Dwight D Eisenhower The Presidency of Ike 1953
- Slides: 12
Dwight D. Eisenhower The Presidency of “Ike” 1953 -1961
vocabulary 1. Mc. Carthy 2. Censure 3. Interstate Highway Act 1956 4. Massive retaliation 5. Suez Canal Affair 6. Central Intelligence Agency 7. Sputnik
The Issue of Joseph Mc. Carthy 4 Mc. Carthy continued to accuse many people of being communists, even members of the U. S. army 4 Eventually the Senate censured Mc. Carthy 4 Censure is the public condemnation of a member of Congress for misconduct 4 However, Mc. Carthy’s legacy continued as the nation forced loyalty oaths for teachers, and black-listed books and entertainers
Eisenhower’s Domestic Policy 4 Ike was a conservative who wanted a balanced budget but did not want to sacrifice social reforms of the New Deal 4 Eisenhower preferred to delegate authority, relying on his cabinet to make decisions 4 This included George Humphrey his Secretary of the Treasury and Sherman Adams his Chief of Staff
The Highway Act of 1956 4 Created a 41, 000 mile interstate highway system that connected all the nation’s major cities 4 This helped to stimulate the economy and dramatically shortened travel time 4 However, it also intensified the nation’s dependence on automobiles and encouraged urban growth
Foreign Policy and Eisenhower 4 Ike named John Foster Dulles as his Secretary of State who played a big role in dealing with issues of the Cold War. 4 Both men focused on cutting back on expensive ground forces and relying more on the air force and its nuclear striking power to keep peace
Massive Retaliation and Korea 4 Massive Retaliation became the new policy of the president that stated the U. S. would no longer fight limited wars (Korea) but instead would consider using nuclear weapons to stop communist aggression 4 Ike warned China that the U. S. would use nuclear weapons to end the Korean war
4 Ike’s threats worked well as Chinese leader Mao Zedong signed a truce ending the Korean War on July 27 th, 1953
The Suez Canal Affair 4 The Suez Canal was important because it controlled the flow of oil from the Middle East to European countries 4 Egyptian leader Gamal Abdul Nasser took control of the canal away from the British 4 Britain and France responded by attacking Egypt and capturing the canal 4 Eisenhower stepped in, resulting in the U. S. becoming the key power in the Middle East
Ike and the C. I. A. 4 Eisenhower responded to other crisis in the Middle East by authorizing the Central Intelligence Agency (C. I. A. ) to use secret actions when necessary 4 This led to the overthrow of a communist regime in Iran restoring power to Muhammed Reza Shah Pahlavi who gave American oil companies lucrative contracts
Ike and the Arms Race 4 Ike’s most difficult challenge was managing the rivalry with the Soviet Union and the threat of nuclear war 4 This included working with the new Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev in suspending nuclear tests 4 However, when the Soviet Union launched the first space satellite, Sputnik, the U. S. fell behind in the arms race
4 To make matters worse, the Soviet Union shot down an American U-2 spy plane and captured the pilot - Francis Gary Powers 4 This forced the cancellation of an important meeting between Ike and Khrushchev aimed at limiting nuclear weapons 4 Although Ike failed at easing Cold War tensions and the nuclear arms race, his success in Korea and the Suez Canal allow us to view his presidency as a success.
