Fair Deal

Fair Deal - In September of 1945, United States President Harry 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. The proposals to congress became more and more abundant and by 1948 a legislative program that was more comprehensive came to be known as the Fair Deal. 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." 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 Johnson credited Truman's unfulfilled program as influencing Great Society measures such as Medicare that Johnson successfully enacted during the 1960s. The Fair Deal faced much opposition from the many conservative politicians who wanted a reduced role of the federal government.

The series of domestic reforms was a major push to transform the United States from a wartime economy to a peacetime economy. In a context of postwar reconstruction and entering the era of the Cold war, the Fair Deal sought to preserve and extend the liberal tradition of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal. During this post-WWII time people were growing more conservative as they were ready to enjoy the prosperity not seen since before The Great Depression. The Fair Deal faced opposition by Republicans and conservative Democrats. However, despite strong conservative opposition there were elements of Truman’s agenda that did win congressional approval.