Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938

The Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938 was intended to bring uniform rules to the burgeoning aviation industry. The account identifies that purpose but gives no further details about the law’s provisions or its implementation. Its significance here rests both on its regulatory aim and on the place Harry S. Truman gave it in his public record.

Purpose and Scope

The Act addressed the need for consistent rules as aviation expanded. The account presents it as part of the emerging federal response to a new industry, without specifying which rules it established or how they were administered.

Truman’s Role

Truman later said he was particularly proud of his part in the Act. It stood among a broader set of measures he had supported in the Senate, including farm-tenancy legislation, price supports for farmers, and increased funding for public works and old-age pensions. The account does not describe his specific contribution to the aviation law beyond his expressed pride in having played a part.

Place in His Political Record

Truman campaigned on this legislative record. In July, he crossed Missouri in his own 1938 Dodge, accompanied on the drives by Fred Canfil, Vic Messall, or his Kansas City friend Tom Evans. The Act’s inclusion in the record he presented to voters connected federal regulation of a growing industry with the wider case he made for his Senate work.