Ch. 37 Notes
The Eisenhower Era
The Election of 1952
1. In 1952, Republicans Dwight D. Eisenhower and
Richard Nixon will run against the Democratic
candidate Adlai Stevenson.
2. Eisenhower is a very beloved and popular figure
with the American public – mainly due to his
role in WWII – and he is also seen as someone
who can handle the Soviets.
3. He also promises to personally go to Korea and
end the war – he will eventually get a truce that
keeps Korea divided along the 38th parallel.
Nixon and the “Checkers Speech”
1. During the campaign,
Nixon will be accused of
accepting gifts from
California businessmen
(around $20,000).
2. Nixon will go on television
and give an emotional
speech, admitting he did
receive one gift – a dog.
3. The speech was successful
and showed the huge
influence television was
having on American lives.
The Election Results
(1952 and 1956)
1. Ike won the election
handily and defeated
Stevenson again in 1956.
2. One important result of
the election was the fact
that the Solid South was
finally breaking up.
3. White southerners were
beginning to support the
Republican Party because
of the Democratic Party’s
stance on civil rights.
Dynamic Conservatism
1. Eisenhower’s plan as president was referred
to as dynamic conservatism.
2. His plan was to maintain a number of New
Deal programs, such as Social Security,
(mainly because it would be so difficult to get
rid of it) but at the same time move away
from large government spending programs,
even military spending.
The Federal Highway Act
1. In 1956, Congress will pass
the Federal Highway Act,
a public works program
that will be far larger and
more expensive than any
of FDR’s New Deal
programs (41,000 miles of
roads).
2. The primary purpose of
the act was for the
defense of the nation – Ike
wanted to be sure he
could more troops around
the nation as quickly as
possible if the Soviet’s
decided to invade.
1. The new highway system
increased the growth of
the suburbs and helped
homogenize the U.S. and
reinforce the idea of
conformity during the
1950’s even more – an idea
critics blamed on
American’s affinity with
television.
2. Chain restaurants, motels
and gas stations began
spring up all over the
nation.
3. Billboard lined the roads
advertising these chains as
well.
The Road Culture
The 1950’s Economy
1. During the 1950’s, the
U.S.’s economy changed
– blue collar jobs took a
back seat to white collar
jobs as new sciences and
technologies began to
spur economic growth.
2. This led to a decline in
labor unions and in
heavy industries in
general (Rust Belt).
3. It also led to more job
opportunities for
women.
Betty Friedan and The Feminine
Mystique
1. As more women entered
the workforce, they
were expected to not
only work but also
continue their “job” as
homemakers – the “cult
of domesticity”.
2. In 1963 Betty Friedan
will write the book The
Feminine Mystique,
informing men that
women weren’t really
happy in the home.
Joseph McCarthy and “McCarthyism”
1. In 1950, Senator Joseph
McCarthy of Wisconsin
claimed that the U.S
state department was
riddled with Soviet
spies.
2. He had no real proof but
his allegations led to a
series of hearings before
the House Un-American
Activities Committee.
3. Eisenhower didn’t like
McCarthy but left him
alone.
1. McCarthy’s hearings
weren’t exactly
constitutional – people
were called before the
committee and
challenged with being
communists and if
anyone refused to answer
the questions or tried to
assert their 5th
Amendment rights, they
were automatically
branded as communists.
2. McCarthy went after
Hollywood as well,
believing that the movies
of the day were
influencing the
communist movement.
McCarthyism
The Army-McCarthy Hearings
1. In 1954, one of McCarthy’s assistants was
drafted.
2. McCarthy tried to use his influence to get him
out of the military but the army refused so
McCarthy announced an investigation into
“subversive activities” within the U.S. army.
3. Millions of people watched the hearings full of
empty charges and realized that McCarthy was
nothing but a bully.
4. McCarthy was eventually censured by Congress
and he died in 1957.
Eisenhower and Civil Rights
1. In 1950, 15 million African Americans live in the
U.S. and 2/3’s of them are in the south – only
about 20% of African Americans living in the
south can vote.
2. Segregation (set up by Plessy v. Ferguson) is still
the law of the land and Eisenhower is okay with
that.
3. However, African American WWII veterans
coming home from war are growing more and
more upset with the gap between American
“ideals” and actual American life.
The Warren Court
1. In 1953 Earl Warren
becomes the Chief Justice
of the U.S. Supreme Court.
2. In May of 1954, the
Supreme Court hears the
case of Brown v. Board of
Education and decides
that segregated schools
are “inherently unequal”
under the 14th
Amendment and therefore
all U.S. school must be
integrated.
3. The Supreme Court ends
up taking the lead in the
civil rights movement
because the President and
Congress won’t do
anything.
1. In August of 1955, Emmett
Till will be murdered in
Mississippi.
2. The two white men
arrested for the murder
will be acquitted by an allwhite jury – they later give
an interview in Look
magazine where they
basically admit to the
crime.
3. This murder will shock the
nation and bring about an
increased awareness of the
problems African
Americans are facing in the
south.
Emmett Till
The Montgomery Bus Boycott
1. In December of 1955,
Rosa Parks will be arrested
for refusing to give up her
seat on a bus to a white
man.
2. This will lead Martin
Luther King Jr. to begin a
boycott of the
Montgomery bus system.
3. It lasts over a year and the
Supreme Court finally
orders Montgomery to
integrate their busses.
4. This will propel King to the
forefront of the civil rights
movement.
1. Dr. King is influenced by
the successful actions of
Mohandas Gandhi in
India.
2. African Americans will
use nonviolent tactics to
fight against segregation
– court suits, economic
boycotts and formation
of the Southern Christian
Leadership Conference,
which organized black
churches to fight against
segregation.
3. The Student Nonviolent
Coordinating Committee
will be a youthful
outgrowth of the
movement.
Nonviolent
Resistance
The Little Rock
Nine
1. In September of 1957,
nine African American
students will attempt to
integrate Central High
School in Little Rock,
Arkansas.
2. Governor Orval Faubus
used the Arkansas
National Guard to bar
their entrance.
3. Eisenhower responds by
sending in the U.S. army
to make sure they are
allowed into school.
The Civil Rights Act of 1957
1. The country’s first Civil Rights Act will be
passed in 1957.
2. The Civil Rights Act established a Civil Rights
Commission to investigate violations of civil
rights and it authorized federal injunctions to
protect voting rights.
3. The main importance of the Civil Rights Act is
that it authorizes the FBI to investigate civil
rights abuses.
Sit-Ins
1. The first sit-in will occur
at the Woolworth’s store
in Greensboro, N.C. in
1960.
2. As sit-ins spread around
the country, white
southerners will react
with indignation and
violence.
3. Many of the protesters
will be arrested – being
arrested becomes a
badge of honor among
the members of civil
rights movement.
Ike and Korea
1. Ike will fulfill his
pledge to end the war
in Korea.
2. In June of 1953 a truce
was signed creating
the DMZ –
demilitarized zone –
along the 38th parallel.
3. No treaty was ever
signed.
Ike and the Cold War
1. Ike makes no changes to the policy of
containment.
2. However, to cut back on spending, he cuts
the Army and Navy and focuses more on the
Air Force and the development of more
nuclear bombs.
3. Eisenhower and his Secretary of State John
Foster Dulles will develop a new strategy
called “massive retaliation”.
Brinksmanship
1. Massive retaliation meant responding to Soviet
aggression anywhere in the world with a nuclear
attack – we were willing to “go to the brink” of
all-out war to contain communism.
2. It was a bluff though – in 1953 the Soviet Union
will put down a rebellion in East Germany and in
1956 they will violently put down a rebellion in
Hungary (over 30,000 Hungarians were killed)
and Ike will do nothing – he’s not willing to risk
all-out war.
The CIA
1. The Central Intelligence Agency was created by
Harry Truman.
2. Ike will use the CIA to attempt to weaken or
overthrow foreign governments that were
unfriendly to the U.S.
3. We will get involved in putting the Shah of Iran
in place and help lead a military coup that
creates a harsh military dictatorship in
Guatemala.
4. This will increase tensions between the U.S. and
these area.
Nikita Khrushchev
1. In 1953, Stalin died and
Nikita Khrushchev
became the premier of the
Soviet Union.
2. Many hoped there would
be a “thaw” in the Cold
War now that Stalin was
dead.
3. In July of 1955, world
leaders will meet at the
Geneva Summit to discuss
a possible end to the Cold
War – and Vietnam – but it
won’t come to much.
1. Vietnam had been a
French colony before
WWII.
2. After the war, forces led
by Ho Chi Minh will
attempt to oust the
French – the U.S. refuses
to help the French.
3. Eventually the French
turn the problem over to
the U.N. and at the 1955
Geneva Summit Vietnam
will be divided along the
17th parallel – Ho Chi
Minh controls the
communist north and
Ngo Dinh Diem will
control the somewhat
democratic south.
Vietnam
The Suez Canal Crisis
1. In 1956, Egypt (backed
by the Soviet Union) will
nationalize the Suez
Canal.
2. In response, Great
Britain, France and Israel
will invade Egypt –
expecting U.S. aid.
3. Ike refuses and demands
that they withdraw (as
does Khrushchev).
4. They will withdraw and
Egypt will retain control
of the canal.
The Eisenhower Doctrine
1. After the Suez Canal incident, the Soviet
Union will enjoy a much closer relationship
with the Arab nations of the Middle East.
2. To counteract this, Ike will issue the
Eisenhower Doctrine, which pledge military
aid to any Middle Eastern country fighting
communism – we will actually aid Lebanon in
1958.
1. In October of 1957, the
Soviet Union launched the
first man-made satellite
into space – Sputnik.
2. In that November they
launch Sputnik II, with a
dog aboard.
3. In response, Ike creates
the National Aerospace
and Aeronautics Agency
(NASA) and has Congress
pass the National Defense
Education Act to beef up
the teaching of
mathematics, the sciences
and languages.
Sputnik
Cuba
1. In January of 1859, Fidel
Castro overthrew the
government of Cuba and
began nationalizing U.S.
assets in Cuba – we
respond by cutting off
trade with Cuba.
2. Castro responds by
creating strong ties with
the Soviet Union – and
the U.S. ends up cutting
diplomatic relations with
Cuba.
The U-2 Incident
1. In the late 50’s the CIA
began using high-altitude
spy planes to photograph
missile sites in the Soviet
Union.
2. In 1960 the Soviets shot
one down but
Eisenhower denied that it
was on a spying mission.
3. The Soviet Union had the
pilot though – it was a
huge embarrassment to
Ike and led to a collapse
of the Paris peace talks of
1960.