PRESIDENT
EISENHOWER’S MODERN
REPUBLICANISM
EISENHOWER’S MODERN
REPUBLICANISM
Frustration with the stalemate in Korea & the
Red Scare led to a Republican presidential
Gov’t
Korean
War
takeover in theCommunism
1952
Corruption
 WW2 hero Dwight Eisenhower provided an
antidote for “K1C2”

 VP
Richard Nixon attacked communism &
Once elected,
Ike did go to Korea, overturned
corruption
the U.N.
battle plan,
&tothreatened
China
with
 Eisenhower
vowed
go to Korea &
personally
nuclearend
warthetowar
get an armistice signed in 1953
THE REPUBLICANS IN POWER

Regarding McCarthyism, Ike provided
McCarthy “just enough rope to hang himself”
in 1954
 In
the televised “Army hearings,” the nation saw
McCarthy’s style & fact-less attacks
 The Senate censured McCarthy & his
“communist” attacks quickly died
EISENHOWER
WAGES THE COLD
WAR
EISENHOWER & THE COLD WAR
Ike was unusually well-prepared to be a Cold
War president
 Ike’s foreign policy goals were to:

 Take
a strong stand against Communism by
WW2using
military
“massive retaliation” with nuclear
experience
in& covert CIA operations
weapons
Excellent diplomat
Europe
&
Asia
 To reduce defense spending & relax Cold War
&
politician
tensions
Pragmatic &
well organized
Chose hard-liner John Foster
Dulles to be Sec of State
MASSIVE RETALIATION
“Massive retaliation” meant targeting
civilian
targets
rather“more
than bang
military
ones

Eisenhower
wanted
for the
buck”:
 Nuclear
weapons & long-range delivery missiles
cheaper
than conventional
armed forces
Ikewere
relied
heavily
on “brinksmanship”
 “Massive retaliation” strategy made using
in
which
he
used
veiled
threats
of
nuclear weapons unlikely
nuclear war to accomplish his goals
 But massive retaliation offered no intermediate
course of action if diplomacy failed
What are the stakes of war?
Massive Retaliation?
Mutual Assured Destruction?
MASSIVE
RETALIATION
Chinese did
not know if Ike was bluffing so
China backed off this territorial expansion
…and 
theInrefusal
the USSR to
aid aChina
added a
1954,of
Eisenhower
used
hard-line
ift between
Russia to
& stop
ChinaChinese
by the end
of the 1950s
approach
expansion
in Asia:
 Chinese
attempts to take over islands near
Taiwan led Eisenhower to threaten nuclear war if
China did not stop
 Eisenhower hoped this pressure would drive a
wedge between the USSR & communist China
MASSIVE RETALIATION

In 1956, Egyptian leader Nasser nationalized
the Suez Canal:
 England
& France invaded Egypt to take back
the canal but the USSR opposed this intervention
 Eisenhower did not want the USSR to attack so
he threatened Russia with nuclear war
 England, France, & the USSR left Egypt & the
U.S. became the leader in Middle East
EISENHOWER DOCTRINE
Like the Monroe Doctrine in Latin America,
 The Suez Crisis revealed the vulnerability of
the United States emerged as a police power
the Middle East to Communism & Ike
in a new part of the world
responded:
 In
1957, the Eisenhower Doctrine recommended
U.S. armed force to protect the Middle East from
Communist aggression
 In 1957, Ike sent the military to Lebanon to halt
Communism & install a pro-Western gov’t
COVERT ACTIONS

Ike’s administration used covert CIA acts to
expand U.S. control:
 In
1953, the CIA overthrew Mohammed
Mossadegh in Iran in favor of a U.S.-friendly
shah
 In 1954, the CIA overthrew a leftist regime in
Guatemala
These
interventions led to anti-American
 In 1959, the CIA took a hard-line against new
hostilitiesCuban
in the
Middle
& after
Latin
dictator
FidelEast
Castro
hisAmerica
coup
THE EFFECTS OF SPUTNIK

The “space race” intensified the Cold War
between USA & USSR
 In
1957, the launch of the Soviet satellite
Sputnik led to fears that the USSR was leading
the race to create intercontinental ballistic
missiles (ICBMs)
Khrushchev used Sputnik to put the U.S. on
 The
U.S. sped “We
up it plans
buildyou.
ICBMs
& IRBM
the
defensive:
will to
bury
Your
submarineswill live under Communism.”
grandchildren
THE EFFECTS OF SPUTNIK
Sputnik led to fears that America was
growing soft & was losing its competitive
edge & work ethic
 The U.S. gov’t responded with:

 National
Space Administration
The Aeronautics
advanced &placement
(AP) in
1958
program
is a byproduct of the NDEA!
 National
Defense Education Act was created to
promote math, science, & technology education
SPUTNIKSeven—Mercury
IN 1957
Alan
Shepard was the
The Original
Astronauts
st
1 American in space
WAGING PEACE

Ike tried to end the nuclear arms race as both
sides tested hydrogen bombs & ICBMs
 In
1953, Eisenhower called for disarmament &
presented his “Atoms for Peace” plan to the
United Nations
 In 1955, Khrushchev rejected Eisenhower’s
“open skies” plan for weapons disarmament
MILITARY-INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX
This military-industrial complex is part of the
reason
for
the
Soviet
demise
in
the
late
1980s
 In his farewell address in 1960, Eisenhower
&
end
of
the
Cold
War
in
1991
warned against the Military-Industrial
Complex:
 The
massive military spending that
dominate
domestic
& foreign
politics
CONCLUSIONS

By 1960, the American people were more
optimistic than in 1950
 Americans
were no longer afraid of a return of
another Great Depression
 Anxiety over the Cold War continued but was not
as severe
KENNEDY’S COLD WAR
LBJ as well
it FRONTIER
was not the 1st time TV
JFK’SBut,
NEW
influenced
 The election
of 1960 politics…
between Richard Nixon
st to use TV
&
John
F.
Kennedy
was
the
1
Eisenhower used McCarthy was destroyed by
debates:
TV in the Army-Senate
TV to campaign
hearings
in 1952
& 1956
 Nixon
was much better known
but the TV
debates helped swing undecided voters towards
JFK
 1960 marked the beginning of television
dominance in politics
 Image & appearance became essential traits for
candidates
JFK’S NEW FRONTIER
Kennedy’ administration reflected youth,
energy, & sharp break from Eisenhower
 JFK promised a New Frontier:

The JFK
era began
 Domestic
reforms in education, health care, &
“Camelot”
civil rights
comparisons
with
JFKcommitted to defeating the
 A foreign
policy
as a modern-day
Soviet Union & winning the Cold War
Lancelot
KENNEDY
INTENSIFIES THE
COLD WAR
KENNEDY INTENSIFIES THE COLD WAR

Addressing U.S. foreign policy & containing
Communism was JFK’s top priority as
president:
 JFK
believed Ike compromised with the USSR
when the Cold War could have been won
 JFK aimed to close the “missile gap” & increase
U.S. defenses
 Looked to solve issues in Berlin, Vietnam, &
Cuba
FLEXIBLE RESPONSE

JFK shifted from Ike’s “mutually assured
destruction” to a “flexible response” capable
of responding to a variety of future problems:
 Increased
nuclear arsenal to 1,000 ICBMs & 32
Polaris subs to create a “first-strike” capability
JFK
was convinced
that
the USSR had more
 Increased
the army &
air force
missiles,
but covert
reallyoperations
the U.S. &had
the lead
with
 Expanded
created
the Green
To combat
Communism
& warheads
to help
600Berets
B-52s,
2 Polaris
subs, 2,000
underdeveloped countries, JFK created the
Peace Corps & the Alliance for Progress
THE SPACE
The RACE
Apollo Program

JFK hoped to avoid another Sputnik & hoped
to beat the Soviets to the moon:
 JFK
greatly expanded NASA & announced that
the U.S. would get to the moon by 1970
 The U.S. landed a man on the moon in 1969
CRISIS OVER BERLIN

JFK’s 1st confrontation with the Soviet Union
came in Berlin:
 Khrushchev
was upset with the exodus of skilled
workers from East Germany to West Berlin
 The USSR threatened to remove all U.S.
influence from West Berlin, but settled on
building the Berlin Wall in 1961
“Ich bin ein Berliner”
—JFK, 1963
CONTAINMENT IN VIETNAM

Vietnam proved to be a tough test:
 Since
1954, Communist leader Ho Chi Minh
gained popularity in North Vietnam; By 1961, he
gained a foothold in the South
 The U.S. gave aid to unpopular South leader Ngo
Dihn Diem
 When Diem lost control of the South, JFK gave
the OK for a coup against Diem in 1963
VIETNAM
Viet Minh are Vietnamese
communists in North Vietnam
Viet Cong are Vietnamese
communists in South Vietnam
CONTAINING CASTRO: BAY OF PIGS

Fidel Castro took over Cuba in 1959 &
developed ties with Russia
 The
Eisenhower administration (directed by the
CIA) had been training Cuban exiles for an
invasion & overthrow of Castro
JFK blamed the Republicans for
 In 1961, JFK gave the OK for the CIA to initiate
allowing
a “communist satellite”
the Bay
of Pigs invasion
to arise on “our very doorstep”
The invasion called for U.S. air support
but JFK canceled the air strike; without air
support, Castro squashed the invasion
Kennedy took full responsibility for the failure
of Bay of Pigs, but did not apologize for coup
CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS
24 medium-range
&
18
short
range
ICBMs
 To protect Cuba from another U.S. invasion,
the USSR began a secret build-up of nuclear
missiles
 On Oct 14, 1962 a U-2 spy plane discovered
Cuban missile camps
 How would the U.S. respond?
Immediate air strike?
Full-scale Cuba
invasion?
Kennedy chose to “quarantine”
to
keep new
missiles
out & an invasion of
Diplomacy:
trade
nukes in
Naval
blockade
to
if the USSR
did not remove its nukes
CubaCuba
for nukes
in Turkey?
keep warheads out?
Kennedy announced a quarantine (blockade) to
The
Cuban
Missile
Crisis
keep more missiles out & demanded that the
Soviets remove the missiles already in Cuba
of
CUBAN And…U.S.
MISSILEremoval
CRISIS
nuclear weapons in Turkey
The standoff ended when Russia removed its
Cuban missiles & the USA vowed to never
invade Cuba
 The impact of the crisis:

 Seen
as a political victory for JFK
 Installed a “hot line” to improve US-Soviet
communications
 This near-nuclear war convinced both sides to
move from confrontation to negotiation
"LET US CONTINUE"
On Nov 22, 1963 in Dallas, JFK was
assassinated & VP Lyndon Johnson became
president:
LBJ helped
push through the greatest array of

was a master
politician
with a reputation
for
liberal LBJ
legislation
in U.S.
history
(“Great
getting results
Society”),
surpassing FDR’s New Deal
 LBJ
promised to continue Kennedy's liberal
agenda
 LBJ ultimately exceeded JFK’s record on
providing economic & racial equality
Americans were stunned this
rapid succession of events
THE ELECTION OF 1964

In 1964, LBJ ran against:
 Conservative
Republican Barry Goldwater
rejected LBJ’s liberal welfare programs & called
for a stronger foreign policy stance
 Segregationist George Wallace

LBJ won in a landslide & the Democrats took
control of Congress for 1st time in 25 years
JOHNSON ESCALATES
THE VIETNAM WAR
LBJ ESCALATES THE VIETNAM WAR
“ILBJ
amcontinued
not goingJFK’s
to lose
Vietnam.
am
strong
foreignIpolicy
not
going to
be the president who saw
positions
too:
Southeast
Asia go
the way China
 He supported
CIA-sponsored
coups went.”
in Brazil,
Panama, & the Dominican Republic
—LBJ

 LBJ
continued Eisenhower & JFK policies
towards Vietnam

But in doing so, LBJ found himself under
attack from Congress, the media, &
universities
LBJ ESCALATES THE VIETNAM WAR
During the Gulf of Tonkin affair in Aug 1964,
the military bombed North Vietnam in
retaliation for an attack on the USS Maddox
 The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution gave LBJ the
authority to:

 Defend
Vietnam at any cost
 Unlimited military intervention to be used at
LBJ’s discretion
ESCALATION
LBJ’s advisors wanted 100,000 troops in 1965
& a plan for 100,000 more in 1966; Estimations
 1965 marked the beginning of full-scale U.S.
were 500 U.S. deaths per month
involvement in Vietnam
 LBJ
was informed that “without U.S. action,
defeat is inevitable”
 LBJ authorized bombing raids into North
Vietnam & requested 50,000 U.S. soldiers sent
to Asia

LBJ never explained to the American people
how
thetook
gov’tmiddle
plannedroad
to win
war inU.S.
LBJ
of the
limited
Vietnam
intervention: not a withdrawal & not a
full-scale invasion of North Vietnam
STALEMATE

By 1968, 500,000 U.S. troops stationed to
keep Vietnam from falling to Communism
 U.S.
bombings & “search & destroy” attacks
were ineffective
 Soviet & Chinese weaponry freely flowed into
North Vietnam
 Reckless bombings killed thousands of innocent
civilians

The bloody stalemate & media depiction of
the war led to protests
CONCLUSIONS
The early 1960s under JFK represented
consume spending, a strong stance on the
Cold War, & more social reforms at home
 The transition to LBJ in 1963 brought
success at home (civil rights & the Great
Society)
 But, heightened involvement in Vietnam
signaled the onset of the counter-culture
movement by 1968
