Truman Administrations - Truman and Congress

Truman and Congress

The Congress Truman inherited with his presidency had Democratic majorities in both houses. Congress, after 12 years of the New Deal and World War II (1939–45), often had been subservient to the centralizing, power-building government of Franklin Roosevelt. It was eager to regain the initiative many of its members felt they had lost. It began by passing the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946, giving itself new investigative powers. These powers were used in the following years to investigate Communism, organized crime, and the controversy over the dismissal of General MacArthur in the Korean War (1950–53) (See also, Foreign Issues).

Truman, despite his 10 years as a well-liked senator, endured strained relations with Congress during his entire term. His administration encompassed the Seventy-ninth, Eightieth, Eighty-first, and Eighty-second Congresses, and even though the first, third, and...

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