TRUMAN'S SECOND TERM

Upon entering this gallery visitors will again see Truman taking the oath of office, this time for his second term. To the right of this picture will be a large chart that will display many of the main elements of the "Fair Deal" program and will indicate their legislative fate, showing most of which were not enacted during his Presidency.

When he took the oath of office for his second term, Harry Truman had an ambitious agenda. He hoped to enact a broad program of domestic reforms including national health insurance, public housing, civil rights legislation, and federal aid to education. However, little of what he called the "Fair Deal" was ever made law. Instead, his second term was dominated by events overseas that altered America's foreign policy and domestic life in fundamental ways.