Eisenhower’s Policies Chapter 26 Section 4 Chapter 27 Section 1

The Economy Eisenhower believed… The key to victory in the Cold War was military might coupled w/ a strong economy The US had to be a model for the rest of the world Show them that free enterprise could produce a better and more prosperous society than communism Economic prosperity would prevent Communists from gaining support in the US and protect society from subversion

More Bang for the Buck “New Look” in defense policy was needed Preparing for large-scale conventional war cost too much money No longer maintain a large and expensive army The nation must be prepared to use atomic weapons in all forms Nuclear weapons gave “more bang for the buck”

Eisenhower as President Dynamic conservatism Balancing economic conservatism w/ some activism Federal Highway Act Largest public works program in American history

Prevention Ike b/l the US could not contain communism by fighting a series of small wars They were unpopular and too expensive They had to be prevented from happening in the first place Prevention Policy  Massive Retaliation To threaten the use of nuclear weapons if a Communist state tried to seize territory by force

Massive Retaliation The Massive Retaliation policy enable Eisenhower to cut military spending from $50 billion to $34 billion He cut back the army It cost a lot of money to maintain He increased America’s nuclear arsenal From about 1000 bombs in 1953 to 18,000 bombs in 1961

New Technology The New Look’s weapons needed new technology to deliver them 1955 – US introduced B-52 bombers, designed to fly across continents and drop nuclear bombs anywhere in the world B/g development of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) that could deliver bombs anywhere in the world B/g to build submarines capable of launching nuclear missiles

The Sputnik Crisis October 4, 1957 – Soviet Union launched Sputnik The 1st artificial satellite to orbit the earth The launch of Sputnik alarmed Americans They took it as a sign that the US was falling b/h the Soviets in missile technology

The Sputnik Crisis Congress was worried that the nation was falling b/h in scientific research 1958 – Congress responds w/… The creation of NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) To coordinate research in rocket science and space exploration Passed the NDEA (National Defense Education Act) Provided funds for education and training in science, math, and foreign languages

Brinkmanship Brinkmanship – the willingness to go to the brink of war to force the other side to back down Eisenhower was willing to go to the brink of war, stare down the enemy and force them to back down Critics argued it was too dangerous Others supported Ike, saying that if you are not willing to go to the brink then you have already lost The art is the ability to go to the verge of war w/o actually getting into war

The Korean War Ends During his election campaign, Ike promised to end the costly and unpopular war in Korea It was costing too many lives and too few victories He quietly let the Chinese know that the US might continue the war “under circumstances of our own choosing” A hint at nuclear attack The threat seemed to work

The Korean War Ends July 1953 – negotiators signed an armistice The battle line b/w the two sides b/c the border line b/w N. and S. Korea Very near the prewar boundary A demilitarized zone separated them There was no victory but… The war had stopped the spread of communism in Korea The goal of containment

Containment To prevent these nations from b/c communist America would provide financial aid When aid was not enough the CIA would stage covert operations to overthrow anti-American leaders and replace them w/ pro-American leaders

Continuing Tensions To try to improve relations, Eisenhower and Khrushchev decided to hold a summit in Paris in 1960 Summit – formal face-to-face meeting of leaders from different countries to discuss important issues Shortly b/f the summit the Soviet Union shot down an American U-2 spy plane

Continuing Tensions At first, Ike claimed the aircraft was a weather plane that had strayed course Khrushchev then produced the pilot Eisenhower refused to apologize saying that the flights had protected US security Khrushchev then broke up the summit