Dwight D. Eisenhower - Lecture Slides, Slides of Political Science

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Dwight D. Eisenhower

1953- 34 th^ President

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Decade of 1950’s

Cold War and threat of nuclear destruction loomed over America

War in Korea

Red Scare (McCarthyism)

Domestically: prosperity, suburbs, rock-n-roll, “Happy Days” and “I Love Lucy”

Civil Rights Movement in high gear (Emmett Till, Rosa Parks, MLK Jr.)

Election of 1952

Dwight Eisenhower (Republican) Adlai Stevenson (Democrat)

Election of 1952

Eisenhower won with 57% of popular vote

Ended Democrat rule for past 20 years

http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/ 52

Eisenhower’s V.P.

Richard Nixon selected as V.P. candidate

Nixon accused of benefitting from a trust fund by Calif. Businessman

Nixon gave Checker’s Speech to save his campaign

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/richardni xoncheckers.html

Domestic Policies

Most lasting legacy: National Interstate and Defense Highways Act of 1956 (constructed a nationally integrated highway system). Cost 26 billion over 10 year period. 42,000 miles of interstate highways linking all the major cities. (used fed money to build highways in name of national defense)

Authorized the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) following the launching of Sputnik in 1957. Build missiles and explore space

National Interstate Highway

Act

Eisenhower & The Cold War

Most of Eisenhower’s attention for both terms focused on foreign policy and international crises arising from Cold War

John Foster Dulles: Sect. of State and major contributor to his foreign policy

Critical of Truman’s “Policy of Containment” (too passive)

Wanted the U.S. to push Communist powers to the “brink of war”. Believed they would back down because of our nuclear superiority

John Foster Dulles

Place greater reliance on nuclear weapons & air power; less on conventional forces

More “bang for the buck”

Policy known as “ brinkmanship ”

More like a policy for mutual extinction!

Serious Challenges in Asia

Korea (ended in 1953)

Indochina (Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam). French lost control

U.S. gave over 1 billion in economic and military aid to South Vietnam to stop communism from spreading (domino theory)

SEATO: 8 nation defense pact to prevent the fall of communism in southeast Asia

The Middle East

Difficult balancing act of maintaining friendly ties with oil- rich Arab nations and the new state of Israel (1948)

President Nasser (Egypt) asked U.S. for aid to build the Aswan Dam project on the Nile River. U.S. refused due to their treatment of Israel. Nasser turned to S.U.

July 1956 Nasser seized control of the Suez Canal (owned by France & G.B.). Transported ¾ of western oil

G.B., France, Israel launched a surprise attack against Egypt and retook the canal

Eisenhower Doctrine

U.S. pledged economic and military aid to any Middle Eastern country threatened by communism

U.S. replaced G.B. and France as the leading Western influence in the Middle East

Competing with the Soviet influence

1956 new Soviet Premier: Nikita Khrushchev

Called for “peaceful coexistence” with U.S.

Nikita Khrushchev