The Eisenhower Era
1952 - 1960
1. Ike, Nixon, and Korea
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The Election of 1952
Truman retires
War-hero Dwight D. Eisenhower and his running mate Richard M. Nixon
run on the Republican Party ticket
They defeat Democrat Adlai Stevenson
Nixon’s famous “Checkers” speech; Nixon goes on TV and uses theatrics
to get the American people on the side of Eisenhower
TV is now a powerful force in politics;
Pros – political messages can now be sent to nearly every American
household
Cons – politics has now become almost like advertising and
salesmanship; political messages are now tuned to the style of show
biz
1. Ike, Nixon, and Korea
Eisenhower’s first priority was to end the conflict in
Korea
 Korea ended in an armistice in 1953
 54,000 American soldiers lost their lives in Korea;
almost as many as died in the war in Vietnam
 Sadly not much changed from how things were before
the war; the boundary was set back at the 38th
parallel
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President Harry S. Truman
President Dwight D. Eisenhower
2. McCarthy’s “Witch-Hunt”
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Anti-Communist sentiments and fears were at an all time high
during the 50s
Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy took it upon himself to
root out the “reds” from American society
1954 – McCarthy appears on TV and addresses the American
people on his “so-called” findings
All McCarthy managed to do was ruin the reputations of many
Americans and his own, as well as stir up fear
He accused workers in the State Department as well as the
Army
He had no real basis for these charges
3. Early Civil Rights Movement
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1955 – 1956
The Civil Rights movement is gaining momentum
Fighting segregation, Jim Crow Laws, and the Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme
Court decision
The bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama was sparked by the refusal of
Rosa Parks to move to the back of the bus
The boycott was led by a then unknown young minister named Martin
Luther King, Jr., who would achieve national notoriety through this
The NAACP, unable to get support from the legislative or executive
branches of government, began pushing for change in the judicial branch
The 1954 court decision Brown v. Board of Education, Topeka KS
overturned separate but equal in schools set by Plessy v. Ferguson
Chief Justice Earl Warren – his court would be one of the most influential in
the United States
The Brown decision was landmark for the civil rights movement
3. Early Civil Rights Movement
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1957
King gains momentum from his success in Montgomery and forms the
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
This student led “sit-in” movement began in Greensboro, North Carolina
This started a non-violent fire throughout the south trying to gain equal
treatment restaurants, transportation, employment, housing, and voter
registration
This spawned the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee
Compare contrast:
SCLC – Non-violent, persistent, Christian-based, patient and peaceful
SNCC – More impassioned and forceful, eventually became impatient
with the quiet tactics of the SCLC; they wanted change sooner
4. Ike At Home
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Ike was a conservative president, but he did do some big things
The Interstate Highway Act of 1956
Pro: It expanded the highway system in the United States and
increased mobility. Also, the trucking, automobile, oil, and travel
industries boomed.
The railroad giants finally met their match
There were some cons to the Highway Act
Con: Air quality decreased, especially in cities. Many of the vibrant
downtowns withered away while shopping malls grew in the suburbs.
5. Cold War Policy
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Vietnam
Small southeastern country in Asia; used to be a French colony but no more
1954 – France loses a war to the Vietnamese
Much to our dismay, as we were sending France aid hoping they’d win
The U.S. feared that Vietnam would come under the threat of the spreading
Communism in the far east (China, Russia)
At a conference in Geneva, Switzerland, major powers, including the U.S.,
met to discuss what would happen to Vietnam
U.S. wanted democracy; China wanted Communism
The solution? Vietnam would be divided into Communist North Vietnam
and Democratic South Vietnam at the 17th parallel
It’s Korea all over again…
The U.S. begins supporting the anti-communist South Vietnamese leader
Ngo Dinh Diem
5. Cold War Policy
Tensions mounted even more when the Soviets
created a NATO of their own, called the Warsaw Pact
in 1955
 Matters got worse between the U.S. and the Soviet
Union when in Hungary, a group of nationalists
wanting liberty started an anti-communist uprising but
were crushed by Soviet tanks
 The United States responded in the Middle East by
engineering a coup (an overthrow) and installing a
pro-democratic shah of Iran
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5. Cold War Policy
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The Cold War tensions then moved into the Middle East in Egypt in 1956
Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser began seeking funds to build a
canal in the Nile River for irrigation and power (think Hoover Dam)
Britain and France wanted to help
So did the Soviets
Both sides began fighting over influence in the Middle East
It almost became an armed conflict BUT
The U.S. refused to supply Britain and France with oil to fight the war
Historically, this is known as the Suez Crisis
In 1948, the U.S. was a major oil exporter, but U.S. oil is depleting rapidly
The Middle East would soon become the oil giant in the world
6. Ike’s Second Term
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The Election of 1956
President Eisenhower runs for re-election and wins another easy victory
against Democratic opponent Adlai Stevenson
1957 – The rivalry between with the U.S.S.R. amps up when Russia
successfully launches the first artificial satellite, Sputnik
This set off another competition to build missiles and improve technology
Joseph Stalin had died in 1953 and was succeeded by Nikita Khrushchev
Khrushchev causes tensions to rise when the Soviet Union begins taking
sectors in the western part of Berlin
However, Khrushchev pays a good-will visit to the U.S. in 1959 so things
calm down
But then they are amped back up when an American U-2 spy plane is
caught spying on the Soviet Union
6. Ike’s Second Term
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Today, the United States enjoys good relations with
remaining communist countries: China and Vietnam
But not Cuba
After protesting the 1959 Cuban Revolution led by
Fidel Castro, the U.S. cut off all ties, which caused
Castro to seek help from the Soviets
Keep in mind that Cuba is only 90 miles south of
Florida, essentially in our backyard
This will come up later…
7. Transition in 1960
The 22nd Amendment was passed in 1951
 Presidents are limited to two consecutive terms
 Eisenhower, even if he wanted to, couldn’t run for a third term
 He retires after two terms a popular president, American
citizens saw him as a kind “grandfather”
 The Election of 1960
 A young Massachusetts senator named John F. Kennedy is
nominated by the Democrats; Kennedy is only 43
 Republicans nominate the Vice-President; Richard M. Nixon
 This is the FIRST ELECTION where TV will play a major role
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7. Transition in 1960
The contrast was fairly stark between the two candidates
 John Kennedy
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 Was tanned and had a confident look; he wore make-up
 Wore a dark suit that really made him stick out on the screen
 Was coached on how to present himself on television
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Richard Nixon
 Was visibly tired from a long campaign and nursing a leg injury
 Refused to wear make-up; which made him look haggard
 His choice of a gray suit caused him to not really contrast with his
surroundings (TV was black and white back then)
1st Kennedy – Nixon Debate – 1960
7. Transition in 1960
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In one of U.S. history’s closest elections, Kennedy defeated Nixon by a
narrow margin
He was the first Catholic to be elected as a U.S. President
Eisenhower passes the torch to Kennedy and in his farewell address
warned the United States about a growing “military-industrial complex”
So what the heck is that?
1) “Military industrial complex” – Eisenhower was basically warning
America to be careful about high military spending and having a large
military
2) Influence – The U.S. government must be careful NOT to be
influenced by military and defense corporations that make lots of
money during times of conflict
In other words, if you are the owner of a gun company, and there’s peace,
then you aren’t really needed; but if you can influence the government to
fight a war…..then you’ll get business….get it?
President John F. Kennedy
Family in the 50s
Electoral Map - 1960
8. Economic Trends
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After World War II, the American economy changed immensely
Most jobs BEFORE WW2 were manufacturing jobs – blue collar
After WW2, service jobs – white collar jobs – like teaching, nursing, clerks,
business executives, became more numerous as the blue collar jobs
declined
Women’s roles had changed
Immediately after WW2, they entered a “cult of domesticity”, where most
women left their jobs and went back to work as the men returned
As a result, the baby boom generation occurred and women were
celebrated as mothers and homemakers again
Leave It To Beaver – the model family in the 50s
But a quiet revolution was building that would break out in the 60s
When feminist Betty Friedman wrote The Feminine Mystique, women’s
feelings were fueled and ready to break out of housewifery
This book birthed the modern women’s movement
8. Economic Trends
How has the role of women changed since the
1950s?
 1) 1950s – Women were basically expected to be
wives and homemakers.
 2) Today – A full-time working woman has become
the expected norm in the U.S.
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9. The Consumer Culture
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Ready to enjoy life after a depression and a world war, the United States
became a consumer culture in the 50s and 60s, ready to consume and
enjoy all life had to offer
Mass production + Advertising = A consumer culture
Some examples of major consumer innovations after WW2 were:
Consumer credit – It’s easy to get!
Eating out – fast food - McD’s - 1955
Recreation / sports – major league baseball and professional football
and basketball leagues
Mass Communications – TV!!!
Popular music – Rock ‘n’ Roll – Elvis – a wild new form of music
Movie Stars – Marilyn Monroe - sexuality becomes more popular, more
visible, and more commercialized