10th American History
Unit IV- A Champion of Democracy
Chapter 16 – Section 1
The Eisenhower Era
Conservatives (Republicans)
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Conservatives tend to:
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Turn to business and the market to solve
economic problems.
Oppose government regulation of business.
Favor more freedom over more equality.
Support larger defense budgets.
Oppose more government spending.
Oppose higher taxes on rich people.
Oppose political and economic change.
Liberals (Democrats)
Liberals tend to:
Turn to the government to solve economic problems.
Favor government regulation of business.
Favor more equality over more freedom.
Oppose larger defense budgets
Favor more government spending to solve economic problems
Favor Higher taxes on rich people.
Favor political and economic change.
The Eisenhower Era
The Main Idea
The presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower was shaped in large
part by the Cold War and related conflicts.
Reading Focus
• What were the circumstances of Eisenhower’s election in 1952?
• How did the continuing Cold War affect the Eisenhower
administration?
• What were the Cold War “hot spots” of the 1950s?
The Election of 1952
Truman
Stevenson
vs.
Eisenhower
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The Twenty-second Amendment set a 10-year limit on the
number of years a president could serve.
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Truman was specifically excluded from the limit.
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Still, he felt he had served long enough and did not seek
reelection in 1952.
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Democrats nominated Adlai Stevenson.
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Republicans chose Dwight D. Eisenhower, known as
“Ike.”
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His campaign hit a snag when his vice-presidential
running mate, Richard M. Nixon, was accused of being
dishonest.
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Eisenhower won on his campaign promise to end the war
in Korea.
Adlai Ewing Stevenson: An Honest and Eloquent Political Leader (02:05)
President Dwight D. Eisenhower
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34th President 1953-1961
Republican
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Who was Ike?
Election of 1952
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Issues- Korean Stalemate;
Inflation; China and Communism;
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Republican Candidate- Eisenhower
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Democratic Candidate- Adlai Stevenson
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“I Like Ike”
Issues- Go to Korea and end the
war. Take on the Commies and
corruption at home.
Issues- Eloquent campaign on the
enemies of man- war, poverty and
tyranny.
Outcome- Eisenhower carries 39 states,
442 electoral votes and 33.6 million to 26.6
million popular vote. Ending 20 years of
Democratic presidents.
Richard Nixon and the Checkers Speech
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Eisenhower choose California Senator Richard M.
Nixon as his vice-presidential running mate.
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Nixon had made his name as a strong anti-communist.
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During the 1952 campaign, Nixon was accused of
having an $18,000 fund made up of gifts from political
supporters.
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This was not illegal, but Nixon’s accusers said he was
dishonest.
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Nixon went on television to defend his actions and
claimed that he did not use the fund improperly and that
he had only accepted one special gift in 1952….a
cocker spaniel dog named Checkers.
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His outstanding performance saved his spot on the
Republican ticket.
Checkers Speech
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“Well, that's about it. That's what we have and that's what we
owe. It isn't very much but Pat and I have the satisfaction that
every dime that we've got is honestly ours. I should say this—
that Pat doesn't have a mink coat. But she does have a
respectable Republican cloth coat. And I always tell her that
she'd look good in anything.”
A man down in Texas heard Pat on the radio mention the fact
that our two youngsters would like to have a dog. And, believe it
or not, the day before we left on this campaign trip we got a
message from Union Station in Baltimore saying they had a
package for us. We went down to get it. You know what it was.
It was a little cocker spaniel dog in a crate that he'd sent all the
way from Texas. Black and white spotted. And our little girl-Tricia,
the 6-year old-named it Checkers. And you know, the kids, like all
kids, love the dog and I just want to say this right now, that
regardless of what they say about it, we're gonna keep it.
The Election of 1952
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What were the circumstances of
Eisenhower’s election of 1952?
Recall – Why did President Turman decide
not to seek reelection in 1952?
Make Judgments – In Richard Nixon’s
Checker’s Speech, did he directly address
the charges against him? Explain your
answer.
The Cold War and the
Eisenhower Administration
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Eisenhower kept his campaign promise and traveled to
Korea to try and get the stalled peace talks moving.
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Even after peace was achieved in 1953, the Cold War
continued to rage and to dominate Eisenhower’s
presidency.
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Secretary of State John Foster Dulles helped shape
Eisenhower’s Cold War policies.
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Changes of leadership in the Soviet Union and
developments in their foreign policy helped keep Cold
War tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union at
an all time high.
Eisenhower’s Cold War Policies
John Foster Dulles was critical of the Democrats’
foreign policy. Dulles did not want to merely contain
communism; he wanted to roll it back.
Dulles believed in brinkmanship, the diplomatic art of
going to the brink of war without actually getting into
war. To this end he advocated building more nuclear
weapons.
Dulles also believed in the concept of massive
retaliation. This was the promise that the United States
would use overwhelming force against the Soviet Union
to settle conflicts.
Foreign policy also had a secret side—the Central
Intelligence Agency, or CIA.
Brinkmanship
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How do you fight a war without
going to war? After ten years of
Cold War (1946) with the
Soviet Union, that was a
paradox we were still trying to
resolve.
But President Eisenhower's
secretary of state, John Foster
Dulles, had no doubts about it.
"The ability to get to the verge
without getting into the war is
the necessary art," Dulles said
in an interview early in 1956.
"If you cannot master it, you
inevitably get into war. If you
try to run away from it, if you
are scared to go to the brink,
you are lost."
President Dwight D. Eisenhower
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Important Foreign Issues
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Korean War
Massive Retaliation and
“Brinkmanship”
French-Indochina War
Pactomania
Russian Summit ConfereneNikita Khrushchev
Sputnik; National Defense
Education Act 1958; N.A.S.A.
Eisenhower Doctrine
Francis Gary Powers and U-2 spy
plane shot down over RussiaMay 5, 1960
Castro and Cuba
“Military-Industrial Complex”
The Soviet Union
Changes in Leadership
The Warsaw Pact
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Joseph Stalin died in March
1953.
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The Soviets created the
Warsaw Pact in 1955.
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His death caused
Americans to wonder what
policies his successor
would enact.
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It was a military alliance
with the Soviet-dominated
countries of Eastern
Europe.
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Nikita Khrushchev
emerged as the new leader.
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The Soviet Union remained
a Communist dictatorship.
Uprisings in Poland and
Hungary were ruthlessly
suppressed.
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Soviets made it clear that
they were in control of
Eastern Europe.
U.S.-Soviet Relations
Geneva Summit and the “Open Skies” Treaty
• Americans and Soviets met in Geneva, Switzerland, for a
summit meeting in 1955.
• Eisenhower proposed an “open skies” treaty that would allow
each side to fly over the other’s territory to learn more about
its military abilities.
• The Soviets rejected the proposal.
The Spy Plane Incident
• Eisenhower wanted to gain information about the Soviet
military.
• In 1960 the Soviets shot down an American U-2 spy plane
sent into the Soviet Union to inspect their military facilities.
• This incident greatly damaged U.S.–Soviet relations.
Eisenhower Address U.S. Foreign Intelligence Activities (01:57)
The Plane (02:04)
The Decade of Great Change (01:55)
The Cold War Continues
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How did the continuing Cold War affect the
Eisenhower administration?
Explain – How did the Soviet Union
strengthen its grip on Eastern Europe?
Analyze – How did the concept of massive
retaliation fit in with the policy of
brinksmanship?
Identify Cause and Effect – How did the 1955
summit between Eisenhower and Krushchev
ultimately damage U.S.-Soviet relations?
Cold War “Hot Spots” in the 1950s
In addition to Korea, Cold War tensions flared up in several
other spots around the world in the 1950s.
Issues in Vietnam reflected Cold War rivalries. North Vietnam
was under the control of Communist leader Ho Chi Minh. South
Vietnam was supported by the United States and its antiCommunist allies and headed by President Ngo Dinh Diem.
The Middle East was another Cold War “hot spot.” Trouble
between Jews and Arabs reached a crisis point in 1948. In
addition, Cold War tensions were played out in Egypt as Gamal
Abdel Nasser used the support of the Soviet Union to unify the
Arab nations.
Vietnam and the Seeds of War
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Peace talks between the French and Vietnamese reflected Cold War rivalries.
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The country was divided into North Vietnam (Communist) and South
Vietnam.
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The division was to be temporary—an election would allow the
Vietnamese to choose a government
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Eisenhower did not like this agreement.
The United States and its anti-Communist allies created the Southeast Asia
Treaty Organization, or SEATO.
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Agreed to work together to resist Communist aggression
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Supported the creation of an anti-Communist government in South
Vietnam
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United States provided much military and economic support to this
government
This division between North and South set the stage for later conflict.
Trouble in the Middle East
Israel
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In 1948 Israel declared its
independence.
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Egypt
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A UN resolution had divided
Palestine into a Jewish and
an Arab state.
Gamal Abdel Nasser wanted to
unite the Arab nations and
sought the support of the Soviet
Union.
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Arab Egypt, Syria, Jordan,
Lebanon, and Iraq attacked
Israel.
U.S. leaders did not like this
and took away their support for
the Aswan High Dam.
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In retaliation, Nasser seized the
Suez canal and almost started a
war.
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The Eisenhower Doctrine said
the U.S. would aid any Nation in
the Middle East trying to resist
communism.
Israel won the war and the
land of Palestine came under
the control of Israel, Jordan,
and Egypt.
Eisenhower Declares His Foreign Policy (01:44)
1959 Kitchen Debate
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The Kitchen Debate was an impromptu
debate (through interpreters) between Vice
President Richard Nixon and Soviet Premier
Nikita Khrushchev at the opening of the
American National Exhibition in Moscow, on
July 24, 1959.
For the event, an entire house was built
that the American exhibitors claimed anyone
in America could afford. It was filled with
labor saving and recreational devices meant
to represent the fruits of the capitalist
American consumer market.
The debate took place in the house's
kitchen. The two men discussed the merits
of each of their economic systems,
capitalism vs. communism.
The debate took place during an escalation
of the Cold War, beginning with the launch
of Sputnik in 1957, through the U-2 Crisis in
1960. Most Americans believed Nixon won
the debate, and hence the event added to
his prestige on the homefront.
Cold War Hot Spots
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What were the Cold War “hot spots” of the
1950’s?
Explain – Why was Vietnam divided in two?
Make Inferences – Why might the division of
Vietnam into Communist North Vietnam and
non-Communist South Vietnam concern
Americans?
Cold War Hot Spots
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Explain – Why were Americans concerned
about the outcome of the 1956 election for a
new government in Vietnam?
Define – What was the Eisenhower
Doctrine?