Public Versus Private Power During the Truman Administration: A Study of Fair Deal Liberalism

Public versus Private Power during the Truman Administration offers the first thorough historical analysis of one of the most contentious aspects of the Fair Deal - President Harry S. Truman's electric power policies. In 1948, Truman championed as part of his liberal program a major expansion of public power. De Luna shows how these plans were adulterated by a powerful combination of forces: the opposition of private power, discord among agencies and individuals in the executive branch, and a split in the Democratic Party. Forced to compromise on this important issue, the last Truman administration unwittingly helped usher in a more conservative period in American political life.