Ch. 37 NotesThe Eisenhower Era

The Election of 1952

1. In 1952, Republicans Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard Nixon will run against the Democratic candidate Adlai Stevenson.

2. Eisenhower is a very beloved and popular figure with the American public – mainly due to his role in WWII – and he is also seen as someone who can handle the Soviets.

3. He also promises to personally go to Korea and end the war – he will eventually get a truce that keeps Korea divided along the 38th parallel.

Nixon and the “Checkers Speech”

1. During the campaign, Nixon will be accused of accepting gifts from California businessmen (around $20,000).

2. Nixon will go on television and give an emotional speech, admitting he did receive one gift – a dog.

3. The speech was successful and showed the huge influence television was having on American lives.

The Election Results (1952 and 1956)

1. Ike won the election handily and defeated Stevenson again in 1956.

2. One important result of the election was the fact that the Solid South was finally breaking up.

3. White southerners were beginning to support the Republican Party because of the Democratic Party’s stance on civil rights.

Dynamic Conservatism

1. Eisenhower’s plan as president was referred to as dynamic conservatism.

2. His plan was to maintain a number of New Deal programs, such as Social Security, (mainly because it would be so difficult to get rid of it) but at the same time move away from large government spending programs, even military spending.

The Federal Highway Act

1. In 1956, Congress will pass the Federal Highway Act, a public works program that will be far larger and more expensive than any of FDR’s New Deal programs (41,000 miles of roads).

2. The primary purpose of the act was for the defense of the nation – Ike wanted to be sure he could more troops around the nation as quickly as possible if the Soviet’s decided to invade.

The Road Culture1. The new highway system increased the growth of the suburbs and helped homogenize the U.S. and reinforce the idea of conformity during the 1950’s even more – an idea critics blamed on American’s affinity with television.

2. Chain restaurants, motels and gas stations began spring up all over the nation.

3. Billboard lined the roads advertising these chains as well.

The 1950’s Economy

1. During the 1950’s, the U.S.’s economy changed – blue collar jobs took a back seat to white collar jobs as new sciences and technologies began to spur economic growth.

2. This led to a decline in labor unions and in heavy industries in general (Rust Belt).

3. It also led to more job opportunities for women.

Betty Friedan and The Feminine Mystique

1. As more women entered the workforce, they were expected to not only work but also continue their “job” as homemakers – the “cult of domesticity”.

2. In 1963 Betty Friedan will write the book The Feminine Mystique, informing men that women weren’t really happy in the home.

Joseph McCarthy and “McCarthyism”

1. In 1950, Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin claimed that the U.S state department was riddled with Soviet spies.

2. He had no real proof but his allegations led to a series of hearings before the House Un-American Activities Committee.

3. Eisenhower didn’t like McCarthy but left him alone.

McCarthyism1. McCarthy’s hearings

weren’t exactly constitutional – people were called before the committee and challenged with being communists and if anyone refused to answer the questions or tried to assert their 5th Amendment rights, they were automatically branded as communists.

2. McCarthy went after Hollywood as well, believing that the movies of the day were influencing the communist movement.

The Army-McCarthy Hearings

1. In 1954, one of McCarthy’s assistants was drafted.2. McCarthy tried to use his influence to get him out

of the military but the army refused so McCarthy announced an investigation into “subversive activities” within the U.S. army.

3. Millions of people watched the hearings full of empty charges and realized that McCarthy was nothing but a bully.

4. McCarthy was eventually censured by Congress and he died in 1957.

Eisenhower and Civil Rights

1. In 1950, 15 million African Americans live in the U.S. and 2/3’s of them are in the south – only about 20% of African Americans living in the south can vote.

2. Segregation (set up by Plessy v. Ferguson) is still the law of the land and Eisenhower is okay with that.

3. However, African American WWII veterans coming home from war are growing more and more upset with the gap between American “ideals” and actual American life.

The Warren Court 1. In 1953 Earl Warren becomes the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

2. In May of 1954, the Supreme Court hears the case of Brown v. Board of Education and decides that segregated schools are “inherently unequal” under the 14th Amendment and therefore all U.S. school must be integrated.

3. The Supreme Court ends up taking the lead in the civil rights movement because the President and Congress won’t do anything.

Emmett Till1. In August of 1955, Emmett Till will be murdered in Mississippi.

2. The two white men arrested for the murder will be acquitted by an all-white jury – they later give an interview in Look magazine where they basically admit to the crime.

3. This murder will shock the nation and bring about an increased awareness of the problems African Americans are facing in the south.

The Montgomery Bus Boycott

1. In December of 1955, Rosa Parks will be arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white man.

2. This will lead Martin Luther King Jr. to begin a boycott of the Montgomery bus system.

3. It lasts over a year and the Supreme Court finally orders Montgomery to integrate their busses.

4. This will propel King to the forefront of the civil rights movement.

Nonviolent Resistance

1. Dr. King is influenced by the successful actions of Mohandas Gandhi in India.

2. African Americans will use nonviolent tactics to fight against segregation – court suits, economic boycotts and formation of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which organized black churches to fight against segregation.

3. The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee will be a youthful outgrowth of the movement.

The Little Rock Nine1. In September of 1957,

nine African American students will attempt to integrate Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.

2. Governor Orval Faubus used the Arkansas National Guard to bar their entrance.

3. Eisenhower responds by sending in the U.S. army to make sure they are allowed into school.

The Civil Rights Act of 1957

1. The country’s first Civil Rights Act will be passed in 1957.

2. The Civil Rights Act established a Civil Rights Commission to investigate violations of civil rights and it authorized federal injunctions to protect voting rights.

3. The main importance of the Civil Rights Act is that it authorizes the FBI to investigate civil rights abuses.

Sit-Ins1. The first sit-in will occur

at the Woolworth’s store in Greensboro, N.C. in 1960.

2. As sit-ins spread around the country, white southerners will react with indignation and violence.

3. Many of the protesters will be arrested – being arrested becomes a badge of honor among the members of civil rights movement.

Ike and Korea

1. Ike will fulfill his pledge to end the war in Korea.

2. In June of 1953 a truce was signed creating the DMZ – demilitarized zone – along the 38th parallel.

3. No treaty was ever signed.

Ike and the Cold War

1. Ike makes no changes to the policy of containment.

2. However, to cut back on spending, he cuts the Army and Navy and focuses more on the Air Force and the development of more nuclear bombs.

3. Eisenhower and his Secretary of State John Foster Dulles will develop a new strategy called “massive retaliation”.

Brinksmanship

1. Massive retaliation meant responding to Soviet aggression anywhere in the world with a nuclear attack – we were willing to “go to the brink” of all-out war to contain communism.

2. It was a bluff though – in 1953 the Soviet Union will put down a rebellion in East Germany and in 1956 they will violently put down a rebellion in Hungary (over 30,000 Hungarians were killed) and Ike will do nothing – he’s not willing to risk all-out war.

The CIA

1. The Central Intelligence Agency was created by Harry Truman.

2. Ike will use the CIA to attempt to weaken or overthrow foreign governments that were unfriendly to the U.S.

3. We will get involved in putting the Shah of Iran in place and help lead a military coup that creates a harsh military dictatorship in Guatemala.

4. This will increase tensions between the U.S. and these area.

Nikita Khrushchev

1. In 1953, Stalin died and Nikita Khrushchev became the premier of the Soviet Union.

2. Many hoped there would be a “thaw” in the Cold War now that Stalin was dead.

3. In July of 1955, world leaders will meet at the Geneva Summit to discuss a possible end to the Cold War – and Vietnam – but it won’t come to much.

Vietnam1. Vietnam had been a French

colony before WWII.2. After the war, forces led by

Ho Chi Minh will attempt to oust the French – the U.S. refuses to help the French.

3. Eventually the French turn the problem over to the U.N. and at the 1955 Geneva Summit Vietnam will be divided along the 17th parallel – Ho Chi Minh controls the communist north and Ngo Dinh Diem will control the somewhat democratic south.

The Suez Canal Crisis

1. In 1956, Egypt (backed by the Soviet Union) will nationalize the Suez Canal.

2. In response, Great Britain, France and Israel will invade Egypt – expecting U.S. aid.

3. Ike refuses and demands that they withdraw (as does Khrushchev).

4. They will withdraw and Egypt will retain control of the canal.

The Eisenhower Doctrine

1. After the Suez Canal incident, the Soviet Union will enjoy a much closer relationship with the Arab nations of the Middle East.

2. To counteract this, Ike will issue the Eisenhower Doctrine, which pledge military aid to any Middle Eastern country fighting communism – we will actually aid Lebanon in 1958.

Sputnik1. In October of 1957, the

Soviet Union launched the first man-made satellite into space – Sputnik.

2. In that November they launch Sputnik II, with a dog aboard.

3. In response, Ike creates the National Aerospace and Aeronautics Agency (NASA) and has Congress pass the National Defense Education Act to beef up the teaching of mathematics, the sciences and languages.

Cuba

1. In January of 1859, Fidel Castro overthrew the government of Cuba and began nationalizing U.S. assets in Cuba – we respond by cutting off trade with Cuba.

2. Castro responds by creating strong ties with the Soviet Union – and the U.S. ends up cutting diplomatic relations with Cuba.

The U-2 Incident 1. In the late 50’s the CIA began using high-altitude spy planes to photograph missile sites in the Soviet Union.

2. In 1960 the Soviets shot one down but Eisenhower denied that it was on a spying mission.

3. The Soviet Union had the pilot though – it was a huge embarrassment to Ike and led to a collapse of the Paris peace talks of 1960.