Fair Deal

You've almost assuredly heard of the New Deal, but have you heard of the Fair Deal? It was the collection of domestic economic and social programs of Franklin Roosevelt's successor, Harry Truman, who sought to build off the New Deal and continue remaking a more equitable United States. Learn about Truman's Fair Deal Program here.

Fair Deal Definition

The Fair Deal Program is the set of domestic and social economic policies proposed by President Harry Truman. Truman had discussed and supported many of the policies since his ascendancy to the presidency in 1945. However, the term Fair Deal comes from his 1949 State of the Union speech, when he attempted to rally Congress to pass legislation implementing his proposals.

Although Truman first used the phrase Fair Deal in his 1949 State of the Union speech, the Fair Deal's definition is generally understood to include all of Truman's domestic proposals and policies. The proposals and policies of the Fair Deal centered around expanding the social welfare programs of the New Deal, promoting economic equality and advancement, and promoting racial equality.

Fig. 1 - President Harry Truman was the architect of the Fair Deal program

Truman's Fair Deal

Truman's Fair Deal was an ambitious set of expansions of the New Deal created by Roosevelt. With the US now out of the depths of the Great Depression, Truman's Fair Deal policies sought to maintain the social welfare safety net that had been established by Roosevelt as well as promote further shared prosperity.

The Fair Deal Program

Truman's Fair Deal Program was aimed at further extending the social safety net, improving economic conditions for the working and middle class, and promoting racial equality.

Some of the main goals proposed in the Fair Deal program included:

• National health insurance
• Public housing subsidies
• An increased minimum wage
• Federal support for farmers
• Extension of Social Security
• Anti-discriminatory employment and hiring
• A Civil Rights Act
• An anti-lynching law
• Increased federal aid to public education
• Increased taxes on high earners and tax cuts for low earners

Fig. 2 - Harry Truman was the first US President to address a Civil Rights organization when he spoke at the closing of the 38th annual conference of the NAACP

Legislation Passed

Unfortunately for Truman's Fair Deal Program, only a portion of these proposals was successfully passed as legislation. Below are some of the significant bills passed as part of the Fair Deal program:

• The National Mental Health Act of 1946: This Fair Deal program provided government funds for mental health research and care.
• The Hill-Burton Act of 1946: This bill promoted standards of care for hospitals around the country, as well as providing federal funds for the renovation and construction of hospitals.
• 1946 National School Lunch and Milk Act: This law created the school lunch program.
• Agricultural Acts of 1948 and 1949: These laws provided more support for price controls for agricultural goods.
• Water Pollution Law of 1948: This law provided funds for sewage treatment and gave the Justice Department the power to prosecute polluters.
• Housing Act of 1949: This bill is considered the landmark achievement of the Fair Deal Program. It provided federal funds for slum clearing and urban renewal projects, including the building of more than 800,000 public housing units. It also increased funding for the Federal Housing assistance mortgage insurance program. Finally, it contained provisions that were meant to prevent discriminatory housing practices.
• Amendments to the Social Security Act in 1950: Modifications of the Social Security Act expanded coverage and benefits. More than 10 million new people were now covered by the program, although that was less than Truman's 25 million goal.
• The 1949 Fair Labor Standards Act Amendment: This modification increased the minimum wage to 75 cents an hour, almost double the 40 cents minimum before it. It is considered the other landmark act of Truman's Fair Deal.

Fig. 3 - Truman after signing a bill in 1949

Why Didn't the Fair Deal Get More Support?

While the legislation of the Fair Deal program mentioned above represented significant progress, especially the Housing Act of 1949 the expansion of Social Security, and the increase to the minimum wage, many of the more ambitious parts of Truman's Fair Deal failed to gain enough support to pass Congress.

Most notably, the creation of a national healthcare system that provided health insurance to all Americans failed to garner conservative Republican support. In fact, debates over national health care continue into the 21st century. The expansion of Social Security was also not extended to the goal of 25 million new people that Truman had set.

Another big failure of the Fair Deal program was passing Civil Rights legislation. Although the Housing Act did contain anti-discriminatory provisions, Truman failed to get sufficient support to pass other proposed Civil Rights laws. He did take some steps through executive action to promote integration, such as ending discrimination in the armed forces and denying government contracts to discriminatory companies through executive orders.

Finally, Truman's Fair Deal program failed to achieve another one of its key goals related to labor rights. Truman advocated for the repeal of the Taft-Hartley Act, which passed in 1947 over Truman's veto. This law restricted the power of labor unions to strike. Truman advocated for its reversal for the rest of his administration but failed to achieve it.

There were a few reasons the Fair Deal program did not get the support Truman had hoped.

An end to the war and the suffering of the Great Depression had ushered in a period of relative prosperity. Fears of inflation and the transition from a wartime economy to a peacetime economy led to less support for sustained government intervention in the economy. Support for more liberal reforms gave way to support for conservative policies, and Republicans and Southern Democrats stood in opposition to passing the most ambitious parts of Truman's Fair Deal, including Civil Rights laws.

The politics of the Cold War also played an important role.

The Fair Deal and the Cold War

After the end of World War Two, the Cold War struggle between the United States and Soviet Union set in.

Some of the most ambitious reforms of the Fair Deal program were labeled as socialist by conservative opposition to them. With the communist Soviet Union seen as a threat to the US's way of life, this association made the policies less popular and politically viable.

Additionally, after 1950, Truman himself became increasingly focused on foreign affairs rather than domestic policies. His goal of containing communism and US involvement in the Korean War dominated the later years of his presidency, detracting from further progress on the Fair Deal program.

The Fair Deal's Significance

Despite the Truman's Fair Deal not achieving all of its goals, it still made an important impact. The Fair Deal's significance can be seen in gains in employment, wages, and equality during Truman's time in office.

Between 1946 and 1953, over 11 million people gained new jobs and unemployment was near zero. The poverty rate fell from 33% in 1949 to 28% in 1952. The minimum wage had been increased, even while farm and corporate profits reached all-time highs.

These successes along with those of the New Deal were important influences on Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society Programs of the 1960s, a testament to the Fair Deal's significance.

While Truman failed to achieve major Civil Rights legislation, his proposals for it and the desegregation of the military helped pave the way for the Democratic Party to adopt a policy of support Civil Rights two decades later.

Fig. 4 - Truman meeting with John F. Kennedy.