Dwight+Eisenhower


 * == January 20, 1953 – January 20, 1961 ==
 * == Republican ==

=Personal Details=
 * In 1943, Roosevelt appointed him as the Supreme Allied Commander which was in charge of the assaults in Europe (Germany, France on D-day)
 * His famous campaign slogan was "I like Ike", which was an attack against Taft's administration policy of " Korea, Communism and Corruption."
 * He ran presidency with Nixon running as Vice-President. Together they addressed Korean issue and subversion conflicts which attracted major popularity.
 * Ended Democrats 20 years of control of government (Both Houses)

Eisenhower Republicanism

 * Business Leaders' New Outlook - he appointed rich business man to his cabinets.
 * * ** wanted limited gov't intervention **and protection for private interest!
 * Though as a Republican, Eisenhower supported some welfare programs such as Social Security Act, and increased minimum wage

=Presidency=

Major Changes
**﻿** **﻿**
 * **Economy - b/t 1950s- 1960s affluent and prosperous**
 * Gross national product increased by 250%
 * Unemployment decreased 5%; inflation decreased by 3%
 * government spending increased (public works - schools, highway, etc and also on military)
 * consumer crazes - wants>needs
 * ** Baby Boom **- increased by 20 % --->increase in demand--->increase in economy
 * **Suburban Growth** - population increased by 47%; more private cars-->increased automobile industry, housing industry, roads
 * Gender Role reinforced since suburban focused more on family
 * ** West - had most drastic change due to early gov't spending during WWI**
 * increase in automobile + oil industry, investment in universities, had warm climate--->all helped boom in population and $
 * ** The "Postwar" Contract - the relationship b/t labor and employer**
 * labor recieved benefits and in return they could not argue/negotiate for further more demands (such as workplace condition)
 * Medical - antibiotics, immunization, salk vaccine (against polio)--> increase life expectancy
 * Techonology - computer for complex tasks; 1952, hydrogen bomb
 * Space - NASA (space adm.); Apollo Program (land man on moon. killed 3 astronaut in 1967); space shuttle
 * Rock n' Roll - extremely popular-->youth culture; * Elvis Presley
 * __** The Other America **-__ though $ increased, 1/5 of population still lived below poverty line in 1960s (declining agricultural prices, black urban migration)

Major Events (in chronological order)

 * 1957, //Sputnik// - Soviet lauched //Sputnik// to outer space-->threatened Americans-->encouraged Sci research
 * Sep, 1957, **Little Rock** - Central High School @ Little Rock accepted its first black students with the escort of National Guard
 * 1955, ** Montgomery Bus Boycott -** started w/ Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat to a white.
 * Very effective, pressured bus compnay and businesses --> __Court ruled bus segregation unconstitutional__
 * Martin Luther King came in as a significant leader of civil rights movement.

Domestic Policy

 * **Interstate Highway Act of 1956** - spended 25 million to construction.
 * impact: saves time, increases development in surburban, changes landscape
 * **//Brown// v. //Board of Edu,//1954** - overturned "separate but =" doctrine
 * ended in tension b/t fed. and state gov't, and b/t prosegregation and anti-segregation

Foreign Policy/events

 * __**Korea**__, July 27, 1953 - powers @ Panmunjom signed agreement to withdrew troops along 38th parrallel-->ended Korean War
 * __**Vietnam**__ - France wanted control of Viet and received opposition from Ho Chi Minh (communist), 1945, French troops were surrounded at Dien Bien Phu and were defeated. --> marked the beginning of Vietnam War
 * __**Israel**__, May 14, 1948 - Israel became independent through effort of United Nations --> America wanted to protect their petroleum investment in Israel.
 * __**Suez Crisis**__ - General Nasser (Egypt) had close relationship with USSR. US (Dulles) responded by not funding the dam at Nile.
 * In order to prevent Israel from having a close relationship with USSR, US told French and Britain to withdrew troops and persuade Israel to sign a truce with Egypt.
 * __**Cuba**__ - Castro overthrew Batsta's gov't (supported by US). Castron received help from USSR-->communism
 * __**Hungarian Revolution**__ - 1955, Hugarian started an uprising for democratic reform, but Soviet sent troops to restore pro-soviet regime. America did not intervene.
 * __**The U-2 Crisis**__ - Soviet shot down U-2, a spy plane US sent to Soviet-->increased tension b/t U.S. and U.S.S.R.

=Legacy= Eisenhower's presidency centered around his achievement in domestic policies. He supported the ** Interstate Highway Act **which made traveling faster and encouraged suburban development. Even during the Cold War, the economy recovered from suburban development and military and public spending. Eisenhower ended the Korean War, however, he led the nation into another major warfare, the Vietnam War, which led a bad mark in his legacy. After he left office, his reputation declined drasticly. Americans criticized him as the "** do nothing president" regarding his passive action in civil rights movement **, for example, he acted reluctantly in Little Rocks issue. As a Republican, Eisenhower were pressured by rights to expand welfare programs, such as increasing minimum wage and expanding Social Securtiy Act. Eisenhower believed in ** less government intervention **, which was one of the reason why business leaders started to take positions in office. During his presidency, America was even more involved in world affairs due to economic motivation and political influence.

=﻿Argument (thesis)= Dwight Eisenhower's presidency could be called the most important presidency of U.S. history because of his achievement in establishing social stability during the Cold War through **__investment in welfare programs and public constructions__**. He also continued the **__fight against communism and brought it to a new higher level through the Vietnam War and other intervations in Third World countries.__**

=Resources= [] [] textbook