This S. J. Ray cartoon, "A Big Order,"
appeared in the Kansas City Sfar, Jan. 6,
1949, and is published here through the
courtesy of the Kansas City Star.
The Truman Administration's Fair Deal
For Black America
BY PHILIP H. VAUGHAN*
President Harry S. Truman's reference to a "Fair Deal" for
the American people in his State of the Union message on January
5, 1949, essentially reaffirmed the 21-point domestic program he
had announced to Congress in September 1945. The president
gave special priority in this new speech to public power development, extension of social security benefits, national health insurance, federal aid to the states for education, public housing, and
* Philip H. Vaughan is professor of American and Urban History at Rose
College, Midwest City, Oklahoma. He received the B.S. and M.A. degrees from
Memphis State University and the Ph.D. degree from the University of Oklahoma, Norman.
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