1010thth American History American HistoryUnit IV- A Champion of Unit IV- A Champion of DemocracyDemocracy

Chapter 16 – Section 1

The Eisenhower EraThe Eisenhower Era

Conservatives (Republicans)

Conservatives tend to: Turn to business and the market to solve

economic problems. Oppose government regulation of business. Favor more freedom over more equality. Support larger defense budgets. Oppose more government spending. Oppose higher taxes on rich people. Oppose political and economic change.

Liberals (Democrats)

Liberals tend to: Turn to the government to solve economic problems. Favor government regulation of business. Favor more equality over more freedom. Oppose larger defense budgets Favor more government spending to solve economic problems Favor Higher taxes on rich people. Favor political and economic change.

The Eisenhower Era

The Main Idea

The presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower was shaped in large part by the Cold War and related conflicts.

Reading Focus

• What were the circumstances of Eisenhower’s election in 1952?

• How did the continuing Cold War affect the Eisenhower administration?

• What were the Cold War “hot spots” of the 1950s?

The Election of 1952 The Twenty-second Amendment set a 10-year limit on the

number of years a president could serve.

Truman was specifically excluded from the limit.

Still, he felt he had served long enough and did not seek reelection in 1952.

Truman

Democrats nominated Adlai Stevenson.

Republicans chose Dwight D. Eisenhower, known as “Ike.”

His campaign hit a snag when his vice-presidential running mate, Richard M. Nixon, was accused of being dishonest.

Eisenhower won on his campaign promise to end the war in Korea.

Stevensonvs.

Eisenhower

Adlai Ewing Stevenson: An Honest and Eloquent Adlai Ewing Stevenson: An Honest and Eloquent

Political Leader (02:05)Political Leader (02:05)

President Dwight D. Eisenhower 34th President 1953-1961

Republican

Who was Ike? Election of 1952

Issues- Korean Stalemate; Inflation; China and Communism;

Republican Candidate- Eisenhower “I Like Ike” Issues- Go to Korea and end the war.

Take on the Commies and corruption at home.

Democratic Candidate- Adlai Stevenson Issues- Eloquent campaign on the

enemies of man- war, poverty and tyranny.

Outcome- Eisenhower carries 39 states, 442 electoral votes and 33.6 million to 26.6 million popular vote. Ending 20 years of Democratic presidents.

Richard Nixon and the Checkers Speech Eisenhower choose California Senator Richard M.

Nixon as his vice-presidential running mate. Nixon had made his name as a strong anti-communist. During the 1952 campaign, Nixon was accused of

having an $18,000 fund made up of gifts from political supporters.

This was not illegal, but Nixon’s accusers said he was dishonest.

Nixon went on television to defend his actions and claimed that he did not use the fund improperly and that he had only accepted one special gift in 1952….a cocker spaniel dog named Checkers.

His outstanding performance saved his spot on the Republican ticket.

Checkers Speech “Well, that's about it. That's what we have and that's what we

owe. It isn't very much but Pat and I have the satisfaction that every dime that we've got is honestly ours. I should say this—that Pat doesn't have a mink coat. But she does have a respectable Republican cloth coat. And I always tell her that she'd look good in anything.”

A man down in Texas heard Pat on the radio mention the fact that our two youngsters would like to have a dog. And, believe it or not, the day before we left on this campaign trip we got a message from Union Station in Baltimore saying they had a package for us. We went down to get it. You know what it was.

It was a little cocker spaniel dog in a crate that he'd sent all the way from Texas. Black and white spotted. And our little girl-Tricia, the 6-year old-named it Checkers. And you know, the kids, like all kids, love the dog and I just want to say this right now, that regardless of what they say about it, we're gonna keep it.

The Election of 1952

What were the circumstances of Eisenhower’s election of 1952?

RecallRecall – Why did President Turman decide not to seek reelection in 1952?

Make JudgmentsMake Judgments – In Richard Nixon’s Checker’s Speech, did he directly address the charges against him? Explain your answer.

The Cold War and the Eisenhower Administration

Eisenhower kept his campaign promise and traveled to Korea to try and get the stalled peace talks moving.

Even after peace was achieved in 1953, the Cold War continued to rage and to dominate Eisenhower’s presidency.

Secretary of State John Foster Dulles helped shape Eisenhower’s Cold War policies.

Changes of leadership in the Soviet Union and developments in their foreign policy helped keep Cold War tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union at an all time high.

Eisenhower’s Cold War PoliciesJohn Foster Dulles was critical of the Democrats’ foreign policy. Dulles did not want to merely contain communism; he wanted to roll it back.

Dulles believed in brinkmanship, the diplomatic art of going to the brink of war without actually getting into war. To this end he advocated building more nuclear weapons.

Dulles also believed in the concept of massive retaliation. This was the promise that the United States would use overwhelming force against the Soviet Union to settle conflicts.

Foreign policy also had a secret side—the Central Intelligence Agency, or CIA.

BrinkmanshipBrinkmanship

How do you fight a war without going to war? After ten years of Cold War (1946) with the Soviet Union, that was a paradox we were still trying to resolve.

But President Eisenhower's secretary of state, John Foster Dulles, had no doubts about it. "The ability to get to the verge without getting into the war is the necessary art," Dulles said in an interview early in 1956. "If you cannot master it, you inevitably get into war. If you try to run away from it, if you are scared to go to the brink, you are lost."

President Dwight D. Eisenhower

¤ Important Foreign Issues¤ Korean War¤ Massive Retaliation and

“Brinkmanship”¤ French-Indochina War¤ Pactomania¤ Russian Summit Conferene- Nikita

Khrushchev¤ Sputnik; National Defense

Education Act 1958; N.A.S.A.¤ Eisenhower Doctrine¤ Francis Gary Powers and U-2 spy

plane shot down over Russia- May 5, 1960

¤ Castro and Cuba¤ “Military-Industrial Complex”

The Soviet UnionChanges in Leadership

Joseph Stalin died in March 1953.

His death caused Americans to wonder what policies his successor would enact.

Nikita Khrushchev emerged as the new leader.

The Soviet Union remained a Communist dictatorship.

The Warsaw Pact

The Soviets created the Warsaw Pact in 1955.

It was a military alliance with the Soviet-dominated countries of Eastern Europe.

Uprisings in Poland and Hungary were ruthlessly suppressed.

Soviets made it clear that they were in control of Eastern Europe.

Geneva Summit and the “Open Skies” Treaty

The Spy Plane Incident

• Americans and Soviets met in Geneva, Switzerland, for a summit meeting in 1955.

• Eisenhower proposed an “open skies” treaty that would allow each side to fly over the other’s territory to learn more about its military abilities.

• The Soviets rejected the proposal.

• Eisenhower wanted to gain information about the Soviet military.

• In 1960 the Soviets shot down an American U-2 spy plane sent into the Soviet Union to inspect their military facilities.

• This incident greatly damaged U.S.–Soviet relations.

U.S.-Soviet Relations

Eisenhower Address U.S. Foreign Intelligence Activities Eisenhower Address U.S. Foreign Intelligence Activities

(01:57)(01:57)

The Plane (02:04)The Plane (02:04)

The Decade of Great Change (01:55)

The Cold War Continues

How did the continuing Cold War affect the Eisenhower administration?

ExplainExplain – How did the Soviet Union strengthen its grip on Eastern Europe?

AnalyzeAnalyze – How did the concept of massive retaliation fit in with the policy of brinksmanship?

Identify Cause and Effect – How did the 1955 summit between Eisenhower and Krushchev ultimately damage U.S.-Soviet relations?

Cold War “Hot Spots” in the 1950sIn addition to Korea, Cold War tensions flared up in several other spots around the world in the 1950s.

Issues in Vietnam reflected Cold War rivalries. North Vietnam was under the control of Communist leader Ho Chi Minh. South Vietnam was supported by the United States and its anti-Communist allies and headed by President Ngo Dinh Diem.

The Middle East was another Cold War “hot spot.” Trouble between Jews and Arabs reached a crisis point in 1948. In addition, Cold War tensions were played out in Egypt as Gamal Abdel Nasser used the support of the Soviet Union to unify the Arab nations.

Vietnam and the Seeds of War Peace talks between the French and Vietnamese reflected Cold War rivalries.

The country was divided into North Vietnam (Communist) and South Vietnam.

The division was to be temporary—an election would allow the Vietnamese to choose a government

Eisenhower did not like this agreement. The United States and its anti-Communist allies created the Southeast Asia

Treaty Organization, or SEATO. Agreed to work together to resist Communist aggression Supported the creation of an anti-Communist government in South

Vietnam United States provided much military and economic support to this

government This division between North and South set the stage for later conflict.

Trouble in the Middle EastIsrael

In 1948 Israel declared its independence.

A UN resolution had divided Palestine into a Jewish and an Arab state.

Arab Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq attacked Israel.

Israel won the war and the land of Palestine came under the control of Israel, Jordan, and Egypt.

Egypt Gamal Abdel Nasser wanted to

unite the Arab nations and sought the support of the Soviet Union.

U.S. leaders did not like this and took away their support for the Aswan High Dam.

In retaliation, Nasser seized the Suez canal and almost started a war.

The Eisenhower Doctrine said the U.S. would aid any Nation in the Middle East trying to resist communism.

Eisenhower Declares His Foreign Policy Eisenhower Declares His Foreign Policy

(01:44)(01:44)

1959 Kitchen Debate The Kitchen Debate was an impromptu

debate (through interpreters) between Vice President Richard Nixon and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev at the opening of the American National Exhibition in Moscow, on July 24, 1959.

For the event, an entire house was built that the American exhibitors claimed anyone in America could afford. It was filled with labor saving and recreational devices meant to represent the fruits of the capitalist American consumer market.

The debate took place in the house's kitchen. The two men discussed the merits of each of their economic systems, capitalism vs. communism.

The debate took place during an escalation of the Cold War, beginning with the launch of Sputnik in 1957, through the U-2 Crisis in 1960. Most Americans believed Nixon won the debate, and hence the event added to his prestige on the homefront.

Cold War Hot Spots

What were the Cold War “hot spots” of the 1950’s?

ExplainExplain – Why was Vietnam divided in two? Make InferencesMake Inferences – Why might the division of

Vietnam into Communist North Vietnam and non-Communist South Vietnam concern Americans?

Cold War Hot Spots

ExplainExplain – Why were Americans concerned about the outcome of the 1956 election for a new government in Vietnam?

DefineDefine – What was the Eisenhower Doctrine?