Eisenhower and the 1950s

Issues surrounding the Election of 1952 Communism spreading in Europe and Asia Communism in government? Korean War stalemate

Candidates WWII General New York Dwight Eisenhower (R) Adlai Stevenson (D) WWII General New York K1C3: Ending Korean War, Crime, Communism in America and Corruption Governor of Illinois Defended the need to continue fighting in Korea Bought up 30 minute blocks to make speeches on tv. People found them boring and didn’t watch

Dwight Eisenhower (34th President) Repeated 9th grade Parents were Jehovah’s Witnesses (Pacifists) One of 5 Five Star Generals in American History Oversaw D-Day Invasion First Bald President Never held political office before becoming president

Eisenhower Quotes “I like to believe that people in the long run are going to do more to promote peace than our governments. Indeed, I think that people want peace so much that one of these days governments had better get out of the way and let them have it.” “When you are in any contest you should work as if there were - to the very last minute - a chance to lose it.” “Don't join the book burners. Don't think you are going to conceal faults by concealing evidence that they ever existed.”

Ending the Korean War (July 1953) Eisenhower threaten to use the Atomic Bomb in Korea…an armistice was signed soon thereafter.

Joseph McCarthy Made accusations of communists infiltrating the American Government Politicians hated him, the public supported the witch hunt. 1954: McCarthy attacks the Army for communism and he is condemned and removed for “Conduct unbecoming of a member”. McCarthyism, the practice of spreading treasonous accusations without evidence

Ike’s Domestic Plans Deported over 1 Million illegal Mexican immigrants Attempted to revert to assimilation policy with Native Americans (failed) Federal Highway Act of 1956 created thousands of miles of federally-funded highways

Timeline of Events leading up to Civil Rights 1944- An American Dilemma, written by Gunnar Myrdal, exposed the contradiction between America's professed belief that all men are created equal and its terrible treatment of black citizens 1950- Sweatt v. Painter: the Supreme Court ruled that separate professional schools for blacks failed to meet the test of equality 1954- Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas (1954): the Supreme Court ruled that segregation in public schools was unequal and, thus, unconstitutional.  The decision reversed the previous ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896). 1955- Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white person on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama.  Her arrest sparked a yearlong black boycott of the city buses (Montgomery bus boycott) and served notice throughout the South that blacks would no longer submit to segregation.

Little Rock, Arkansas September 1957: Gov. Orval Faubus uses the National Guard to prevent nine black students from enrolling at a “white” High School. Eisenhower sends in troops to escort the students into the school 1957: Civil Rights Act established to investigate Civil Rights Violations 1957: Martin Luther King Jr. establishes the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) to mobilize southern churches on behalf of “Black Rights”

Space Race On October 4, 1957, the Soviets launched the Sputnik I satellite into space.  In November, they launched the satellite Sputnik II, carrying a dog.  The two satellites gave credibility to Soviet claims that superior industrial production is achieved through communism. President Eisenhower established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Eisenhower Doctrine 1957- pledge of U.S. military and economic aid to Middle Eastern nations threatened by communist aggression. July 1958 – Lebanon asked for aid to repel Soviet Aggression. In 1959, Soviet dictator Khrushchev appeared before the U.N. General Assembly and called for complete disarmament.  In 1960, an American U-2 spy plane was shot down in Russia, ending the possibility of an quick peaceful resolution.

Summary Eisenhower was a war hero who never held political office before the presidency. He shied away from social issues as he felt unequipped to deal with them. Ironically he is most known for sending in troops to Little Rock Arkansas. Eisenhower did a poor job of balancing the budget and some of his decisions heightened Cold War tensions. Still, Ike ended the Korean War and is generally remembered as being a good president.