Politics as Usual

Gary W. Reichard is Provost/Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Professor of History at California State University, Long Beach. He has previously held faculty and administrative appointments at The Ohio State University, the University of Delaware, the University of Maryland, and Florida Atlantic University. He received his B.A. from the College of Wooster, his M.A. from Vanderbilt University, and his Ph.D. from Cornell University. The author of The Reaffirmation of Republicanism: Dwight D. Eisenhower and the Eight-third Congress, he has co-edited two books of essays on recent American politics and society: Reshaping America, Society and Institutions, 1945-1960 and American Choices: Social Dilemmas & Public Policy since 1960. In addition to teaching post-World War II United States history, he has taught the history of American immigration and ethnicity.

• Foreword viiAcknowledgements xiiPreface xiiiPreface to the First Edition xvChapter One: Truman's Trial Period, 1945-1948 1New President, New Problems 2The Cold War Begins 10The 1946 Elections 17The Politics of Containment 20Truman and the Eightieth Congress 29The Election of 1948 35Chapter Two: The Era of Hard Feelings, 1949-1952 48Frustration of the Fair Deal 49The End of Bipartisanship 53The Anti-Communist Crusade 59The Korean War and American Politics 63Truman under Siege 75The Election of 1952 81Chapter Three: The Eisenhower Equilibrium, 1953-1956 88The Reaffirmation of Republicanism 89A New Foreign Policy? 94The End of McCarthyism 106The Cooptation of Congress 117The Politics of Dead Center 123Eisenhower Ascendant 129Chapter Four: Endings and Beginnings, 1957-1960 140The Continuing Problem of Civil Rights 141Hard Times at Home and Abroad 147National Security and Party Politics 159President versus Congress 166End of an Era: The Election of 1960 170Conclusion: Reflections on a Political Era 180Bibliographical Essay 186IndexPhotos follow page 118