PRESIDENT DWIGHT D EISENHOWER R 1952 1960 APUSH

PRESIDENT DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER (R) 1952 -1960 APUSH – Lecture 8 D Mrs. Kray

DOMESTIC POLICY: THE HAPPY FIFTIES

EISENHOWER’S “MODERN REPUBLICANISM” Eisenhower adopted a leadership style that emphasized the delegation of authority Fiscal conservative but a moderate on domestic issues Top priority: balancing the budget � Accepted most New Deal programs and extended some (Social Security, minimum wage, public housing) � But opposed federal health care insurance & federal aid to education � 1953 – Created Dept. of Health, Education and Welfare

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FIFTIES: THE PROSPEROUS 50 S U. S. had highest standard of living in the world Sources of Economic Growth � Government spending GI Bill, Interstate Highway Act, military spending* Keynesian theory takes hold Believed by controlling taxation and the money supply, the government could stimulate the economy to cure a recession or dampen growth to prevent inflation � � Rising birth rate Suburban growth Stimulated growth in other sectors Economy grew nearly 10 x as fast as the population

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE 50 S: THE BABY BOOM “It to me that every other young housewife I see is pregnant, ” 50 million babies born between 1945 -1960 -- British visitor, 1958 � In 1957, 1 baby was born every 7 seconds This spike in the birth rate had a profound and lasting on the nation’ social and economic institutions in the last half of the 20 th century

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE 50 S: SUBURBAN LIVING: THE “AMERICAN DREAM” By 1960, 30% of Americans lived in suburbs Mass Produced Homes � 1 story, 2 bedrooms, tiled bathroom, small front & back yard Levittowns � 1949: made 150 houses per week � $7, 990 or $60/month w/no down payment

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE 50 S: MORE ON SUBURBAN LIVING SHIFTS IN POPULATION DISTRIBUTION, 1940 -1970 Central Cities Suburbs Rural Areas/ Small Towns 1940 31. 6% 19. 5% 48. 9% 1950 32. 3% 23. 8% 43. 9% 1960 32. 6% 30. 7% 36. 7% 1970 32. 0% 41. 6% 26. 4% U. S. Bureau of the Census. Cities were left “black, brown, and broke!”

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE 50 S: WELL-DEFINED GENDER ROLES The ideal modern woman married, cooked and cared for her family, and kept herself busy by joining the local PTA and leading a troop of Campfire Girls. She entertained guests in her family’s suburban house and worked out on the trampoline to keep her size 12 figure. -- Life magazine, 1956 Marilyn Monroe The ideal 1950 s man was the provider, protector, and the boss of the house. -- Life magazine, 1955 1956 William H. Whyte, Jr. The Organization Man § a middle-class, white suburban male is the ideal.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE 50 S: TRADITIONAL GENDER ROLES REINFORCED The Donna Reed Show 1958 -1966 Father Knows Best 1954 -1958 Leave It to Beaver 1957 -1963 The Ozzie & Harriet Show 1952 -1966

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE 50 S: RELIGIOUS REVIVAL Today in the U. S. , the Christian faith is back in the center of things. -- Time magazine, 1954 Church membership: 1940 64, 000 1960 114, 000 Television Preachers: 1. Catholic Bishop Fulton J. Sheen “Life is Worth Living” 2. Methodist Minister Norman Vincent Peale The Power of Positive Thinking 3. Reverend Billy Graham ecumenical message; warned against the evils of Communism.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE 50 S: MORE ON RELIGIOUS REVIVAL Hollywood: apex of the biblical epics. The Robe 1953 The Ten Commandments 1956 Ben Hur 1959 It’s un-American to be un-religious! -- The Christian Century, 1954

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE 50 S: THE AGE OF TELEVISION 1946 1950 7, 000 TV sets in the U. S. 50, 000 TV sets in the U. S. “Television is a vast wasteland. ” --Newton Minnow, Chairman of the FCC, 1961 Mass Audience TV celebrated traditional American values. Truth, Justice, and the American way!

TV WESTERNS Davy Crockett King of the Wild Frontier Sheriff Matt Dillon, Gunsmoke The Lone Ranger (and his faithful sidekick, Tonto): Who is that masked man? ?

TELEVISION AND FAMILY LIFE Glossy view of mostly middle-class suburban life. But. . . I Love Lucy Social Winners? . . . The Honeymooners AND… Losers?

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE 1950 S: THE CAR CULTURE Car registrations: 1945 25, 000 1960 60, 000 2 -family cars doubles from 1951 -1958 Pink Cadillac 1959 Chevy Corvette 1956 Interstate Highway Act largest public works project in American history! § Cost $32 billion. § 41, 000 miles of new highways built.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE 50 S: THE CAR CULTURE America became a more homogeneous nation because of the automobile. First Mc. Donald’s (1955) Drive-In Movies Howard Johnson’s

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE 50 S: THE RISE OF THE SUNBELT STATES American population was on the move in the 50 s Warmer climate, lower taxes, and economic opportunities attracted many, including GIs, to the Sunbelt � Military spending also helped finance this shift Population shift would ultimately translate to more political power for these states

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE 50 S: RISING CONSUMERISM Aggressive advertising by name brands along with the introduction of suburban shopping malls & credit cards promoted this consumerism � 1950: Introduction of the first credit card – The Diner’s Card Mc. Donalds = example of how successful new marketing techniques and standardized products were � “mom & pop” stores increasingly replaced by franchise operations

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE 50 S: A WHITE-COLLAR WORKFORCE Automation: 1947 -1957 factory workers decreased by 4. 3%, eliminating 1. 5 million blue-collar jobs. By 1956 more white-collar than blue-collar jobs in the U. S. Led to a new corporate culture Computers Mark I (1944). First IBM mainframe computer, 1951 Corporate Consolidation: By 1960 600 corporations (1/2% of all U. S. companies) accounted for 53% of total corporate income. WHY? ? Cold War military buildup.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE 50 S: A BELIEF IN PROGRESS THROUGH SCIENCE 1951 -- First IBM Mainframe Computer 1952 -- Hydrogen Bomb Test 1953 -- DNA Structure Discovered 1954 -- Salk Vaccine Tested for Polio 1957 -- First Commercial U. S. Nuclear Power Plant 1958 -- NASA Created 1959 -- Press Conference of the First 7 American Astronauts

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE 50 S: COLD WAR ANXIETY 1957 Russians launch SPUTNIK I 1958 National Defense Education Act

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE 50 S: COLD WAR ANXIETIES UFO Sightings skyrocketed in the 1950 s. War of the Worlds Hollywood used aliens as a metaphor for whom ? ?

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE 50 S: COLD WAR ANXIETIES Atomic Anxieties: § “Duck-and-Cover Generation” Atomic Testing: § 1946 -1962 U. S. exploded 217 nuclear weapons over the Pacific and in Nevada.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE 50 S: THE IMPORTANCE OF CONFORMITY Declining individualism and growing conformity within American society The Red Scare was still going on � Sen. Joseph Mc. Carthy and Mc. Carthyism � Non-conformity could mean you were a communist used unsupported accusations about Communists in government Army-Mc. Carthy Hearings, 1954 Mc. Carthy accused the army of harboring communists � Televised hearings to investigate � Mc. Carthy seen as a bully, public turns against him �

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE 50 S: TEEN CULTURE In the 1950 s the word “teenager” entered the American language. By 1956 13 mil. teens with $7 billion to spend a year. 1951 “race music” “ROCK ‘N ROLL” Elvis Presley “The King”

CRITICS OF 50 SCULTURE: THE BEATNIKS Also known as the “Beat” Generation � Vocal critics of middle-class conformity Jack Kerouac’s On the Road Allen Ginsberg “Howl” Signaled a widespread alienation and restlessness among American youth, much of which was the result of the nation’s prosperity � Societal expectations stressed unlimited possibilities, yet placed great restrictions on what young people could in fact do Beatnik vs. Clean-Cut Teen

SOCIAL CRITICISM Behavioral Rule of the 1950 s � Obey Authority � Control Your Emotions � Don’t Make Waves fit in with the Group � Don’t Even Think About Sex!!! Fear of Juvenile Delinquency � J. D. Rye Salinger’s The Cather in the Marlon Brando in The Wild One (1953) James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause (1955)

DOMESTIC POLICY: THE BEGINNING OF CIVIL RIGHTS

ORIGINS OF THE MOVEMENT New Deal and AAA � Pushed blacks off rural farms � Part of the New Deal Coalition World War II � Double V, Four Freedoms � War industries jobs increased urbanization 50 s Prosperity � The Other America by Michael Harrington Cold War rhetoric � 1959: Kitchen Debate (Nixon vs. Khrushchev)

BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION, 1954 NAACP had tried to use the law suits and the courts to increase rights for African-Americans � Thurgood Marshall � 14 th Amendment Brown v. Board of Education struck down Plessy v. Ferguson � Segregation is unconstitutional � “separate but equal is inherently unequal” � 1955: Ordered integration of American schools “with all deliberate speed”

CRISIS IN LITTLE ROCK: THE LITTLE ROCK NINE, 1957 Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus will not permit nine black students to attend all white Central High School in Little Rock Eisenhower not an enthusiastic supporter of civil rights � Will he allow the governor to violate federal law? NO Sends in federal troops to protect black students and make sure they are able to attend Central High School

THE MONTGOMERY BUS BOYCOTT, 1956 1955: Starts w/ Rosa Parks arrest Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) headed by Martin Luther King Jr. encourages African. Americans to boycott Montgomery’s buses Black churches played an important role in the civil rights movement � Boycott lasts more than a year � 1956: Supreme Court rules ALL segregation laws unconstitutional � De jure segregation ended

FOREIGN POLICY: THE COLD WAR HEATS UP

A NEW COLD WAR POLICY: BRINKMANSHIP Developed by Secretary of State John Foster Dulles � Felt Truman’s containment policy too passive Wanted a foreign policy that would take the initiative in challenging the Soviets Liberating captive nations � Urging Taiwan to assert itself � Placed greater emphasis on nuclear weapons and air power than on conventional military forces and tactics � Threat of massive retaliation and mutually assured destruction

A NEW COLD WAR POLICY: MORE RELIANCE ON COVERT CIA ACTIONS Use of CIA seemed less objectionable than using military and less expensive 1953 Iran � CIA helped overthrow popular PM Mohammed Mossadeq who had tried to nationalize foreign oil companies � Re-instated corrupt but pro-U. S. Shah Reza Pahlavi 1954 Guatemala � CIA overthrew a leftist government that threatened American business interests This tendency produced growing anti-American feeling

UNREST IN THE THIRD WORLD Decolonization was an important phenomenon in the post. WWII era � Dozens of former European colonies in Africa and Asia gained independence Often lacked stable political and economic institutions � � Required foreign aid Became pawns in the Cold War

THE COLD WAR IN ASIA: “THE DOMINO THEORY” AND VIETNAM 1953: Eisenhower ended the Korean War 1954: Battle of Dien Bien Phu � French lose control of their colony of Indochina � Leader of Vietnamese Resistance Ho Chi Minh had asked for U. S. assistance against French Had tried to reclaim colony after WWII but Vietnamese wanted independence U. S. refusal led Ho to ask the Soviets 1954 -55: Geneva Conference U. S. does not want a “communist” to control Vietnam � Vietnam is divided at the 17 th parallel � N. Vietnam = communist under control of Ho Chi Minh S. Vietnam = nationalist under control of Ngo Dinh Diem w/U. S. support 1954: SEATO formed to defend Southeast Asia from communist threat

THE COLD WAR IN THE MIDDLE EAST The Problem of Israel � Support of newly created Israel damaged U. S. attempts to have friendly relations with oil-rich Arab nations 1953: CIA helped overthrow Iranian government 1956: Suez Crisis � � � Egypt took control of British owned Suez Canal Britain, France, & Israel invade Egypt U. S. & Soviets tell their allies to calm down Eisenhower Doctrine, 1957 Pledged economic and military aid to any Middle Eastern country threatened by communism � Done in response to growing communist presence in Egypt & Syria � 1958: U. S. sends troops into Lebanon to prevent Civil War 1960: OPEC created

U. S. -SOVIET RELATIONS IN THE 1950 S Fluctuated between periods of relative calm and extreme tension 1953: Stalin Dies 1956: “Spirit of Geneva” � Conference held between Eisenhower and Soviet leader in Geneva 1956: Nikita Khrushchev becomes premier of USSR � Process of de-Stalinization begins 1956: Hungarian Revolt � Khrushchev sent in tanks to put down the revolt � Eisenhower took no action

MORE ON U. S. -SOVIET RELATIONS 1958: 2 nd Berlin Crisis � Emboldened by Sputnik success, Khrushchev gave the West 6 mos. to pull troops out of Berlin 1959: “Spirit of Camp David” Eisenhower and Khrushchev meet to discuss differences � Agreed to meet again in Paris in 1960 � 1959: U-2 Spy Incident Col. Gary Power shot down over Soviet air space � Revealed a secret U. S. tactic for gathering information � Paris Summit called off �

THE COLD WAR IN LATIN AMERICA: CUBA TURNS COMMUNIST, 1960 Fidel Castro becomes leader of Cuba. Strong alliance between USSR and Cuba threatens U. S.

EISENHOWER’S FINAL THOUGHTS “…guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence…by the militaryindustrial complex. ”