Congress passed the Celler-Kefauver Anti-Merger Act, championed by Representative Emanuel Celler (D-NY) and Senator Estes Kefauver (D-TN), fundamentally strengthening the Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914 and giving the government powerful new tools to prevent anticompetitive mergers. The Act closed …
U.S. CongressRepresentative Emanuel CellerSenator Estes KefauverHarry TrumanFederal Trade Commissionantitrustmerger-enforcementcorporate-powercompetitioncold-war
President Harry Truman vetoes the Internal Security Act of 1950 (McCarran Act) on September 22, 1950, sending Congress a lengthy veto message criticizing specific provisions as “the greatest danger to freedom of speech, press, and assembly since the Alien and Sedition Laws of 1798,” a …
Pat McCarranKarl MundtHarry TrumanHubert HumphreyU.S. Congress+4 moremccarthyismred-scarecongressional-actioncivil-libertieshuac+1 more
President Harry S. Truman signs the Defense Production Act in response to the Korean War, enacting sweeping federal authority over industrial mobilization and war production. The legislation enables Truman to establish the Office of Defense Mobilization, institute wage and price controls, strictly …
Harry TrumanOffice of Defense MobilizationBoeingLockheedGeneral Electric+1 moremilitary-industrial-complexdefense-spendingkorean-warindustrial-mobilizationcorporate-subsidy+1 more
James Vincent Forrestal, a successful Wall Street financier who ran the investment bank Dillon, Read & Co., becomes the first United States Secretary of Defense when the National Military Establishment is formally established. Forrestal’s appointment represents the archetypal revolving …
James ForrestalHarry TrumanDepartment of DefenseDillon, Read & Co.military-industrial-complexrevolving-doorwall-street-capturedefense-policyinstitutional-capture+1 more
The Office of Price Administration effectively ends on November 9, 1946, when President Truman removes controls on most consumer goods following intense corporate lobbying and deliberate business disruption. The premature decontrol triggers an immediate inflationary spike that harms consumers while …
Office of Price AdministrationHarry TrumanNational Association of ManufacturersU.S. Chamber of CommerceCongress+1 morederegulationcorporate-influenceinflationprice-controlsconsumer-exploitation
President Harry Truman signs the Atomic Energy Act of 1946 on August 1, establishing the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) to control the development and production of nuclear weapons and to develop nuclear power. The act creates unprecedented peacetime secrecy powers and establishes the framework for …
CongressHarry TrumanBrien McMahonAtomic Energy CommissionDavid Lilienthal+2 morenational-security-stateregulatory-capturesecrecynuclear-industrymilitary-industrial-complex+1 more
Congress passes the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) on June 11, 1946, establishing uniform procedures for federal agency rulemaking and adjudication. While ostensibly designed to ensure fairness and public participation, the APA creates structural opportunities for well-resourced interests to …
CongressHarry TrumanAmerican Bar AssociationBusiness interestsFederal agenciesregulatory-captureadministrative-lawcorporate-influencederegulation-frameworkinstitutional-design
President Truman signs the Employment Act of 1946 on February 20, a dramatically weakened version of the Full Employment Bill of 1945. The original bill would have guaranteed a federal job to every American seeking work and required the government to maintain full employment. After intensive …
CongressHarry TrumanNational Association of ManufacturersU.S. Chamber of CommerceCouncil of Economic Advisers+1 morecorporate-influencelabor-policyeconomic-policylegislative-capturederegulation
President Harry Truman delivers a special message to Congress on September 6, 1945, presenting an ambitious 21-point program for postwar America that includes full employment legislation, minimum wage increases, national health insurance, expanded Social Security, and permanent Fair Employment …
Harry TrumanCongressNational Association of ManufacturersU.S. Chamber of CommerceConservative Coalition+1 morenew-deal-rollbackcorporate-influencelegislative-capturelabor-policypostwar-politics
The Joint Chiefs of Staff authorize Operation Paperclip on September 3, 1945, establishing a secret program to recruit German scientists, engineers, and technicians for American military and intelligence agencies. The program ultimately brings over 1,600 German scientists and their families to the …
Joint Intelligence Objectives AgencyWar DepartmentWernher von BraunState DepartmentOffice of Strategic Services+1 moreintelligence-apparatusnational-security-stateinstitutional-corruptionwar-crimescold-war+1 more
The Democratic National Convention in Chicago replaces Vice President Henry Wallace with Senator Harry Truman on July 21, 1944, in a backroom deal orchestrated by conservative party bosses and corporate interests despite Wallace’s overwhelming popularity with convention delegates. The …
Henry WallaceHarry TrumanFranklin D. RooseveltRobert HanneganEdwin Pauley+2 moreparty-capturecorporate-influencelabor-politicselite-networkspolitical-manipulation
Senate hearings expose Standard Oil of New Jersey’s secret cartel agreements with IG Farben, the German chemical conglomerate that produces Zyklon B for Nazi concentration camps and uses slave labor from Auschwitz. Senator Harry Truman’s investigative committee reveals that Standard Oil …
Standard Oil of New JerseyIG FarbenHarry TrumanThurman ArnoldWalter Teagle+1 morecorporate-treasonwar-profiteeringcartelregulatory-captureantitrust-evasion+1 more