EISENHOWER DOMESTIC POLICY THE EISENHOWER YEARS 1952 Truman

EISENHOWER DOMESTIC POLICY

THE EISENHOWER YEARS • 1952: Truman does not run for reelection. Eisenhower wins in a landslide promising to end the Korean War. • Political beliefs: idea of “dynamic conservatism, ” or the balancing of economic conservatism with some activism • Conservative- Eisenhower ended government price and rent controls, vetoed a school construction bill, and cut aid for public housing while also supporting some tax reductions. • Activist- Eisenhower pushed for the passage of the Federal Highway Act, which provided $25 billion for a 10 -year project to construct 40, 000 miles of interstate highways

Interstate Highway System (Federal Highway Act) • During the 1950 s, car ownership increased, so too did the need for better and more efficient travel routes. • In the 1950 s the growth of the suburbs meant middle class workers needed transportation from their homes to work in the city and back. • In 1956, Eisenhower passed the Federal Highway Act, the largest public works program in American history; it was a $140 billion dollar project to construct 40, 000 miles of interstate highways.

NEW FOCUS ON PROSPERITY • As Eisenhower easily won his second run for the presidency in 1956, America transitioned from a wartime to a peacetime economy. • Americans focused their energy on a decade of tremendous prosperity. – THE 1950 s