1947, Clark Clifford presented President Harry S. Truman with a memorandum entitled “The Politics of 1948,” a 43-page study that outlined a strategy for the 1948 presidential race. Truman ...
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In November 1947, Clark Clifford presented President Harry S. Truman with a memorandum entitled “The Politics of 1948,” a 43-page study that outlined a strategy for the 1948 presidential race. Truman was still considered a caretaker president, and his defeat by a then-unidentified Republican challenger seemed to be a foregone conclusion. Truman, however, would eventually score the greatest political upset of the twentieth century when he defeated Thomas Dewey in November 1948. The Clifford memorandum was incredibly prescient, accurately predicting that Dewey would be the Republican candidate and that Henry Wallace would run as a third-party candidate. In some cases it badly missed the mark, failing to foresee the southern backlash against Truman's civil rights policies. In addition, it is debatable how much the memo influenced Truman, whose political instincts were fairly acute; but in one respect its influence was without question: it bestowed remarkable benefits on its author.Less
In November 1947, Clark Clifford presented President Harry S. Truman with a memorandum entitled “The Politics of 1948,” a 43-page study that outlined a strategy for the 1948 presidential race. Truman was still considered a caretaker president, and his defeat by a then-unidentified Republican challenger seemed to be a foregone conclusion. Truman, however, would eventually score the greatest political upset of the twentieth century when he defeated Thomas Dewey in November 1948. The Clifford memorandum was incredibly prescient, accurately predicting that Dewey would be the Republican candidate and that Henry Wallace would run as a third-party candidate. In some cases it badly missed the mark, failing to foresee the southern backlash against Truman's civil rights policies. In addition, it is debatable how much the memo influenced Truman, whose political instincts were fairly acute; but in one respect its influence was without question: it bestowed remarkable benefits on its author.
John Acacia
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813125510
- eISBN:
- 9780813135304
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813125510.003.0008
- Subject:
- History, Military History
Clark Clifford's new office was only four blocks from the White House. Clifford took on but one partner, Edward H. Miller, a lawyer from the Justice Department whom Clifford knew from St. Louis. ...
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Clark Clifford's new office was only four blocks from the White House. Clifford took on but one partner, Edward H. Miller, a lawyer from the Justice Department whom Clifford knew from St. Louis. Although he was an avowed liberal and a former adviser to Harry S. Truman, Clifford diligently worked to transform himself into someone that corporate America could be comfortable with. On November 15, 1949, a week before news of his departure was leaked to the press, Clifford gave a speech before the annual dinner of the Grocery Manufacturers Association. The speech, entitled “Business and the Government's Program,” stressed his conception of a symbiotic partnership between business and government. Much of the speech involved a defense and explanation of the Fair Deal as well as the Truman administration's foreign policy, but Clifford likely viewed the speech as an opportunity to present himself as an ally to the business community.Less
Clark Clifford's new office was only four blocks from the White House. Clifford took on but one partner, Edward H. Miller, a lawyer from the Justice Department whom Clifford knew from St. Louis. Although he was an avowed liberal and a former adviser to Harry S. Truman, Clifford diligently worked to transform himself into someone that corporate America could be comfortable with. On November 15, 1949, a week before news of his departure was leaked to the press, Clifford gave a speech before the annual dinner of the Grocery Manufacturers Association. The speech, entitled “Business and the Government's Program,” stressed his conception of a symbiotic partnership between business and government. Much of the speech involved a defense and explanation of the Fair Deal as well as the Truman administration's foreign policy, but Clifford likely viewed the speech as an opportunity to present himself as an ally to the business community.
Robert Wuthnow
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691150550
- eISBN:
- 9781400839759
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691150550.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
This chapter examines how the people of Kansas retreated into a quiet centrist conservatism that was relatively more bipartisan and apolitical than would have been expected, especially in a state ...
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This chapter examines how the people of Kansas retreated into a quiet centrist conservatism that was relatively more bipartisan and apolitical than would have been expected, especially in a state with such a long Republican history. The conservatism of the period included rare hints of the more aggressive political and religious movements that were to brand the region as part of the red state Middle West in later decades. The chapter first considers the increasing feeling of political isolation in Kansas that was evident by the end of Franklin D. Roosevelt's second term. It then looks at the rise of Harry S. Truman as U.S. president after Roosevelt's death on April 12, 1945, along with Kansans' renewed emphasis on homes, hometowns, and hometown religion as the essential ingredients of Middle West life. It also discusses the religious situation in Kansas during the administration of Dwight D. Eisenhower.Less
This chapter examines how the people of Kansas retreated into a quiet centrist conservatism that was relatively more bipartisan and apolitical than would have been expected, especially in a state with such a long Republican history. The conservatism of the period included rare hints of the more aggressive political and religious movements that were to brand the region as part of the red state Middle West in later decades. The chapter first considers the increasing feeling of political isolation in Kansas that was evident by the end of Franklin D. Roosevelt's second term. It then looks at the rise of Harry S. Truman as U.S. president after Roosevelt's death on April 12, 1945, along with Kansans' renewed emphasis on homes, hometowns, and hometown religion as the essential ingredients of Middle West life. It also discusses the religious situation in Kansas during the administration of Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Jeffrey D. Gonda
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9781469625454
- eISBN:
- 9781469625478
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469625454.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, African-American History
The fourth chapter considers how and why the Department of Justice chose to intervene on the NAACP’s behalf in the cases. It explores the overlapping political pressures influencing President Harry ...
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The fourth chapter considers how and why the Department of Justice chose to intervene on the NAACP’s behalf in the cases. It explores the overlapping political pressures influencing President Harry S. Truman’s administration and the growth of a newly strengthened partnership between the NAACP and the federal government in the nation’s courts. The chapter then examines the presentation of the cases before Supreme Court and the substance of Chief Justice Fred Vinson’s opinions in favor of the NAACP’s clients in Shelley v. Kraemer and Hurd v. Hodge. Finally, the chapter assesses some of the popular reactions to the outcome of the cases and what black communities hoped the victory would signal in the years ahead.Less
The fourth chapter considers how and why the Department of Justice chose to intervene on the NAACP’s behalf in the cases. It explores the overlapping political pressures influencing President Harry S. Truman’s administration and the growth of a newly strengthened partnership between the NAACP and the federal government in the nation’s courts. The chapter then examines the presentation of the cases before Supreme Court and the substance of Chief Justice Fred Vinson’s opinions in favor of the NAACP’s clients in Shelley v. Kraemer and Hurd v. Hodge. Finally, the chapter assesses some of the popular reactions to the outcome of the cases and what black communities hoped the victory would signal in the years ahead.
John Acacia
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813125510
- eISBN:
- 9780813135304
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813125510.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, Military History
Clark Clifford and James Forrestal met and decided to prepare a memorandum for Harry S. Truman, which, as they put it, “would outline the central question of which of the two systems in moral ...
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Clark Clifford and James Forrestal met and decided to prepare a memorandum for Harry S. Truman, which, as they put it, “would outline the central question of which of the two systems in moral contention would survive.” Clifford's concern was that with the Democrats controlling the White House and the Republicans Congress, the usual partisan bickering would prevent the government from adopting a bipartisan strategy to deal with the threat of communism. The product of their discussion was a memorandum that was drafted by Forrestal aide Marx Leva and sent to Clifford. The memorandum warned that the country cannot afford the deceptive luxury of waging defensive warfare. As in the war of 1941–45, their victory and survival depended on how and where they attacked. The stridency of the warning, combined with Forrestal's reputation as an ideologically passionate cold warrior, suggests that the Leva memorandum was much more a product of Forrestal than a collaborative effort.Less
Clark Clifford and James Forrestal met and decided to prepare a memorandum for Harry S. Truman, which, as they put it, “would outline the central question of which of the two systems in moral contention would survive.” Clifford's concern was that with the Democrats controlling the White House and the Republicans Congress, the usual partisan bickering would prevent the government from adopting a bipartisan strategy to deal with the threat of communism. The product of their discussion was a memorandum that was drafted by Forrestal aide Marx Leva and sent to Clifford. The memorandum warned that the country cannot afford the deceptive luxury of waging defensive warfare. As in the war of 1941–45, their victory and survival depended on how and where they attacked. The stridency of the warning, combined with Forrestal's reputation as an ideologically passionate cold warrior, suggests that the Leva memorandum was much more a product of Forrestal than a collaborative effort.
John Acacia
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813125510
- eISBN:
- 9780813135304
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813125510.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, Military History
Clark Clifford's memoirs begin with his May 1948 showdown with George Marshall over the question of whether Harry S. Truman should grant recognition to the soon-to-be-declared State of Israel. ...
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Clark Clifford's memoirs begin with his May 1948 showdown with George Marshall over the question of whether Harry S. Truman should grant recognition to the soon-to-be-declared State of Israel. Clifford tells the story with dramatic flair, almost in David and Goliath terms, pointing out that Truman regarded Marshall as “the greatest living American.” The implication is that Clifford's stature paled in comparison to Marshall's. While it is true that Marshall was a war hero revered by Truman, and indeed the nation, Clifford's influence with Truman was at least equal to, if not greater than, Marshall's. According to Clifford's account, Truman and Marshall were on a “collision course over Mideast policy,” which threatened the viability of the administration, not to mention Truman's reelection bid. The Jewish vote was not numerically significant—Jews made up only four percent of the electorate—but it was concentrated in a few key states, particularly New York.Less
Clark Clifford's memoirs begin with his May 1948 showdown with George Marshall over the question of whether Harry S. Truman should grant recognition to the soon-to-be-declared State of Israel. Clifford tells the story with dramatic flair, almost in David and Goliath terms, pointing out that Truman regarded Marshall as “the greatest living American.” The implication is that Clifford's stature paled in comparison to Marshall's. While it is true that Marshall was a war hero revered by Truman, and indeed the nation, Clifford's influence with Truman was at least equal to, if not greater than, Marshall's. According to Clifford's account, Truman and Marshall were on a “collision course over Mideast policy,” which threatened the viability of the administration, not to mention Truman's reelection bid. The Jewish vote was not numerically significant—Jews made up only four percent of the electorate—but it was concentrated in a few key states, particularly New York.
Steven G. Calabresi and Christopher S. Yoo
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300121261
- eISBN:
- 9780300145380
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300121261.003.0040
- Subject:
- Law, Constitutional and Administrative Law
This chapter focuses on Harry S Truman, who became president at a time when the world was consumed by war. Truman's decisive and tough character, however, portrayed him as “a supremely tough, ...
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This chapter focuses on Harry S Truman, who became president at a time when the world was consumed by war. Truman's decisive and tough character, however, portrayed him as “a supremely tough, decisive leader” who, from the start, was completely in control of his entire administration. Despite his initial determination to continue Roosevelt's policies, Truman soon realized that “there could be no Truman administration unless he had his own people in office.” He therefore acted swiftly to assemble his own White House staff. Six months into his presidency, only three of the ten cabinet members Truman had inherited from FDR remained. When cabinet members did not execute the law in accordance with his wishes, Truman did not hesitate to remove them or force them to resign.Less
This chapter focuses on Harry S Truman, who became president at a time when the world was consumed by war. Truman's decisive and tough character, however, portrayed him as “a supremely tough, decisive leader” who, from the start, was completely in control of his entire administration. Despite his initial determination to continue Roosevelt's policies, Truman soon realized that “there could be no Truman administration unless he had his own people in office.” He therefore acted swiftly to assemble his own White House staff. Six months into his presidency, only three of the ten cabinet members Truman had inherited from FDR remained. When cabinet members did not execute the law in accordance with his wishes, Truman did not hesitate to remove them or force them to resign.
John Acacia
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813125510
- eISBN:
- 9780813135304
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813125510.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, Military History
Clark Clifford believed that the Cold War began on September 24, 1946, the day he presented a report. In Clifford's opinion, the Clifford–Elsey report, as it has come to be known, “contained the ...
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Clark Clifford believed that the Cold War began on September 24, 1946, the day he presented a report. In Clifford's opinion, the Clifford–Elsey report, as it has come to be known, “contained the seeds of the Marshall Plan, the seeds of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and the basic principles upon which the President relied for the Truman Doctrine.” Most historians credit George Elsey as the primary author, despite Clifford's boasts that he wrote it. Perhaps more significant is that to the extent that it was important and influential, it was due to Elsey's conviction and sheer tenacity. Harry S. Truman had a very limited assignment in mind when he requested the report, and that is likely the reason he gave the assignment to Clifford. Elsey convinced Clifford, who in turn convinced Truman, that a more comprehensive study was needed.Less
Clark Clifford believed that the Cold War began on September 24, 1946, the day he presented a report. In Clifford's opinion, the Clifford–Elsey report, as it has come to be known, “contained the seeds of the Marshall Plan, the seeds of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and the basic principles upon which the President relied for the Truman Doctrine.” Most historians credit George Elsey as the primary author, despite Clifford's boasts that he wrote it. Perhaps more significant is that to the extent that it was important and influential, it was due to Elsey's conviction and sheer tenacity. Harry S. Truman had a very limited assignment in mind when he requested the report, and that is likely the reason he gave the assignment to Clifford. Elsey convinced Clifford, who in turn convinced Truman, that a more comprehensive study was needed.
Shane J. Maddock
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- July 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780807833551
- eISBN:
- 9781469604220
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/9780807895849_maddock.6
- Subject:
- History, World Modern History
This chapter examines the development of nuclear weapons during World War II and early efforts to control their spread. It opens with a warning from physicist James Franck to President Harry S. ...
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This chapter examines the development of nuclear weapons during World War II and early efforts to control their spread. It opens with a warning from physicist James Franck to President Harry S. Truman in September 1945 that “the idea that there exists a secret formula [for the atomic bomb] which can be guarded in its entirety” should be dismissed “as too stupid even for the movies and the funny papers.” The chapter notes that the president ignored this warning and soon pledged publicly that the United States would hold its atomic monopoly as “a sacred trust” until “world cooperation for peace” achieved “a state of perfection.” It notes that political and military leaders dismissed such physicists as starry-eyed idealists, but events soon exposed policymakers as the deluded ones.Less
This chapter examines the development of nuclear weapons during World War II and early efforts to control their spread. It opens with a warning from physicist James Franck to President Harry S. Truman in September 1945 that “the idea that there exists a secret formula [for the atomic bomb] which can be guarded in its entirety” should be dismissed “as too stupid even for the movies and the funny papers.” The chapter notes that the president ignored this warning and soon pledged publicly that the United States would hold its atomic monopoly as “a sacred trust” until “world cooperation for peace” achieved “a state of perfection.” It notes that political and military leaders dismissed such physicists as starry-eyed idealists, but events soon exposed policymakers as the deluded ones.
Rosella Cappella Zielinski
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9781501702495
- eISBN:
- 9781501705960
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9781501702495.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, Security Studies
This chapter focuses on the financing of the Korean War and its within-case variation. Korean War finance can be divided into two periods, from June 1950 to mid-1951 and from mid-1951 to the end of ...
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This chapter focuses on the financing of the Korean War and its within-case variation. Korean War finance can be divided into two periods, from June 1950 to mid-1951 and from mid-1951 to the end of the war. During the first period, both the fear of inflation and support for the war effort were high. As a result, the Revenue Act of 1950, eliminating an excise tax reduction and increasing both corporate and individual income taxes, and the Excess Profit Tax Law of 1950 were swiftly signed into law. During the second period of Korean War finance, however, the political-economic landscape changed, and President Truman was only able to get half of what he requested in terms of revenue, as reflected in the Revenue Act of 1951.Less
This chapter focuses on the financing of the Korean War and its within-case variation. Korean War finance can be divided into two periods, from June 1950 to mid-1951 and from mid-1951 to the end of the war. During the first period, both the fear of inflation and support for the war effort were high. As a result, the Revenue Act of 1950, eliminating an excise tax reduction and increasing both corporate and individual income taxes, and the Excess Profit Tax Law of 1950 were swiftly signed into law. During the second period of Korean War finance, however, the political-economic landscape changed, and President Truman was only able to get half of what he requested in terms of revenue, as reflected in the Revenue Act of 1951.
James K. Libbey
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780813167138
- eISBN:
- 9780813167831
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813167138.003.0015
- Subject:
- History, American History: 20th Century
After World War II, Barkley chaired the Joint Committee on the Investigation of the Pearl Harbor Attack. His committee’s recommendations were later fulfilled by passage of the National Security Act, ...
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After World War II, Barkley chaired the Joint Committee on the Investigation of the Pearl Harbor Attack. His committee’s recommendations were later fulfilled by passage of the National Security Act, which created the Central Intelligence Agency and what was ultimately called the Department of Defense. After GOP victories in 1946, Barkley could express his gratification for bipartisan support for foreign affairs during the Cold War by approval of Greek-Turkish aid and Marshall Plan. At the 1948 Democratic national convention, Barkley was named the party’s vice presidential nominee on a ticket headed by Truman. Truman went on a whistle-stop campaign, but Barkley flew on the first prop-stop campaign. The pair won in one of the most incredible upsets in American politics. The Veep became the first working vice president in American history. He supported Truman via speeches made across the United States and served as the administration’s point man in the Senate.Less
After World War II, Barkley chaired the Joint Committee on the Investigation of the Pearl Harbor Attack. His committee’s recommendations were later fulfilled by passage of the National Security Act, which created the Central Intelligence Agency and what was ultimately called the Department of Defense. After GOP victories in 1946, Barkley could express his gratification for bipartisan support for foreign affairs during the Cold War by approval of Greek-Turkish aid and Marshall Plan. At the 1948 Democratic national convention, Barkley was named the party’s vice presidential nominee on a ticket headed by Truman. Truman went on a whistle-stop campaign, but Barkley flew on the first prop-stop campaign. The pair won in one of the most incredible upsets in American politics. The Veep became the first working vice president in American history. He supported Truman via speeches made across the United States and served as the administration’s point man in the Senate.
