The Eisenhower and Kennedy Presidencies

Objective

• Students will evaluate both the Eisenhower Presidency and Kennedy Presidency, paying special attention to relationship between foreign and domestic policy in each presidency.

I. End of the Korean War

• I. End of the Korean War– Commitment to containment globally

• NSC 68

– Global Frontier– Truman’s doom!

• Relieving of Macarthur• “Unwinnable” conflicts• “Soft on Communism”

I. End of the Korean War

• Election of 1952– Republicans: Eisenhower – Democrats: Adlai Stevenson

– The incredibly popular Eisenhower chiefly won because he could “keep us out of another war” AND because of Nixon’s smearing of Stevenson.

– Upon becoming President, Eisenhower did indeed bring a speedy end to the Korean Conflict.

II. Eisenhower’s Foreign Policy

• Did Eisenhower escalate the Cold War, or keep it from becoming a “hot war?”

i. “Rollback” and “New Look”

• Eisenhower’s advisers pushed for a “rollback” of communism, not just containment. – Failure in East Berlin (1953) and Hungary

(1956)– Success in Austria (1956)

i. “Rollback” and “New Look”

• At the same time, Eisenhower supported a “New Look” for national defense– Fewer conventional forces– More nuclear weapons – Emphasis on covert actions led by the CIA

ii. U2 Incident

• In 1960, during meetings with Khruschev at Camp David, the Soviets shot down a U2 Spy plane over Russia.

• Initially denied by Eisenhower.

iii. Iran

• In 1953, the CIA overthrew the Iranian Nationalist Mohammed Mossadegh in order to protect western access to oil.

• He was replaced by the dictatorial but pro-America Riza Shah Pahlavi (“The Shah”).

iv. Suez Canal

• Another nationalist leader, the Egyptian Gamal Abdel Nasser, seized the Suez canal from Britain and France.

• With Israeli aid, British and French troops retook the Canal.

• However, Eisenhower refused to side with the Western powers throughout the conflict, and was instrumental in negotiating their withdrawal from Egypt.

v. Guatemala

• In Guatemala, President Jacobo Arbenz threatened to nationalize the land held by the American corporation, United Fruit Company as part of a land reform program for Guatemalan peasants.

v. Guatemala

• By convincing the CIA that these moves by Arbenz was the first step towards a communist revolution in Guatemala.

• In 1954, the CIA sponsored a coup that overthrew the democratically elected government, leading to civil wars that would last for decades.

vi. Vietnam

• Following WWII, Vietnamese communists/nationalists had tried to oust their French colonial masters.

• From the Truman administration throughout the whole of Eisenhower’s administration, the US provided financial assistance as well as military equipment.

vi. Vietnam

• Eisenhower resisted pressure from advisers to commit ground troops to Vietnam.

• Nonetheless, he did want to continue aiding the French, as Eisenhower feared that a communist victory in Vietnam would ensure other communist victories elsewhere (Domino Theory).

I. The Election of 1960

• Celebrity as Candidate– Much of Kennedy’s appeal rested with his

image as much as with his positions • Youthful and vibrant contrast to both Eisenhower

and Nixon• Overcame religious obstacle via firm support for

separation of Church and State• Used TV in such a way as to make him a

household figure (during both the candidacy and presidency)

I. The Election of 1960

II. The New Frontier

• Expansion of the New Deal?– Kennedy’s New Frontier promised to succeed

where Truman failed. – However, he met not only Republican

opposition but Democratic opposition, especially from Southern Democrats.

II. The New Frontier

• Successes and Failures of the New Frontier– Failed to expand social security benefits as well as

subsidized medical insurance; little headway made for civil rights legislation

– Succeeded in appropriating money for public housing, the establishment of the Peace Corp and reviving the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women

– Though JFK had died before this occurred, the first moon landing in 1969 was a direct result of his efforts

III. JFK and the Cold War

• Committed to Containment– JFK entered into office with vigorous anti-

communist rhetoric– As such, he pushed for legislation to set aside

more money for defense, increased nuclear stockpiles, and often portrayed the space race as an another arena of the Cold War

– He also escalated American commitment to Vietnam (16,000 “advisors” by 1963)

III. JFK and the Cold War

• Foreign Policy Mishaps– As a result the Bay of Pigs fiasco in 1961,

Kennedy was detested by much of Latin America, though the “Alliance for Progress” mitigated this somewhat.

– JFK was viewed as a rookie by the (much) older Nikita Khrushchev at the Vienna Summit (1961).

III. JFK and the Cold War

• The Cuban Missile Crisis (or Caribbean Crisis)– For several weeks in October, the world stood

on the brink of nuclear annihilation – After the discovery of Soviet nuclear missiles in

Cuba, JFK decided on a naval quarantine of the island.

– The Soviets refused to abandon the bases and to call home the ships headed to Cuba to reinforce the island.

III. JFK and the Cold War

• The Cuban Missile Crisis (or Caribbean Crisis)– The Soviets eventually backed down, but only

after the US agreed to remove the aging ICBMs from Turkey

– Though many thought (and continue) to think of the Cuban Missile Crisis as a victory for Kennedy, it has been criticized for nearly beginning nuclear warfare and for triggering a massive Soviet nuclear build up

IV. The Assassination of JFK

• National Tragedy in Dallas– On November 22, 1963 JFK was shot and killed

by Lee Harvey Oswald while in a motorcade in Dallas

– His death has been described as a national trauma, especially considering the affinity many Americans had for the Kennedys

– Ironically, his death allowed for LBJ (the new president) to implement so many of the reforms that JFK had struggled unsuccessfully for, especially regarding Civil Rights legislation.