War Time to Peace Time: the Truman Adminnistration during the Early Phase of Post-WW2 Reconversion.

Abstract

The paper deals with the policies of the Truman Administration in the months following the end of World War Two. The main emphasis is placed on the analysis of several statements and addresses of President Truman, above all his 21-Point Program for the Reconversion Period presented to the joint session of Congress on 6 September 1945. Various aspects of the United States’ re-conversion are discussed, e.g. that of industrial plants, the closing down of wartime agencies, the lifting of wage and price controls, the restoration of collective bargaining, the management of liberated and occupied territories. Last but not least, the assistance to veterans is treated. In addition, the paper tries to place the early Truman presidency into a broader historical perspective reaching as far back as to George Washington’s warning against entangling peacetime alliances. The analysis of Truman Administration’s documents shows, the author argues, that the U.S. was ready to return to peacetime endeavours and hardly intended to get involved in the Cold War.

Keywords: United States, WWII, Hary S. Truman, Post-War Re-conversion