THE EISENHOWER YEARS

1952- 1960

(Personified the 1950s)

ELECTION OF 1952

First republican victory in 20 years

“I like Ike”

Running Mate- Richard Nixon

Ran against Adlai Stevenson • Nixon’s Checkers speech• 442- 89 electoral votes

DOMESTIC POLICIES

Modern Republicanism= balanced and moderate

approach

Came closer then any other successor in balancing the

budget

Accepted New Deal programs as a reality of Modern life• Extended social security to 10 million more• Raised Minimum wage• Additional public housing

Oppose federal health care and federal aid to education

DOMESTIC POLICIES

Highway system

Most permanent legacy (1956)

42k miles of highways

Used as a measure of national defense

Promoted trucking, growth of the suburbs

PROSPERITY

Steady growth rate

Deficits fall

Some historians rate his economic policies as the

most successful of any president

1945-1960 disposable income

Americans had the highest standards of living in

the world

ELECTION OF 1956

Eisenhower was again

Democrats win both houses of

Congress

EISENHOWER AND THE COLD WAR

Secretary of State John Foster Dulles

Thought containment was too passive

talked of “liberating captive nations”

Took a hard line of “• Wanted to push Soviets and China

Eisenhower restrained him

EISENHOWER AND THE COLD WAR

Dullus wanted “more bang for the back”• Place greater reliance on nuclear

weapons and air power

To some Massive Retaliation looked

more the Mutual Extinction (MAD –

mutually assured destruction)

EISENHOWER AND THE 3 R D WORLD

Collapse of colonial empires after WWII were

extremely significant

1947- 1962 dozens of colonies in Asia and Africa

gained their independence – India / Pakistan (1947)

Their need for foreign aid from either the U.S. or

the Soviet Union made them pawns

EISENHOWER AND THE 3 R D WORLD

Use of correct action • 1953- U.S. helps overthrow Government in Iran• The shah was put into power promoted the West

with favorable aid prices• Guatemala, 1954 CIA overthrow a leftist government

that threatened American business interests• U.S. support of ruthless dictators – produced anti-

growing US sentiment

ASIA

1953 (March) Stalin dies

China and North Korea sign an armistice with S.

Korea

July 1953, exchange of prisoners

French try to retake Indochina after WWII

Native Vietnamese and Cambodians resist

ASIA

Federal imperialist aims increase communist support (anti-

colonial war)

Truman’s government began to give aid to France

China and soviets arched Vietnam guerillas led by Ho Chi Minh

1954, French defeated at Dien Bien Phu – forced to surrender

1954, France agreed to give up Indochina at Genera Conference

Divided among Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam

VIETNAM

Divided at the 17th parallel North (Ho Chi Minh) vs.

South(Ngo Dinh Diem)

1955 to 1941 U.S. gives ones 1 billion in economic

and military and to S. Vietnam

Domino Theory

SEATO( 8 nations, 1954

US,GB,FR,Pak.,Aus.,NZ,Thai,Phil

MIDDLE EAST

Balance maintaining financial ties with oil- rich

Arab states while supporting Israel

Civil war fought to prevent Jewish State

SUEZ CRISIS

1. Arab nationalist and Nasser (Egypt) asked US for funds to

build the Aswan dam on the

2. US says no because Egypt fought Israel

3.Egypt gets limited funds from Soviets

4. Egypt seizes Suez Canal (1956) – Nationalizes it

5. In response, GB, FR, and Israel launch a surprise attack

against Egypt and retake the canal

6. Eisenhower furious- UN resolution condemning the invasion

EISENHOWER DOCTRINE

US pledges military aid to any middle Eastern

country threatened by communism• 1st Applied in Lebanon (1958) sent 14k marines to

prevent Muslim -Christian War

US SOVIET RELATIONS

Period characterized by relative calm to extreme tension

Spirit of Geneva

“Atoms for peace” = slow down arms race after Stalin’s

death

Geneva, Eisenhower and Bulgaria “open skies ” , Soviets

rejected proposal 1st thaw

Kruschev denounced crimes of Stalin in early 1956 called

for peaceful coexistence

US SOVIET RELATIONS

Sputnik shock = blamed American education national system

and education Act – 100s millions to schools

2nd berlin crisis= diffused at Camp David

U. 2 incident = US spy plane shot down over the Soviet Union

Cuba= Castro overthrew Battista January 1, 1959• Castro nationalized American businesses• Communist Stole 90 miles off Fl. Coast• Eisenhower used CIA to train anti-communist exiles to retake

island• Left up to Kennedy – Bay of Pigs Invasion Military -Industrial complex