Cover Slide
The American
Pageant
Chapter 37
The Eisenhower
Era, 1952-1960
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
McCarthy finally went too far when he
accused ________ of being infiltrated
by Communists.
Eisenhower’s policy to target illegal
immigrants was called Operation
_________.
Eisenhower used the CIA to topple this
Central American country’s govt.
__________.
Eisenhower warned the US of the
dangers of the “________-industrial
complex” when he left office.
The ________ Crisis in 1956 almost led
to world war.
SPUTNIK!!!
COLD WAR THE SPACE RACE
October 4, 1957, USSR
sends up 1st satellite
(184 lbs)
Seen as victory of
communism over
democracy/capitalism
Fears of Soviet ICBM’s
Talk of a “missile gap”
4 months later US
sends up 2.5 lb satellite
NUCLEAR TESTING
1958: US and
USSR begin to
suspend “dirty”
tests of Nuc’s
Many soldiers and
civilians suffer
from testing
http://ndep.nv.gov/boff/vegasview.jpg
http://www.bikiniatoll.com/
EARLY COLD WAR CONTEXT
1950KOREAN CONFLICT
1957 - SPUTNIK AND SPACE RACE
1958 - NUCLEAR TESTING
1958 -US TROOPS SENT EGYPT & LEBANON
1958-1959 – BERLIN ISSUE HEATS UP
1960 - U-2 INCIDENT
1961- US BREAKS RELATIONS W/ CUBA
1961 - BERLIN WALL/CRISIS
1962 - CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS
Nixon and Eisenhower at the 1952 Republican Convention
Nixon and Eisenhower at the 1952 Republican Convention
In this picture, the triumphant Republican nominees for the White House pose with
smiles and wives--Pat Nixon and Mamie Eisenhower. Seen as a statesman and not a
politician during the campaign, Eisenhower worked hard to ensure his nomination
over Robert Taft, and then chose Richard Nixon to balance the ticket because he was
a younger man, a westerner, and a conservative. (UPI Bettmann Archives)
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Eisenhower
happy
Eisenhower happy
Like a benign grandfather, Dwight D. Eisenhower provided a reassuring presence in the
White House in the 1950s. His moderation, balanced judgment, and apparent aloofness
from partisanship appealed to as many as did his fondness for bridge and poker,
bourbon, fishing and hunting, and golf. (Courtesy Dwight D. Eisenhower Library)
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
http://fisher.lib.virginia.edu/collections/stats/elections/maps/1952.gif
McCarthyism, "I have here in my hand..."
McCarthyism, "I have here in
my hand..."
A term invented by cartoonist
Herblock, McCarthyism to most
liberals and Democrats meant
the use of lies, slander, and
innuendo to attack and discredit
the Democratic party for
"twenty years of treason." ("I
have here in my hand…" from
Herblock : A Cartoonist's Life
(Macmillian Publishing
Company , 1993))
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Those whom the gods would
destroy, first they make proud…
McCarthy purges State Department
McCarthy influences senatorial races
McCarthy accuses George Marshall of
being part of the “conspiracy”
McCarthy attacks US army in spring
1954. Hearings are televised.
Public turns against him.
Eisenhower’s
Administration
“dynamic conservatism”
= fiscal conservatism & social liberalism
Small government and balanced budget
Experienced deficits, recession and
economic reversal
Interstate Highway Act (Pros? Cons?)
Dubious programs:
• Operation Wetback
• Tried to terminate Indian Tribes
Eisenhower’s Foreign Policy
Sec. of State John Foster Dulles -“roll back” the “red
tide”
• CIA orchestrates coup’s in Guatemala, Iran, Congo
Strategic Air Command (SAC) as a nuclear deterrent
(see Dr. Strangelove)
Attempts 1955 Peace Conferences w/ Nikita
Kruschchev
USSR pulls out of Austria, BUT
CRUSHES 1956 Hungarian uprisings – US stays out.
PROBLEM:
1.
SAC was an all-or-nothing tool.
2.
SAC was NOT cheaper than conventional weapons.
IRONY: Ike’s warning of “military-industrial” complex
http://www.unlv.edu/faculty/p
werth/Europemap-1955.jpg
“Kitchen Debate”
In 1959, during
an official visit to
Moscow, Nixon
meet Soviet
Premier Nikita
Khrushchev in red
Square. He
engaged
Khrushchev in an
impromptu
debate on live TV
over whether
capitalism or
communism was
the superior
system.
Eisenhower’s Foreign Policy: Part 2
US & Ike back French in Indochina
US commits $ but not troops or bombers
Vietnam falls, divided into N & S at 17th
parallel
SEATO created
Uses CIA: 1953 coup in Iran, assassination of
Lumumba in Congo, fostering juntas in
Guatemala
1956 Suez Crisis: US keeps out, UN goes in.
Eisenhower Doctrine: 1957 – big
miscalculation
1960: OPEC formed
http://www.tacitconsent.com/map_9_1956.jpg
http://fisher.lib.virginia.edu/collections/stats/elections/maps/1956.gif
CUBA & CASTRO
Fulgencio Batista rules Cuba with an
ironhand – and US support.
US increasingly supports unpopular
dictators/strongmen as alternative to
popular communist movements
1959: Castro leads revolution
Castro appropriates US business and
property
Cuban elite flees for US/Miami
Castro allies with USSR
1961: US cuts ties with Cuba
ELECTION OF 1960
Nixon (Rep) v. JFK (Dem.)
Nixon runs as virtual incumbent (as VP to Ike)
JFK (N. Dem) v. LBJ (S. Dem) for nomination
ISSUES:
JFK allies with LBJ, launches “New Frontier”
campaign
JFK’s Catholicism
“missile gap”: Was US slipping?
First TV debates: Who won?
OUTCOME: Close popular vote, but JFK wins
electoral
Democrats capture both Houses of Congress.
Kennedy campaigning
Kennedy campaigning
John F. Kennedy is surrounded by supporters and the press as he arrives for the 1960
Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles. Young, handsome, and articulate,
Kennedy introduced new vitality, and perhaps superficiality, into political
campaigning. On television and in person, Kennedy was a popular politician; when
he became president, he became a media star as well. (Wide World Photos, Inc.)
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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