1. American Society and the Cold War under Eisenhower (1952-1960)
Unit 10, Lesson 2

2. Essential Idea
Cold War tension rose during Eisenhower’s presidency.

3. Eisenhower Elected Election of 1952 Dwight Eisenhower Richard Nixon
Checkers Speech
Results
Election of The Republicans had steadily grown in popularity as the Democrats lost popularity over the perceived “softness” on communism, the Korean War stalemate, and, in the South, over pursuit of civil rights for blacks.
The Democrats nominated Adlai Stevenson, governor of Illinois.
Dwight Eisenhower- Eisenhower was a war hero from WW2 and was very well liked, especially by middle-class Americans (“I Like Ike! Was a popular slogan)
Eisenhower had a “grandfatherly” persona, was seen as non-partisan, and was seen as level headed but firm on communism.
Richard Nixon- Nixon, a Senator from California, had made a name for himself popular for his strong anti-communist involvement in the Alger Hiss case (one of the prosecutors?). He was Eisenhower’s running mate.
Checkers Speech- late in the campaign, Nixon hit a snag when he was accused of accepting illegal donations to his campaign and using them for personal use, which almost caused Eisenhower to drop him from the ticket.
In a televised speech, Nixon denied any wrongdoing and said the only gift he received was the family dog, Checkers, which he refused to return (pulling on heartstrings by using television, which was a new medium, and appealing to sentimentality with the dog)
Results- The Republicans won the election in a landslide of electoral votes (442-89)

4. Eisenhower’s Domestic Policies
Leadership style
“Modern Republicanism”
Eisenhower Takes Over
Leadership style- Eisenhower delegated authority, filling his cabinet with successful corporate executives (good thing? Bad thing?)
Many people criticized him as lazy because this delegation made him appear less busy, though behind the scenes he was still in charge.
Overall, Eisenhower was very well liked and seen as firm and in control yet trustworthy and grandfatherly.
“Modern Republicanism”- Eisenhower was fiscally conservative and made large strides towards balancing the federal budget after years of deficit spending under the Democrats. He was moderate on domestic issues, for example he accepted as permanent many New Deal programs such as Social Security (which he actually expanded)
He authorized the mass building of the interstate highway system (more on this later).
He also created a new department—the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (headed by Oveta Hobby, the first woman in a Republican cabinet)
Eisenhower created a soil-bank program as a way to lessen food production and raise crop prices.
At the same time, however, Eisenhower was opposed to nationalized healthcare and federal aid to education.
*Modern Republicanism = fiscally conservative but domestically moderate.

5. Eisenhower’s Domestic Policies
Highway Act (1956)
Impact
Dual purpose
Building the Interstates
Prosperity of 1950s
Highway Act- in 1956, this law authorized the construction of federally funded and built interstate highways.
With 42,000 miles of roads, this system linked major cities across the country.
New taxes were placed on fuel, tires, and cars in order to pay for the growing defense budget of the Cold War.
Impact- this large public works project stimulated the economy by creating thousands of jobs.
It also increased trade in the country (this is internal improvements!), helped the trucking industry, and further homogenized American culture (think of all the standardized businesses that line the interstates today—gas stations and fast food restaurants especially)
Now, travel across the country was possible for individuals, enabling people to go WHEN they wanted and WHERE they wanted. Public transportation was now deemphasized, and the railroads went into decline.
Additionally, the growth of the use of cars had a negative environmental impact.
Dual purpose- the highways were also built to enable for fast mobilization of war vehicles.
If there was ever an attack on the United States, the interstates could be shut down and only used by military personnel to mobilize.
Prosperity of 1950s- During Eisenhower’s presidency, the country enjoyed steady economic growth and the federal budget was relatively balanced.
Between 1945 and 1960, per capita disposable income in America tripled, and American incomes were double that of the roaring 20s.
After WW2, America had the highest standard of living in the world.

6. Election of 1956 Election of 1956 Results
Election of the years of prosperity during Eisenhower’s first term made his election nearly inevitable, despite his having a heart-attack toward the end of his first term.
Again, Nixon was his vice-presidential nominee and again Democrat Adlai Stevenson was the challenger.
Results- Eisenhower won by an even larger margin than the previous election.
However, Democrats regained control of both houses of Congress.

7. Eisenhower and the Cold War
John Dulles
Brinkmanship
Massive retaliation
Mutually assured destruction
Cold War Continues
John Dulles- Eisenhower’s Secretary of State was John Dulles (during both terms).
Dulles condemned the containment policies of Truman as “negative, futile, and immoral.”
Dulles promised not only to contain communism, but to “roll it back” and “liberate captive people.” Basically, his anti-communism policies were much more aggressive and on the offensive—he wanted to challenge the Soviet Union and China and free the people of Eastern Europe and Taiwan.
Brinkmanship- Dulles claimed that if America took the Communists to the “brink” of nuclear war, American nuclear superiority would cause the communist countries to back down. This made conservatives happy but inspired fear in many others—was stopping communism worth the risk of destroying the world through a nuclear holocaust?
In the end, Eisenhower moderated Dulles’ views and kept him from taking his ideas too far.
Massive retaliation- Dulles also advocated putting more emphasis on building up the American air and nuclear power than on traditional military components such as a land army.
The idea was that, through missiles, airstrikes, and nuclear weapons, the U.S. military would get more “bang for the buck.”
With growing weaponry (H-Bomb developed in 1953), any challenging nations would run the risk of “massive retaliation” from the United States.
Mutually assured destruction- massive retaliation proved illusory, especially when the Soviet Union made it apparent that they had large atomic weapons of their own (they eventually tested the biggest one ever).
MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction) describes the fact that if a nuclear war broke out between either side, both sides would be destroyed. This served as a powerful deterrent to war starting between the Soviet Union and the United States. In the end, the Soviet Union and the United States would fight each other indirectly, by taking opposing sides in “proxy wars” rather than fight each other head on (sort of like Korea).

8. Eisenhower and the Cold War
Third World instability
Covert operations
Iran (1953)
Guatemala (1954)
The ethical dilemma
Covert Ops
Third World instability- after World War 2, the colonial empires collapsed.
Between 1947 and 1962, dozens of colonies in Asia and Africa gained independence, including India, Pakistan, Korea, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam.
These new, emerging countries were often vulnerable and, in Vietnam (like Korea), communist and democratic forces fought over control of the area.
Other (non-colonial) third-world countries that were struggling were also seen as vulnerable places where either communism or democracy could take hold.
Covert operations- a new part of American foreign policy under Eisenhower was the use of covert operations (undercover intervention, especially in the internal politics of other nations) rather than overt military force.
This way, America could exert influence where deemed necessary through more subtle means, often changing a country from the inside than through force on the outside (like a vaccine rather than surgery?).
Iran- in 1953, the CIA played a major role in helping overthrow the government in Iran (which had been democratically elected!) because it had tried to nationalize the holdings of foreign oil companies in the region.
In addition, America feared of Soviet influence in the oil-rich Middle East, and many saw the attempt to nationalize oil in Iran as being a Soviet-backed move the indicated growing communist influence in the region.
***remember that America was ever-increasingly dependent on this foreign oil—was oil or anti-communism the motive here—or both?
In the overthrow, the elected leader (Mohammad Mosaddegh) was ousted and replaced with Reza Pahlavi, the Shah (monarch) of Iran.
The Shah went on to give America favorable oil prices and purchase weapons from American manufacturers.
***here, America had used force to overthrow an ELECTED government and put an oppressive MONARCHY in power—as part of the fight to stop communism? Hypocritical? Necessary evil? Oil-motivated? (open discussion)
Guatemala- in 1954, in Guatemala, the CIA overthrew the left-leaning (communist-leaning?) government that threatened American business interests.
The ethical dilemma- in its fight against communism (part of whose evils were totalitarian governments that followed from communism), America often supported bloody dictatorships.
Many people questioned what America’s true motivations were, and many countries became increasingly anti-American.
During a visit to Venezuela in 1958, for example, angry mobs attacked Vice-President Nixon’s motorcade (he wasn’t hurt, however).

9. Cold War in Asia Korean War “ends” (1953) Indochina
Geneva Conference (1954)
Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam
Korean War “ends”- at the beginning of his first term, Eisenhower fulfilled his campaign promises to end the Korean conflict.
The threat of nuclear war (brinkmanship?), the death of Stalin in March of 1953, and the careful use of diplomacy moved China and North Korea to agree to an armistice and an exchange of war prisoners in July of 1953.
The war is technically in cease-fire, and technically hasn’t ended (though it technically never started either, at least according to U.S. Constitutional rule, since it was not a congressionally declared war) since no peace treaty has ever been signed (there is still tension between the two counties)
Korea remained divided near the 38th Parallel, and so, after three years of bloody stalemate, the border remained virtually the same.
However, communism was successfully contained, since South Korea remained free of communist rule.
Indochina- Japan had taken Indochina from France during WW2, and after the war, the French attempted in a futile effort to get it back.
Both Vietnamese and Cambodians wanted independence and fought against French imperialists.
The threat of the French increased support for Vietnamese nationalist and communist Ho Chi Minh.
As with Korea, this area became a contest between communist and anti-communist control. Truman sent military aid to help the French, the Soviet Union and China sent aid to help guerilla fighters under Ho Chi Minh.
By 1954, the French were losing, but Eisenhower refused to send military forces to help.
Geneva Conference- here, France agreed to give up Indochina, which was then divided into the countries of Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam.

10. Vietnam Vietnam divided North Vietnam South Vietnam Ho Chi Minh
Ngo Dinh Diem
Vietnam divided- according to the Geneva Conference, Vietnam was divided into North and South Vietnam along the 17th Parallel until general elections could be held.
However, before elections could be held, largely because of realistic fears that communists would win the elections, and rival governments were set up in each country.
North Vietnam/Ho Chi Minh- in North Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh established a communist dictatorship.
South Vietnam/Ngo Dinh Diem- South Vietnam was headed by Diem, who ran an anti-communist but also oppressive government (again, with American support)

11. Instability in Southeast Asia
Domino theory
Roots of Vietnam Conflict
SEATO (Southeast Asia Treaty Organization)
Domino theory- from 1955 to 1961, the American government would give over one billion dollars worth of economic and military aid to South Vietnam in an effort to make it more stable against communist influences.
Americans were not very happy with Diem’s rule, but would not pull aid because of the domino theory, which assumed that if South Vietnam fell to communism, more nations would fall until all of Southeast Asia would fall.
From there, Australia, New Zealand, and Southern Asia (India for example) would fall, and suddenly the majority of the world population would be communist.
SEATO- to prevent Southeast Asia (mainly Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam) from falling to communism, Secretary of State Dulles put together a regional defense pact called SEATO that included America, major European powers, Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Thailand, and Pakistan)
Should communism threaten one of these countries, all the countries would come to the aid of that country and help defend it.

12. Cold War in the Middle East
Israel
Palestine
Middle east
Israel- the United Nations created Israel in 1948, largely as a refuge for Jews, many of whom had died in the Holocaust.
Palestine- Palestinian also claimed legitimate ownership of this land and rejected the notion of a Jewish state (the Israelites and Palestinians have been fighting over this land ever since)
Middle east- this situation caused (and has caused) a complicated relationship between America and the Middle East.
Arab countries of the Middle East were rich in oil, a resource that the United States had dominated until Now, America imported more oil from the Middle East and were increasingly dependent on it.
At the same time, however, America gave support to the creation of Israel (for multiple reasons, including sympathy for Holocaust victims and to keep the Soviet Union from getting influence first), which infuriated Arab countries (which are Muslim, not Jewish)
Since then, America has had to balance its support of Israel with the need to keep oil-rich Arab countries providing oil at a reasonable price.

13. Suez Canal Suez canal Suez crisis (1956) Eisenhower Doctrine (1957)
Lebanon (1958)
Suez canal- this canal was (and is) the major artery through which Middle-eastern oil reaches the rest of the world, including the United States. It was owned jointly by Britain and France.
Suez crisis- President Gamal Nasser of Egypt needed to build a dam on the Nile for desperately needed irrigation and hydroelectric power in his country.
Initially he sought financial help from America and Britain, but America withdrew support which Nasser also started to ask the Soviet Union for help.
In response, Nasser decided to nationalize the Suez Canal (have the government take it over), even though it was owned by British and French stockholders.
Together, Britain, France, and Israel staged an attack on Egypt to regain control of the canal—without consulting America.
They made this move anticipating that America would supply them with necessary oil while their middle-eastern supplies were cut off, but Eisenhower, furious at being kept in the dark about the operate, refused to send aid.
British and French troops were forced to withdraw, and U.N. police were sent it to restore peace and order.
In 1957, Congress proclaimed the Eisenhower Doctrine, which pledged American economic and military aid to the Middle East if nations there were threatened by communist aggression.
Soviet influence was already growing in Egypt and Syria (both of which border Israel)
*What was the motivation for the Eisenhower Doctrine? Oil? Anti-communism? Support of Israel? (open)
Lebanon- Lebanon was the first test of the Eisenhower Doctrine, where the U.S. sent in 14,000 marines to stop a civil war that had broken out between Christians and Muslims—and where Egyptian and communist influences were threatening.

14. OPEC Oil OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries)
Competing interests
Oil- by the 1950s, America was not only more addicted to oil than ever, but it was more depended on FOREIGN oil than ever.
America had once been the world’s leading producer of oil, but the Middle East took over this role after the 1940s.
America’s dependence of foreign oil created foreign policy problems that are still dealt with today.
OPEC- in 1960 (Eisenhower’s last year in office), the Arab nations of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, and Iran joined with Venezuela to form OPEC, and alliance of oil-producing countries.
Competing interests- the competing interests of Western dependence on the Middle East’s oil, the growth of Arab (and Muslim) nationalism, and support of Israel would cause foreign policy headaches for America all the way up to present day.

15. Cold War and the Soviet Union
Stalin dies (1953)
“Spirit of Geneva”
Nikita Khrushchev
Khrushchev's Thaw?
Stalin dies- Stalin died unexpectedly in 1953 (some suspect due to poisoning), leading a confused power vacuum in the Soviet Union consisting of several leaders.
“Spirit of Geneva”- in 1955, two years after Stalin’s death, leaders of the United States and Soviet Union met in Geneva, Switzerland.
Here, Eisenhower proposed “open skies,” calling for open aerial photography by the opposing nations to eliminate the chances of a surprise Soviet attack (basically a mutual inspection program)
Though the Soviets rejected the idea, both sides were encouraged by a more diplomatic turn taken in the Cold War—considered a Cold War “thaw”—known as the “spirit of Geneva.”
Nikita Khrushchev- Khrushchev eventually became the clear leader of the Soviet Union.
Khrushchev’s thaw?- Khrushchev initially eased Cold War tensions. He denounced the rule of his predecessor, Stalin, for example, and the Soviet Union withdrew troops from Austria after the country agreed to be neutral in the Cold War.
Khrushchev even promoted a “peaceful coexistence” with the West.
He even loosened the Soviet government’s grip on the people (relatively speaking), proving to be “nicer” to his own people than Stalin had been.
However, later Khrushchev would be a major player in the tensest moments of the Cold War, yet to come.

16. Hungary Hungarian uprising (1956) Soviet and American responses Impact
Khrushchev and Hungary
Hungarian uprising- in 1956, the “thaw” ended when a popular uprising in Hungary succeeded in overthrowing the communist government there, installed more liberal leaders, and threatened to pull out of the Warsaw Pact.
Soviet and American responses- Khrushchev moved quickly to crush this uprising, using troops and tanks. The country briefly fell into chaos as opposing sides fought brutally, especially in the capital, Budapest.
Khrushchev did not want a “domino effect” of countries leaving the Warsaw Pact and “falling” to democracy.
America did nothing. The ideas of Dulles to “roll back” communism were not realized.
Impact- Khrushchev’s response made many communist sympathizers in Europe turn against the Soviet Union, ultimately weakening communist influences.
However, this also ratcheted Cold War fears up again and ended the “thaw.”

17. Dawn of the Space Age Sputnik (1957) Impact
Space Race
NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 1958)
National Defense and Education Act (1958)
Sputnik- in 1957, the Soviet Union launched the first satellite into space, Sputnik I, which orbited the Earth several times and was detected by other countries (confirming it was real).
A month later, Sputnik II was launched, which carried a dog.
Impact- the world was shocked by the advances of the Soviet Union, and Cold War fear skyrocketed in the United States.
Many people felt that America was falling behind on the world stage and that communism was looking superior because of their technological strength.
Many feared that the Soviets would be able to spy on the United States, creating a national security threat.
Perhaps most disturbing was the fact that Soviet rockets were so advanced—if a rocket could take a satellite to space, it could also deliver a nuclear weapon to America (the only different between a space rocket and a missile is what it carries at the tip).
Space race- the launch of Sputnik started the space race—the race for technological superiority in space.
This race ended up having a dual purpose of showing Cold War superiority and exploring space.
NASA- Eisenhower responded to this new “rocket fever” quickly. NASA, and billions of dollars were poured into missile research and finding ways to explore space with advanced instruments and eventually humans.
National Defense and Education Act- hundreds of millions of dollars were also spent to improve technology and international studies in education—887 million dollars were given to advance teaching of math, science, and languages.

18. Khrushchev on the Offensive
“We will bury capitalism”
Khrushchev demands West Berlin
Meeting at Camp David
A Cold War Thaw?
“We will bury capitalism”- banging his shoe on a podium during a speech after Sputnik’s launch, Khrushchev boasted of the Soviet Union’s superiority, striking fear into Americans. Khrushchev became much more of a villain to Americans, and the thaw had refrozen solid.
Khrushchev demands West Berlin- Khrushchev, like Stalin before him, demanded West Berlin in 1958, giving the West six months to pull out and leave to city to communist East Germany.
America refused to give in to the demands.
Meeting at Camp David- Eisenhower invited Khrushchev to America, and Khrushchev became the first Soviet leader to visit America.
The trip went well, and another “thaw” occurred—Khrushchev enjoyed his visit and the two sides seemed to get along.
Khrushchev returned home, saying “long live Soviet-American friendship” and promising to reduce the Soviet military as a peaceful move.
Eisenhower and Khrushchev agreed to put off the West Berlin crisis, and agreed to meet again the following year (1960), in Paris.

19. U-2 Incident U-2 Incident Francis Gary Powers Impact
U-2 Incident- the “spirit of Camp David” was unable to produce good results like the “spirit of Geneva” because between the Camp David meeting and the meeting at Paris, the U-2 incident occurred.
The Soviets shot down an American U-2 spy plane. The American government initially tried to deny it was a spy plane/it was their doing.
Francis Gary Powers- Khrushchev confronted American denials by producing the pilot, alive an well (Powers was returned to America in exchange for a Soviet spy)
Impact- the U.S. government’s secret spying program was exposed, which kept them from being able to take such a “moral high road” in the Cold War and also made them look less competent.
Khrushchev called off the Paris summit, Eisenhower took responsibility but would not apologize, and the Cold War tension froze again.

20. Cuba Cuban Revolution (1959) Fidel Castro Soviet-Cuban relations
Impact
Cuban Revolution- since the 1930s, the United States had supported the dictator of Cuba, Fulgencio Batista, largely to protect American investments there.
In 1959, Fidel Castro helped engineer a revolution in Cuba and ousted Batista. (did the CIA help?)
Fidel Castro- Castro, once in charge, nationalized American-owned businesses and properties in Cuba.
The American government responded by cutting off American trade with Cuba (embargo).
Soviet-Cuban relations- Castro turned to the Soviets for support and revealed his intentions to create a communist Cuba.
Cuba became a satellite of the Soviet Union, and when Americans tried to invoke the Monroe Doctrine, Khrushchev said the Monroe Doctrine was dead and threatened to shower missiles upon the United States if it tried to stop Cuba.
Thousands of anti-Castro Cubans fled to American, mostly Florida, as refugees.
Impact- containment policies failed miserably with Cuba, and even covert operations would prove unfruitful.
Now, the communist threat was nearer than ever—within 90 miles of the United States.

21. Eisenhower’s Presidency Ends
Cold War legacy
“Military-industrial complex”
Cold War Legacy- Eisenhower could accurately claim that he had fought against communism without losing American lives (like in the Korean War)
Though criticized as lazy and uninvolved by political rivals, Eisenhower kept a close eye on affairs and on those he delegated authority too (in the end, most historians see him as a good and effective leader)
“Military-industrial complex”- in his farewell address, Eisenhower warned about the effect the Cold War was having on society.
He told the nation to “guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence…by the military industrial complex.” (calling out NSC-68?)
What does this mean? (government getting to militaristic? Too much influence given to defense industries?)
Is there a problem with a military industrial complex today? (open)