Eisenhower and the 1950s
Hailing Eisenhower as someone whom one might have as a regular neighbor, the country overwhelmingly elected the former and celebrated World War Two Allied forces commander. Although a former military leader, Eisenhower strongly believed in the ascendancy of civilian control over the military and condemned what he termed the "military-industrial complex." During Eisenhower’s administration, the USSR made several advances in the space race pushing the United States to catch up.
1952 election: candidates, issues: Truman would not seek reelection. The Democrats drafted Adlai Stevenson, who was unsuccessful. The Republicans decided to back the war hero Dwight D. Eisenhower who chose Nixon as his running mate. The GOP controlled both houses.
Ike and Modern Republicanism: He provided Americans with the stability they craved, and labeled his credo "Modern Republicanism." In general, he was conservative on monetary issues and liberal "when it came to human beings." During his term as president, he backed the most extensive public-works program in U.S. history: the Interstate Highway Act and also extended social security benefits and raised the minimum wage.
"fiscal management": Large scale labor organizations and social welfare were used to deal with powerful pressure groups. It rejected an extreme step to the right side of politics and a return to the pre-New Deal policies. Also, it abandoned the goal of a balanced budget in favor of increased spending to restore prosperity.
Niebuhr, Reinhold, Rand, Ayn, The Fountainhead: Niebuhr was a theologian who expressed neo-Orthodox Protestant views and liberal social thoughts. Ayn Rand was a U.S. novelist who became a citizen in 1931 and wrote about the struggles of poverty. Her work was important in expressing life’s hardships and was published in 1928.
McCarran-Walter Immigration Act, 1952: Passed over the presidents’ veto, it validated the quota system firmly based on the idea that national origin restrained immigration from southern and Eastern Europe. This act also empowered the attorney general to exclude and deport aliens suspected of being communists.
Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW): Eisenhower transformed the Federal Securities Agency into the H.E.W. and gave it cabinet rank in 1953. This agency allowed for the reorganization of government in order to achieve greater efficiency and a better economy.
Interstate Highway Act: Passed by Eisenhower, this was the largest and most expensive public-works system in American history that allowed for the building of 41,000 miles of expressways in 1956. Allowed for suburban growth, the decay of central cities, and increased America’s reliance on cars.
St. Lawrence Seaway: Approved by Eisenhower, this seaway linked the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean in 1954. It was built to accelerate suburban growth, expand trade to promote economic prosperity, and allowed boats greater access to transport goods. It connected Montreal and Lake Ontario promoting good relations with Canada.
Landrum-Griffin Act: Passed in 1959 to regulate the government of unions, guarantee members’ rights, provisions for anti-corruption, and fair elections. Enacted due to the concern of financial misconduct on the part of union officials and connected to gangsters and organized crime.
Hoffa, Jimmy: He became president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters in 1957. Jury tampering was found after he was sentenced to thirteen years in prison for the fraudulent use of the union pension fund. After losing his appeals, he was sentenced in 1967 but only served about four years and nine months in prison.
AFL-CIO merger: In 1955, this brought 85% of all union members into a single administrative unit, which promised aggressive unionism under the leadership of AFL’s George Meany as president and CIO’s Walter Reuther as vice-president. However, the movement was unable to achieve its old level of success.
Alaska, Hawaii: Congress approved Alaska as the forty-ninth state of the Union in June and Eisenhower signed the Alaska statehood bill on July 7, 1958 . Congress approved of giving Hawaii statehood in March of 1959 and it was admitted to the Union on August 21, 1959.
First Indochina War: After WWII, Ho Chi Minh of the Vietminh declared himself leader of the Republic of Vietnam and began a war to drive the France imperialists out of Vietnam in Dec of 1946. After a 55 day siege, the French surrendered at the fortress of Diem Bien Phu and July 21, 1954 a truce agreement was signed with France surrendering North Vietnam and granting independence to Cambodia, Laos, and South Vietnam.
Bricker Amendment: On January 7, 1954, Senator John W. Bricker proposed a constitutional amendment to limit the executive power of the president. His proposal called for a limit on the power of the president to negotiate treaties and executive agreements. Rejected February 26, 1954.
Dulles, John Foster: Became Secretary of State under Eisenhower in 1953. Cold Warrior who supported "massive retaliation," brinksmanship, and preemptive strike. In 1951 he was author of Japanese peace treaty. Politically influential during WWII, from 1949-1959.
"massive retaliation": January, 1940s. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles signed the Strategic Air Command as the primary deterrent for Soviet attack. Great Britain, Turkey, and Italy stationed intermediate-range nuclear weapons in their countries to provide for a capacity for "massive retaliation."
brinksmanship: This is another of the policies of John Foster Dulles that caused considerable controversy during the Cold War. Dulles declared that the United States must be prepared to "go to the brink" of war in order to attain its objectives. This stance was labeled brinksmanship.
preemptive strike: A plan of acting first with nuclear or conventional weapons as a defensive action. A preemptive strike would solve the problem before it became an issue by acting first and swiftly. A preemptive strike is another Cold War term that generated fear for the beginning of a nuclear war.
Khrushchev, 1955 Geneva Summit: The meeting of "Four Powers," US, Great Britain, France and the Soviet Union. Also present was Khrushchev, the 1st Secretary of the Communist Party. Decided to reunify Germany, and on disarmament, and how to improve relations between east and west.
Hungarian revolt, 1956: Antigovernment demonstrations in Budapest on Oct. 23, 1956 as revolutionaries demanded the denunciation of the Warsaw Pact and liberation from Soviet troops. On Oct. 21, U.S. announced it wouldn’t give military aid to the revolutionaries. On Nov. 4, Soviets attacked Hungary.
Nasser Suez Canal crisis: Dec 17, 1955, the U.S. offered Egypt a loan to build the Aswan High Dam, withdrawing its offer after Egypt accepted Soviet Union aid and Pres. Nasser nationalized the Suez canal to use tolls to build the dam. On Oct 31, Israel invaded Egypt with French and British aircraft.
Peaceful Coexistence: A term applied to the actions of the US under Eisenhower and USSR under Khrushchev for maintaining peace and reducing the possibility of war between the two nations. The implementation of the phrase is seen in the Geneva Summit where the "spirit of Geneva" was one of peace and collaboration to create a secure and peaceful world. March 1959 the USSR and the U.S agreed to suspend atomic testing.
Eisenhower Doctrine: January 5, 1957, Eisenhower made a speech to the joint House of Congress to limit communist expansion. Authorized March 7, the Eisenhower Doctrine allowed the president to extend economic and military aid to certain nations as well as use of $200 million mutual security funds.
Common Market: Established 1958 by the Treaty of Rome to set up a wide customs union in 1968 and was joined by Great Britain in 1972. The EEC developed world wide trading relations between European nations providing for a more solidified Europe, another symbol of rearrangement of power after WWII.
Organization of American States (OAS): From the Charter of Bogotá regional association was established with US and Latin America states and formed a Inter-American conference, a Consultative Conference of Foreign Ministers, a Council with a delegate from each state, and a Secretariat and Commissions.
U-2 incident: May 3, 1960, the USSR announced an American U-2 plane was shot down in Soviet territory. May 5, NASA released a cover story of a lost weather research plane. May 7, pilot Francis Gary Powers confessed to being a CIA spy. May 11 Eisenhower admitted to authorization of U-2 flights.
ICBM: Intercontinental Ballistic missiles were developed in the 1950's in America. The ICBM's with one or two nuclear warheads had the potential to destroy the USSR and the US. ICBM's were one of the many factors that gave the American people the sense that war was imminent.
Sputnik: The Soviet Union launched this first satellite into orbit on October 4, 1957. Humiliated at being upstaged by the Russians, the U.S. reshaped the educational system in efforts to produce the large numbers of scientists and engineers that Russia had. In addition, to better make scientific advancements, NASA was created in 1958. Created by Congress, it brought a national aeronautics agency to administer nonmilitary space research and exploration.
National Defense Education Act (NDEA Act): Passed in 1958 to provide $300 million in loans to students of undergraduate and graduate status, funds for training teachers, and for the development of new instructional material to ensure a higher level of national security.
"military-industrial complex": The demands of national security had produced the symbiotic relationship of immense military establishment and industry. These intertwined interests helped lead to leverage in government and threatened subordination of the military.
