Professor Sharon Kay Evanshine

History Web Site

History of the US since 1876

Postwar America

In 1945, the United States participated in conferences at Yalta and Potsdam, which exerted profound effects on the postwar world. Congress created the Atomic Energy Commission, the President proclaimed the Truman Doctrine, and the Marshall Plan was proposed for rebuilding war-torn Europe.

The Election of 1948 saw Truman elected in his own right and attempts were made to revive the Fair Deal.

International tensions were heightened in the Berlin Blockade and by the announcement that the Soviet Union had detonated an atomic bomb. In 1950, the Korean War erupted and Truman dismissed General Douglas MacArthur.

Domestic highlights included the Alger Hiss case and the anti-communist campaign of Sen. Joseph McCarthy.

The Election of 1952 brought the Republicans and Dwight D. Eisenhower to power. Segregation and an emerging civil rights movement captured headlines throughout the nation, while the Suez Crisis, the launch of Sputnik, the triumph of Fidel Castro and the U-2 Incident were the prominent foreign affairs issues.

The Election of 1960 returned the Democrats to power with John F. Kennedy narrowly defeating Richard M. Nixon.