Eisenhower
Rohan Panaparambil MPL
1. Elections
Election of 1952
- vs. Democrat Adlai Stevenson
- Television, new at this time, changed the process of election
- Since some Republicans were Anti-Communist, he chose Nixon to be his vice president
- Nixon was said to be tapping government funds and Eisenhower wanted to remove him from the ticket for this reason
- Nixon apologized in a televised speech, and Eisenhower accepted this
- Eisenhower easily wins
Election of 1956
- Again ran against Adlai Stevenson
- Faced health issues, but won the election again in a blowout
2. The Cold War
Events
- The Cold War was a drawn out tension between the dichotomous views of the democratic US and the communistic Soviet Union
- Both countries wanted to expand their philosophy as far as possible
- Came close to war, but no open conflict ensued
- Eisenhower attempts to make peace with Kruschchev at Geneva
- Space race
- 1958 - both superpowers halt nuclear production, and Lebanon requests US aid against communism
- 1960 - US spy plane flying over the USSR is shot down
3. Joseph McCarthy
McCarthy
- In 1950, Sen. Joseph McCarthy accused Secretary of State Dean Acheson of hiring members of the Communist party
- McCarthy became popular even though this accusation was revealed to be false
- After Eisenhower won the 1952 election, McCarthy became more aggressive with his finger pointing
- In 1954, after attempting to expose Communists in the Army, the Senate disparaged him
- The hysteria of the Second Red Scare died down quickly after
4. Desegregation
Desegregation
- 1950 - Sweatt v. Painter
- challenged "separate but equal" from Plessy v. Ferguson
Brown vs. Board officially reversed Plessy v. Ferguson, saying segregation was unconstitutional
Rosa Parks doesn't give up her seat, 1955
1956 - Declaration of Constitutional Principles
1957 - Little Rock Crisis
Orval Faubus tried to prevent black children from enrolling into an all white high school in Little Rock
- Eisenhower had soldiers escort black kids to their classes at the newly mixed high school
1957 - Civil Rights Act creates a committee on civil rights
1957 - Martin Luther King Jr.
5. Republicanism
Policies
dynamic conservatism
be liberal with human resources, but conservative with economic resources
wanted to avoid “creeping socialism”
cut military spending
reduced size of the federal government
encouraged private sector to compete with public relics of the New Deal
Operation Wetback: sent about 1 million illegal Mexican immigrants back to Mexico
cut back the “Indian New Deal,” wanting to return to the Dawes Act of 1887
Interstate Highway Act
6. The Vietnam War
Beginning of the War
Ho Chi Minh started to become more Communist
US was contributing $1B annually to help the French fight in Southeast Asia
French forces still could not defeat Minh’s guerrilla forces
French trapped at Dienbienphu
Geneva conference established the 17th parallel as the border
Southern Vietnam (pro-Western) led by Ngo Dinh Diem
- Eisenhower supports the South as long as the undergo the slow process of social reform
7. Space Race
Space Race
Oct 4, 1957 - USSR launches Sputnik into orbit
Sputnik II follows one month later
hurt America’s pride because it effectively showed that communism created more industrial efficiency
Eisenhower creates NASA
Vanguard explodes just after takeoff, televised
In early 1958, US sends a small satellite into orbit and begins testing intercontinental missiles
- led to education reforms focusing on science over art