AMERICA: THE LAST BEST HOPE

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Joella Ward
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1 CHAPTER 10 Eisenhower and Happy Days ( ) Presidential Terms Dwight D. Eisenhower ( ) The title of this chapter is reflective of a common perception of the 1950s and parallels the name of a popular television show set in the time period Happy Days. As with any generalization, however, a closer look reveals a more complex picture. Bennett shows quite clearly that the American people faced great challenges during the Eisenhower years challenges that included a Red Scare, a nuclear arms race, and questions regarding our system of racial justice. Dwight Eisenhower gained legendary status for his military leadership during World War II. Both major political parties tried to recruit him, not even knowing which party he supported. Finally identified as a Republican, the G.O.P. drafted Eisenhower to run for president in In nominating Ike, the Republicans rejected Senator Robert Taft ( Mr. Republican ) and the isolationist wing of the party. Eisenhower and his running mate, Richard Nixon, supported an active role for the U.S. in world affairs especially in regards to containing the Soviet Union. Despite a short-lived scandal for the vice presidential candidate (the Checkers scandal), the Eisenhower-Nixon ticket prevailed over the Democratic candidate, Adlai Stevenson. Eisenhower s promise during the campaign to go to Korea and seek a solution to that stalemated war proved decisive with the voters. He did help bring about an uneasy truce there during his first year in office a truce that holds to this day. Teachers can ask students to do research on all of the generals who have run for or been elected president. What leadership qualities transfer well from the military to government? Which do not? Bennett makes the point that voters saw Eisenhower as a man of the people, while Stevenson came across as pompous, overly intellectual and out of touch with people s daily lives. Do students think a person from humble origins will be a more effective president? Have most of our presidents been from such circumstances, or have they been from the more privileged classes? Bennett points out that voters saw Eisenhower as a religious man. His relationship with Reverend Billy Graham confirmed this. With the United States in an ideological battle around the globe with atheistic communism, this was important to Americans. It was during the Eisenhower years that Congress added under God to the Pledge of Allegiance and approved In God We Trust as the nation s official motto. Students might discuss whether Congress would take such steps today? Would people still support such actions? What do they think of recent legal attempts to remove under

2 God from the Pledge? Why would some Americans seek such a change? The Cold War intensified both overseas and at home. In the Soviet Union, Stalin died and over the next few years Nikita Khrushchev rose to leadership there, a man who promised the communist system would come to dominate the globe. Here in the United States, the Red Scare that began after World War II continued. Joseph McCarthy took Red-baiting to new levels. Bennett points out in both this and the previous chapter that the Soviets were funding espionage and subversion in the United States, but McCarthy s dishonest and bullying approach besmirched all efforts to deal with genuine disloyalty. As rapidly as he rose to prominence, he crashed and self-destructed. The Army-McCarthy hearings exposed McCarthy s tactics to millions watching live on the new medium of television. Also critical was the willingness of a few courageous individuals to stand up to McCarthy. Once he began to fall, the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly voted to censure him. Students who research the censure process will find that this has only happened nine times in the history of the U.S. Senate. It is a serious step. Another interesting part of the story is Bennett s account of who stood up to McCarthy and when they spoke out. Even President Eisenhower was hesitant to challenge the senator when he attacked General Marshall. Students can discuss why so many people took so long to question the Senator and his tactics. Bennett includes a long quote from Eisenhower s memoir, Crusade in Europe, to show the president s belief that communism only appeals to people in desperate circumstances. Classes can read this quote and discuss its relevance to other extreme belief systems in our present world. Do they also find adherents among the world s most desperate peoples? In America in the 1950s, millions were enjoying prosperity undreamed of during the Great Depression and World War II. Yet America still struggled to live up to its own ideals, particularly in the area of race relations. But the historic 1954 Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education helped start a new type of American revolution. Bennett notes that freedom is contagious. The next year Rosa Parks inspired and Martin Luther King, Jr. led a boycott in Montgomery, Alabama to protest the city s segregated bus lines. This helped bring Dr. King to national prominence. A court ruling (Browder v. Gayle) determined that just like school segregation, such segregation of public bus busses was illegal. A few years later, Eisenhower sent federal troops to insure that black students could safely attend an integrated Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. These steps toward justice, all achieved non-violently, laid the foundation for the civil rights victories of the 1960s. Students will benefit from reading more about Rosa Parks and learning why some call her the mother of the civil rights movement. Teachers cannot emphasize

3 enough the courage it took for African-Americans to challenge Jim Crow during this era. They were literally putting their lives on the line. Eisenhower won reelection in 1956, again defeating Adlai Stevenson. Events overseas created international tension and likely persuaded voters to stick with Eisenhower s steady leadership, even though the president faced multiple health concerns. International crises included a near war in the Mideast when Egyptian president Nasser closed the Suez Canal. Another crisis came when workers and students in Hungary tried to overthrow their Soviet masters. It appeared there might be a crack in the iron curtain until Soviet tanks rolled into Budapest and crushed the uprising. The Hungarians fought back with Molotov cocktails, but they were no match for the Soviet army. Hungarians had been inspired by Voice of America broadcasts to fight for freedom. They expected the United States to aid their cause. Eisenhower, however, did not send help. Classes can discuss reasons why Eisenhower maintained a containment policy when he had the opportunity to pursue rollback. Was this a wise decision? Domestically, Bennett points out that even though he was a Republican, Eisenhower largely left intact the reforms brought about by the Democratic New Deal. He supported Modern Republicanism and did not advocate a smaller federal government. With record prosperity, he saw no reason to challenge the status quo. He even expanded the role of the federal government by creating the interstate highway system. But Bennett also notes that young conservatives such as William F. Buckley began to put forth arguments that did challenge this larger role of the federal government in peoples lives. This was the beginning of the New Right that would have a large impact on American politics in future decades. Bennett states that the interstate highway system changed America forever. This invites classes to explore in what ways this is true. Students will clearly want to examine the explosion of suburbs and the dramatic changes in living patterns in America s great cities. Americans grew concerned when the Soviets put Sputnik, the world s first satellite, into space orbit in This seemed to confirm Khrushchev s boast that communism s superiority would bury capitalism. However, as Bennett points out, there was no missile gap and America was in reality not behind the Soviets in technological development. Eisenhower knew this because his top-secret U-2 spy flights over Russia provided him with concrete evidence that America s arsenal of nuclear arms was far superior to the Soviet s stockpile of weapons. But he could not say so publicly. In fact, Eisenhower s New Look in defense relied more heavily than ever on nuclear weapons and on massive retaliation to deter a Soviet attack. His

4 Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles, even spoke of brinkmanship as the best way to negotiate with the Soviets. This meant America needed to take hard stances against Soviet aggression and even be willing to go to the brink of war in order to protect the nation s interests. Students can debate whether this is a wise way to insure the safety of the nation. Were there alternatives? Bennett mentions that during the Eisenhower years the CIA destabilized and helped topple left-wing regimes in Iran and Guatemala. This is a topic that should make for fruitful class discussion and teachers may want to provide students with more context. During the Cold War such regimes certainly did appear to be a threat to U.S. interests. But in both of these cases, the leaders overthrown had been legally elected. Should the United States ever interfere in such a way around the globe? What if the Soviets were involved in similar actions? Is this ever appropriate? The new governments that replaced the toppled leaders were indeed much more supportive of U.S. interests (particularly economic), but in many cases were brutally repressive to their own people. Was it possible for the United States to stay true to the ideals of freedom during the Cold War? What have been the long-term consequences of these 1950s actions particularly in Guatemala and Iran? A major summit between the U.S. and Russia scheduled for May of 1960 fell apart when the Soviets shot down an American U-2 spy plane. Eisenhower lied publicly about the true mission of the plane, and was caught in the lie when Khrushchev produced the pilot, who had confessed. This should be of great interest to students. Some believe that this was the moment many Americans began to lose faith in the credibility of their leaders. But are there times when a president has to withhold the truth from citizens? If the answer is yes, doesn t this open a dangerous path in a democracy? Millions of Americans witnessed all of the historic events outlined in this chapter in the comfort of their homes on the revolutionary new medium of television. From the federal troops in Little Rock to the gyrations of Elvis Pressley, Americans were joined more than ever in a common experience. Classes can discuss whether television is indeed a vast wasteland as some in the 1950s argued, or rather an indispensable form of communication that has improved lives. Students might consider how many hours a week they actually watch television. Has television improved their lives? Eisenhower left office with the nation prosperous and at peace. But this general who had seen the worst of war, worried about the role of the Cold war arms race on the health of the nation. He once said, Every gun that

5 is made, every battleship that is built, every missile that is launched, is a direct theft from the people who are hungry and starving in this world. He used his Farewell Address to warn Americans of the growing strength of the military-industrial complex. Students can research what Eisenhower meant by this term and assess the relevance of his warning in our own day. Teachers will notice that throughout the book, people are mentioned who will become major figures later. Teachers might ask if students recognize such names and even see if they can connect how experiences during this period helped shape their character. Included in this chapter are Robert F. Kennedy, Coretta Scott King, and Lyndon Johnson.

Chapter 21 Section 4 Eisenhower s Policies. Click on a hyperlink to view the corresponding slides.

Chapter 21 Section 4 Eisenhower s Policies Click on a hyperlink to view the corresponding slides. Chapter Objectives Section 4: Eisenhower s Policies Evaluate Eisenhower s military policy known as the