Presidential Politics Eisenhower Nixon Dwight D Eisenhower l

Presidential Politics: Eisenhower - Nixon

Dwight D. Eisenhower l l l 1890 – 1969 34 th President (1953 -61) Republican Went by “Ike” Hero of WWII, Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe, Organized the D-Day Invasion Had never held an elected office before becoming president

“Dynamic Conservatism” Eisenhower attempted to be conservative with government spending while still supporting dynamic programs designed to help the poor l Ike curtailed military spending by building more nuclear weapons (He called them “more bang for the buck”) l Extended many of FDR’s New Deal programs to help the disadvantaged l

Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 Authorized the spending of $25 billion in federal funds to build 41, 000 miles of highways over a period of 20 years l Interstate highways were built in order to allow the speedy movement of troops and supplies around the country in case of invasion or other national emergency l

National Defense Education Act of 1958 Law which provided for dramatically increased spending on education, especially in science, math, and foreign languages l Passed in response to the belief that the US was falling behind the Soviets in scientific and technological fields l Increased the number of high-school graduates who went on to college from less than 15% in 1950 to over 40% by 1970 l

The Warren Court Eisenhower appointed Earl Warren as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in 1953 l Warren would remain the head of the Court until his retirement in 1969 l The Warren Court would hand down some of the most important decisions of the 20 th Century (See “The Warren Court” Handout) l

Alaska & Hawaii l In 1959, Eisenhower oversaw the admission of Alaska and Hawaii as the 49 th and 50 th states in the Union

CIA Interventions Iran: Ike allowed CIA to stage a coup to remove a Prime Minister who was willing to sell Iranian oil to the Soviets l Guatemala: Ike allowed CIA to train opposition rebels to overthrow a procommunist regime l

Eisenhower Doctrine In 1957, Eisenhower pledged US assistance to any nation in the Middle East which found itself threatened by communism l Almost immediately, US forces were sent to Lebanon to help that government combat communist rebels l

Suez Crisis The US withdrew financial support from an Egyptian dam project over Egyptian weapons purchases that threatened Israel l Egypt confiscated the Suez Canal from French and British investors in order to raise funds for the dam l Britain and France invaded Egypt to retake the canal, leading the Soviets (who saw an opportunity to win Egypt as an ally) to threaten war l Eisenhower forced Britain and France to withdraw, but the damage was already done - many Arab states now saw the West as an aggressor and aligned themselves with the Soviets l

The Military-Industrial Complex In Eisenhower’s Farewell Address, he warned against unchecked military spending, stating “we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex” l Essentially, Eisenhower was warning that defense contractors were becoming too friendly with the military high command, creating a conflict of interest where their profits were more important than what was in the best interests of the nation l

Election of 1960 Republicans nominated Eisenhower’s Vice-President, Richard Nixon l Democrats nominated Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy l Election featured the first televised presidential debates and it was the first time television was used as a serious campaign tool l Kennedy won in a tight election, in some ways due to his better manipulation of television l

John F. Kennedy 1917 – 1963 35 th President (1961 – 63) WWII veteran who had held his own command in the US Navy l First Catholic president l In his inaugural address, he famously stated “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country” l l l

The Peace Corps Created in 1961 Purpose is “To promote world peace and friendship … which shall make available to interested countries … men and women of the United States qualified for service abroad and willing to serve, under conditions of hardship if necessary, to help the peoples of such countries and areas in meeting their needs for trained manpower. ” l Since 1961, over 200, 000 college-educated American volunteers have served 2 -year commitments in foreign nations l l

The New Frontier JFK proposed ambitious policies intended to boost education, health insurance for the elderly, create a Dept. of Urban Affairs, & help migrants l Congress decided that Kennedy’s programs were too expensive and voted against them l

The Bay of Pigs Invasion Under the approval of then. President Eisenhower, the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) began training Cuban exiles for an invasion of Cuba with the purpose of overthrowing Castro’s communist gov’t. l In April 1961, the exiles landed at The Bay of Pigs in Cuba, but were quickly defeated by Cuban military forces when the US failed to provide any further invention on their behalf l Major international embarrassment for the US l

The Cuban Missile Crisis Soviets placed nuclear missiles in Cuba in Fall 1962 l US demanded their removal and enacted a naval blockade of Cuba to stop Soviet ships from bringing more missiles l Many thought that WWIII would result as the US and USSR faced off over a tense 13 -day period, each threatening the other with nuclear force l Soviets eventually backed down and removed the missiles, thanks to the US publicly promising not to invade Cuba and secretly agreeing to remove American missiles from Turkey l

JFK Assassination Nov. 22, 1963 l While riding in a motorcade in Dallas, TX, Kennedy was shot and killed l Lee Harvey Oswald was charged with the killing, but was himself shot and killed 2 days later by Jack Ruby while being transported from jail to appear in court l

Lyndon B. Johnson l l l 1908 – 1973 36 th President (1963 -69) Served in Congress for the state of Texas for 24 years before becoming JFK’s Vice-President Assumed the presidency upon Kennedy’s death Dedicated himself to seeing Kennedy’s programs reach fruition

LBJ’s “Great Society” Johnson’s programs aimed at eliminating poverty and racial injustice – a rebirth of JFK’s “New Frontier” l Proposed major reforms in civil rights, welfare, education, health, arts & culture, and transportation l

Civil Rights Act of 1964: Banned segregation of public facilities, racial discrimination in hiring l Voting Rights Act of 1965: banned literacy tests l Immigration and Nationality Services Act of 1965: abolished national-origin immigration quotas l Civil Rights Act of 1968: banned housing discrimination, provided constitutional protections to Native Americans l

“War on Poverty” Johnson believed that the best way to deal with poverty was not simply to raise the incomes of the poor but to help them better themselves through education, job training, and community development. l Between 1964 and 1966, LBJ spent $3 billion on antipoverty programs l

Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 l l Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO): oversaw community-based antipoverty programs Neighborhood Youth Corp: provided job experience to poor urban teens while encouraging them to graduate high school Job Corps: helped disadvantaged youth gain marketable job skills Volunteers In Service To America (VISTA): domestic version of the Peace Corps

Education l l l Head Start: offered pre-school for children of the poor Upward Bound: program which helps poor teens go to college Elementary & Secondary Education Act of 1965: provided federal money for schools to the states (current form of program is called “No Child Left Behind”) Higher Education Act of 1965: increased federal money to universities, provided money for scholarships for poor students Bilingual Education Act of 1968: provided federal money for establishment of ESL programs

Health Food Stamps: provided assistance to lowincome families by subsidizing food expenses l Medicare: provides nocost health insurance to senior citizens l Medicaid: subsidized health care program for poor or disabled persons l

Arts & Culture National Endowment for the Arts: provided federal funds for arts education l National Endowment for the Humanities: provided federal funds for humanities (English, History) education l Public Broadcasting Service (PBS): provides noncommercial educational television programming l National Public Radio (NPR): provides noncommercial educational radio programming l

Transportation l l National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 Highway Safety Act of 1966 Both set new federal guidelines for safety in automobile design and road design and construction Largely the result of increased public awareness of traffic safety due to Ralph Nader’s Unsafe at Any Speed which exposed car makers’ reluctance to improve safety due to increased costs

LBJ Declines to Run Again Due to the unpopular war in Vietnam, the Democratic Party was badly divided, with no one (including LBJ) appearing to be the front runner for the 1968 presidential nomination l The expense of the war was keeping LBJ from being able to fund his Great Society programs sufficiently enough to make them successful l Johnson surprised everyone when he announced in March 1968, "I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your President. “ l

Robert Kennedy Assassination The top candidate to win the Democratic nomination, JFK’s younger brother Robert, was shot and killed on June 6, 1968 by a Palestinian who was angry over Kennedy’s support of Israel l “Some men see things as they are and say why. I dream things that never were and say why not. ” l

Election of 1968 After a tumultuous Democratic National Convention in Chicago, which saw widespread protests and violent clashes with police by antiwar protestors, the Democratic Party nominated LBJ’s Vice-President Hubert Humphrey l The Republicans nominated Richard Nixon l George Wallace ran as an independent, pro-segregation candidate l Nixon won by a wide margin l

Richard Nixon l l l 1913 – 1994 37 th President (1969 – 74) Had been Eisenhower’s Vice. President and had lost the 1960 presidential election Nixon also lost the 1962 election for Governor of California, after which he temporarily withdrew from politics, pledging "You won't have Nixon to kick around anymore” Entered the 1968 presidential election at the urging of his many Republican supporters

Nixon’s “New Federalism” Nixon supported turning over many federal programs to local and state governments who could run them more efficiently; these governments would then be provided with federal funds to run the programs l Over time, however, this system made the federal government more powerful, since it could threaten to withhold funding unless local and state governments met certain conditions l

New York Times v US 1971 l After the leak of the Pentagon Papers, Nixon attempted to prevent the Times from publishing the information, claiming that it was a violation of the Espionage Act to publish classified government papers l The Supreme Court ruled that 1 st Amendment Freedom of Press rights held, since the government could offer no justification for prior restraint l

Détente & Nixon Visits China Nixon looked to improve relations with both communist China and the Soviet Union l In 1972, Nixon became the first US president to visit China, hoping to exploit a rift between the Chinese and Russians and gain influence l The Soviets responded by welcoming Nixon to Moscow just 3 months later l

Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty SALT I (1972) l US and Soviets agreed to limit the number and type of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) held by each nation l Led to dramatically improved relations with the Soviet Union l

Watergate June 17, 1972: 5 men were caught breaking into the Democratic Party’s national headquarters in the Watergate complex of Washington DC l All 5 were tied to the Republican Party’s Committee to Re-Elect the President (CRee. P) l Investigative journalists uncovered evidence tying several key Nixon aides directly to the plot, forcing Nixon to dismiss them l

The Cover-Up Nixon appointed Archibald Cox as special prosecutor to oversee the Watergate investigation l When it was discovered that Nixon had an audio-recording system that taped all conversations within the Oval Office, Cox subpoenaed the tapes l The tapes proved that Nixon had attempted to cover-up his aides’ involvement in the break -in, so he ordered Cox to drop the subpoena l

The Saturday Night Massacre When Cox refused to drop the subpoena, Nixon demanded that Cox’s boss, the Attorney General, fire him l Both the Attorney General and his top assistant resigned rather than fire Cox, but the third-ranking officer in the Department of Justice gave in to the president’s demand l A new special prosecutor was appointed, but by this time the Senate was conducting its own investigation and demanded the tapes l

US v Nixon 1974 l Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the president can not invoke executive privilege to withhold evidence that is “demonstrably relevant in a criminal trial” l Nixon was ordered to turn over tape recordings of conversations within the Oval Office relevant to the Watergate cover-up l

Nixon Resigns Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974 under threat of impeachment for his role in the cover-up of the Watergate break-in l His resignation left his Vice. President Gerald Ford (who had not been elected, but rather appointed after Nixon’s elected Vice-President, Spiro Agnew, had been forced to resign the year before in a bribery scandal) as President l Ford quickly pardoned Nixon l