LECTURE 37.1DOMESTIC EVENTS OF THEEISENHOWER PRESIDENCY

ELECTION OF 1952In the election of 1952, Harry Truman did not seek re-election in the face of a military

deadlock in Korea

Democrats nominated ADLAI STEVENSONRepublicans nominate DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER or “IKE”

ADLAI STEVENSON

Eisenhower extremely popular hero of WWII

RICHARD NIXON nominated with EisenhowerRICHARD NIXON

Eisenhower/Nixon win

in a landslide!!!!

EISENHOWER’S PROGRAMS“DYNAMIC CONSERVATISM”Eisenhower’s program was called “DYNAMIC CONSERVATISM”Basically, Ike maintained New Deal programsIke said it meant “being conservative when it comes to money and liberal when it comes to human beings”

INTERSTATE HIGHWAY SYSTEMThe biggest program of Eisenhower’s program was the creation of the INTERSTATE HIGHWAY SYSTEM in 1954Created the modern interstate systemCost lots of money from the federal governmentUnderlying purpose was evacuation in case of nuclear war or need to move troops and equipment quickly throughout the countrySignificantly hurt the railroad industry

EISENHOWER’S PROGRAMS“CREEPING SOCIALISM”

Eisenhower tried to get a balanced federal budget but was not very successfulIke aimed to guard against “CREEPING SOCIALISM”Ike actually recorded the highest peacetime deficit in US history

LABOR UNIONSWhile President, Eisenhower saw labor unions grow tremendouslyThe AFL and CIO merged in 1955AFL-CIO kicked out Teamsters Union in late 1950’s

JIMMY HOFFA

JIMMY HOFFA—head of the Teamsters’

LECTURE 37.2FOREIGN POLICY OF THE

EISENHOWER PRESIDENCY

“MASSIVE RETALIATION”

JOHN FOSTER DULLESEisenhower’s Sec. of State, JOHN FOSTER DULLES, initialized the new policy of massive retaliationIdea was to encourage liberation of the people of Eastern Europe by widespread use of political pressure and propagandaUsed radio broadcasts like VOICE OF AMERICA and RADIO FREE EUROPE that urged people to overthrow their communist governments

Massive Retaliation involved the thought that Soviet or Chinese aggression would be countered with nuclear weapons directly on the USSR or ChinaBuzzword for this was BRINKMANSHIP which was the art of never back down from a crisis, even if it meant pushing the nation to the brink of war!!!

BRINKMANSHIP

Massive Retaliation rejects Containment Policy b/c this foreign policy is about destroying communism!!!!!!

USSR and USA begin arms race to accumulate sophisticated nuclear arsenals

PREEMPTIVE STRIKE capabilities emphasized—destroy the other side first

Problem is nuclear strike option leaves no wiggle room for smaller conflicts or problems!!!!!

MUTUALLY ASSURED DESTRUCTION

Eisenhower’s policy also begins the concept of MUTUALLY ASSURED DESTRUCTION (MAD)

In the event of nuclear war, both sides would lose

MAD became an important deterrent for nuclear war during the next 4 decades

“MORE BANG FOR THE BUCK”NEW LOOK MILITARY

Eisenhower also introduced a “new look military”

Scaled back the army and navy while building a superfleet of superbombers with nuclear

weaponsCost would be less and got more “bang for

the buck”Truth is it costs more to maintain nuclear force

NIKITA KHRUSHCHEVDuring Eisenhower’s presidency, Joseph Stalin died and was replaced by NIKITA KHRUSCHEV

With Stalin gone, allowed for the possibility of ‘PEACEFUL COEXSITENCE’ between the two countries….wrong!!!!!

“We will bury you!”

Khrushchev hoped to prove communism to the rest of the world while in his home country said about the US “we will bury you”

HUNGARIAN REVOLTThe first real test of “massive retaliation” occurred when people in Hungary rose up against its Communist occupiers

Soviet tanks rolled in and quickly crushed the uprising

RESPONSE?Americans never showed up!!!!Nuclear force WILL NOT be used over Hungary

THE SPACE RACEThe Space Race begins during the Eisenhower PresidencyIn 1957, Soviets launched SPUTNIKAmerican horrified at the thought of Soviet technology being capable of transporting nuclear weapons

Eisenhower ordered rigourous education program to match Soviet technology through the NATIONAL DEFENSE EDUCATION ACT

Also creted in 1958 NASA (National Aeronautics Space Agency)

NATIONAL DEFENSE ED. ACTNASA

Atomic Anxieties:

•“Duck-and-Cover Generation”

Atomic Anxieties:

•“Duck-and-Cover Generation”

Atomic Testing:•Between July 16, 1945 and Sept. 23, 1992, the United States conducted 1,054 official nuclear tests, most of them at the Nevada Test Site.

Atomic Testing:•Between July 16, 1945 and Sept. 23, 1992, the United States conducted 1,054 official nuclear tests, most of them at the Nevada Test Site.

Americans began building underground

bomb shelters and cities had underground fallout

shelters.

Americans began building underground

bomb shelters and cities had underground fallout

shelters.

Effects of Sputnik on United States

Effects of Sputnik on United States

THE U-2 INCIDENTRelationships between the US and the USSR

really went sour in 1960 when a U2 Spyplane is shot down deep in Soviet territory!!!!

Francis Powers

Piloted by FRANCIS GARY POWERS who is captured by the Soviets

COLD WAR: Middle East

IRANIn IRAN, the CIA engineered a coup in 1953 that

installed the Shah as dictator

Eisenhower and the Cold War spread into the Middle East

EGYPTIn Egypt, Abdel Nassar seized and nationalized the Suez CanalFrance, Britain, and Israel attacked Egypt in an attempt to internationalize the canalUS and Soviets sided together and Soviets threatened to send troops to EgyptBritain and France angry at US for siding against a NATO ally

Eisenhower doctrineWith all the problems in the Middle East,

Eisenhower issues the EISENHOWER DOCTRINEEmpowered the president to extend economic and military aid to nations of the Middle East

if threatened by communismFirst used in Lebanon in 1958

COLD WAR: AsiaEisenhower had to deal with Cold War problems in

Asia

VIETNAMMajor problem area was VIETNAM led by HO CHI MINH of North Vietnam (communist)Vietnam had been split North and South at 17th parallelSouthern government was led by US backed Diem

DOMINO THEORYDomino Theory major issue—belief that if one

country falls to communism, neighboring countries will too

COLD WAR: CubaOne other area that affected Eisenhower in the Cold War was

neighboring CUBA

FIDEL CASTROCuba had been a nation where US companies had been active prior to 1959But, FIDEL CASTRO overthrew Batista in 1959Castro visited US, but Eisenhower refused to see him b/c he wasn’t sure he wasn’t a communistIn late 1959, Khrushchev decided to aid CubaUS front that point on began plotting against Castro!!!!

LECTURE 37.3LIFESTYLES OF THE 1950S

ECONOMIC BOOM!America experienced an economic boom in the post-World War II years of the 1950’s

Surge in home construction as the nation became homeowners

Most of those homes built in suburbs

Much of the economic growth areas were science and technology

There was a revolution in electronics especially in the computer

IBM became the major industrial giant of the electronics industry

Aerospace industries also began to grow rapidly in the

1950’sBoeing built the first passenger

jet called the “707”Built the first Air Force One in

1959

Workers?There was also a changing role for workers in the

1950’sFor the first time, WHITE COLLAR workers outnumbered ‘BLUE COLLARED” workers

Union membership begins to decline

Science & Technology Suburbs

Aerospace

1950’S WOMENThe 1950’s saw the return of the traditional role for women

CULT OF DOMESTICITYCULT OF DOMESTICITY celebrated the traditional

role of women in feminine functionsEncouraged by TV shows like “Ozzie and Harriet” &

“Leave it to Beaver” Pictured a wife who lived in suburbia, two children,

etc.Women who did work found jobs in clerical and

service workWomen had difficulty balancing role of worker and

mother/wife

1950’s CONSUMER CULTURE1950’S saw the return of the consumer culture to

the American economy!!!

Credit cards like Diners became popular

Fast food restaurants like McDonalds opened

Disneyland offered more of the life of leisure and affluence

1950’S AND TV1950’s culture was drastically transformed by the

production of the television

By 1960, almost every American household had a tv setReligion and sports became commonly found on TV shows

TelevisionTelevision

1946 --> 7,000 TV sets in the U. S. 1950 --> 50,000,000 TV sets in the U. S. 1946 --> 7,000 TV sets in the U. S. 1950 --> 50,000,000 TV sets in the U. S.

Mass Audience

• TV celebrated traditional American values:

• Superman-----Truth, Justice, and the American way!

Mass Audience

• TV celebrated traditional American values:

• Superman-----Truth, Justice, and the American way!

Television

Davy Crockett--King of the Wild FrontierDavy Crockett--King of the Wild Frontier

The Lone Ranger (and his faithful sidekick, Tonto): Who is that

masked man??

The Lone Ranger (and his faithful sidekick, Tonto): Who is that

masked man??

Sheriff Matt Dillon, Gunsmoke

Sheriff Matt Dillon, Gunsmoke

TelevisionTelevision

I Love LucyI Love Lucy Alice Kramden, The Honeymooners

Wally and the Beav

Wally and the Beav

Family Shows --> glossy view of mostly middle-class suburban life.

Family Shows --> glossy view of mostly middle-class suburban life.

1950’s MUSICThe popular music of the 1950’s was a major

transformationELVIS PRESLEYElvis Presley was one of the greatest revolutionaries of the 1950’s

Rock n’ Roll became big!!!!!!!

1950’s CULTURAL ICONSOther cultural icons emerged in the 1950’s

Movie stars like MARILYN MONROE

SEXUALITY became more open due to the work of Playboy magazine

1950’s CRITICSNot everyone loved the changes of the 1950s,

including many critics

David Riesman wrote The Lonely Crowd which said we all acted the same

William H. Whyte wrote The Organization Man

The most famous work was Sloan Wilson’s The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit

One of the most influential works was John Kenneth Galbraith’s The Affluent Society

1950’s CONFORMITYOne of the key words to describe the 1950’s was

conformityAlmost all Americans attended church; to not attend was communisticSocial life revolved around married couples and families; others on the outsideStrong patriotismCult of DomesticityTV, Movies, and Radio all enforced these values

BUT NOT EVERYONE…THE BEAT GENERATION—a group of young men alienated by 20th

century lifeRebelled against conformity and conservatism

Resistance to conformity seen

in civil rights movement,

rock n’roll, and Beat Generation

Kennedy Nixon

ELECTION OF 1960The election of 1960 was one of the most important elections in

American history

Republicans nominated VP Richard Nixon (Eisenhower’s VP)Nixon one of the most active Vice President’s in US historyTraveled throughout the world as a “troubleshooter” in various capacitiesNixon had defended US capitalism and democracy in his famous Moscow ‘KITCHEN DEBATES’ with Khrushchev

The Democrats nominated Senator John F. KennedyLyndon B. Johnson, Senate Majority Leader, was Kennedy’s running mateKennedy proposed a new program for America known as “THE NEW FRONTIER”

Catholicism?In the campaign, Kennedy’s Catholicism became an issue until he told a group of Protestant ministers that he accepted separation of church and state and Catholic leaders would not influence his decisions

Kennedy Nixon

ELECTION OF 1960The campaign of 1960 is also famous b/c it was the first time debates

were shown on national television and they determined the fate of the election

The first debate was the most important of the threeThose listening on radio gave the edge to NixonThose watching TV gave the edge to Kennedy

Kennedy earned the support of African Americans when he arranged to have Martin Luther King released from a Georgia jail for having been

involved in a protest

The results of the election of 1960 showed Kennedy defeating Nixon by slightly over 100,000 votes and 303-219

in electoral votesClosest election in US history with a difference of less than

1/10th of 1%Kennedy became the only Catholic president in US history

Youngest to be elected at age 43

“Ask not what your country can do for you;ask what you can do for your country”

--JFK