The Eisenhower Era: Cold War Foreign Policy (1952-1960) Ben Ancharski, Nicholas Cuevas
Thesis Thesis: While the Eisenhower administration promised the optimism of world peace, the reality was the creation of a recklessly massive Military-Industrial Complex, which threatened to teeter the world into nuclear annihilation, while covert espionage actions threatened the pretense of democracy, undermining ideological and moral opposition to totalitarianism.
I. The Election of 1952 A. Major Issue: Foreign Policy B. Division within Republican Party 1. RA Taft (isolationist, conservative) 2. Eisenhower (interventionist, moderate) 3. Campaign finance issue (damnit Nixon) C. Moderate ticket: Eisenhower/Nixon 1. Ran against Korea, inflation, corruption 2. Media Deployed a) I like Ike! Robert A. Taft Dwight D. Eisenhower
II. First Term: Foreign Policy A. Idealogies a. Containment Liberation i. Domino Theory b. New Look : Sec of State Dulles i. Deterrence/Brinksmanship ii. Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) John Foster Dulles
B. New World Leaders a. Nikita Khrushchev i. Stalin died in 1953 ii. Peace/correct totalitarianism (de-stalinization) iii. Eisenhower: Chance for Peace Speech b. Fall of Imperialism i. New African/Asian countries zones of influence. Nikita Khrushchev
C. Soviet Union Relations (1952-1956) a. Atoms for Peace (1952) i. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEC) (1957) b. Geneva Summit (1955) i. Open Sky Policy rejected c. Hungarian Revolt (1956) i. Student uprising brutally suppressed ii. Ike didn t pursue intervention iii. New Look looks bad d. Arms Race nonetheless Hole-y Cow, Vladimir!
D. Middle East (i.e. 60% of world s oil) a. Egypt i. Nasser overthrows monarchy 1952, President in 1956 ii. Seeks military aid/aswan Dam funds from West b. Suez Crisis 1956: Nasser nationalized Suez Canal war with Israel/GB/France c. Eisenhower Doctrine i. Middle Eastern country could ask for military aid, if they are in danger of communist armed aggression ii. Applied in Lebanon Crisis (1958) That face you make when imperialists try to steal your canal Bring it Gamal Abdel Nasser
D. Middle East (continued) Iranian Bernie? c. Iran i. 1951 Election of Mosaddegh, socialist ii. Nationalized Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC) oil fields iii. Operation Ajax (CIA+MI6), 1953 1. Imposed Gen. Fazlollah Zahedi as PM 2. Shah Pahlavi s power expanded 3. Future consequences. Mohammad Mosaddegh Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi with Eisenhower
E. Asia a. Japanese Miracle b. Korea China i. Ceasefire negotiated 1953 c. Formosa Resolution 1955 i. US/Taiwan military relations China d. Vietnam i. First Indochina War: fight against French imperialism ii. Battle of Dien Bien Phu 1954 communist victory iii. Geneva Accords 1954 iv. Little direct American involvement
II. Second Term: Foreign Policy A. Russian Tensions a. Brinksmanship/Arms Race b. Few talks with USSR i. Increased warhawk rhetoric by Khrushchev ii. Fear of European integration iii. Division between Russia/China, Sino-Soviet split c. Space Race i. 1957: Sputnik ii. 1958: NASA founded
A. Russian Tensions (continued) d. Eisenhower tries to get testing ban treaty i. Nixon in Russia (1959) 1. Kitchen Debate: relatively friendly ii. Khrushchev visits America, 1959 iii. Ike set to visit Russia, but then... e. U2 Spy Plane shot down over Russia, 1960 i. Francis Powers, American military man, captured ii. Khrushchev takes harder line towards West Korn!
B. Latin America a. Truman Actions i. Organization of American States, 1948 b. 1952 election, promised greater involvement in LA c. Nixon: goodwill tour of South America, 1958 d. Continued intervention i. Guatemala 1. Guzmán: democratically elected president 2. Land reforms threaten United Fruit Company 3. Operation PBSUCCESS, 1954 Jacobo Árbenz Guzmán a. Generalissimo Armas: dictator I swear I didn t add that Carlos Castillo Armas
B. Latin America (continued) d. Continued intervention (continued) ii. Cuba 1. 1959, Cuban Revolution 2. Castro replaces Batista Fidel Castro 3. Eisenhower responds, cut sugar imports 4. USSR/Cuban relations grow a. Eisenhower invokes Monroe Doctrine 110 miles I want this hat Fulgencio Batista
III. A Military-Industrial Complex A. Kennedy wins 1960 election against Nixon B. Increased global tensions a. Arms Race i. Soviets test first H-Bomb in 1953 b. Communist Cuba c. World teetering on edge of WWIII C. Uneasiness at home a. Falling behind in Space Race b. Burgeoning Civil Rights Movement c. New counterculture intellectualism brewing
6:40 to 9:25 D. Eisenhower s Farewell Address, 1961 a. First televised farewell address b. Warned ominously of relationship between big business and the military c. Gloomy start to the 1960s Eisenhower faces the nation
# Ace the Game
I. The Election of 1952 A. The Issues: K1C2 Formula a. Korean War b. Communism c. Corruption B. Democrat Debacles a. HSTruman: out early b. No clear frontrunner, Stevenson/ Sparkman ticket c. Ran against Republican McCarthyism d. New Deal influence
III. First Term: Domestic Policy A. Fall of McCarthy a. Army-McCarthy Hearings 1954 i. Televized Joseph N. Welch ii. Joseph Welch berates McCarthy s coldness iii. Edward R. Murrow, See It Now B. Continuation of New Deal a. Welfare expansion b. Cut military spending c. Top marginal income tax=91% Joseph McCarthy with his chief counsel Roy Cohn C. Operation Wetback, 1954 Doubt you can find a Republican today that supports that
D. American Society a. Consumerism (1920s on steroids) i. Suburbia expanded, Baby Boomers ii. Television boom 1. Leave it to Beaver, Father Knows Best iii. Rock n Roll iv. Americana 1. McDonald s, Coca Cola, Levi s v. Movies 1. Teen movies: Rebel Without a Cause 2. Sex idols: Marilyn Monroe It's like 3. Hollywood blacklisting (political Fallout, but real conformity)
E. Intellectual Criticism a. Sociologist/Intellectual Response i. David Riesman: The Lonely Crowd, 1950 ii. C. Wright Mills: The Power Elite, 1956 b. Authors reject conformity Beat Generation i. JD Salinger: Catcher in the Rye, 1951 ii. Allen Ginsberg: Howl, 1955 iii. Sloan Wilson: The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, 1955 iv. Jack Kerouac: On the Road, 1957
IV. Second Term: Domestic Policy *FEPC: Fair Employment Practices Committee A. Election of 1956: easy win for Eisenhower B. Civil Rights a. New nationwide political issue i. International image at stake ii. Truman attempts: desegregated military/fepc* b. Brown v Board of Education of Topeka (1954) i. Appointment of Earl Warren, 1953 ii. Separate but equal inherently unequal iii. Little Rock Nine, 1957 c. Civil Rights Movement i. 1955, Emmett Till murder ii. Rise of MLK/Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)/Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)
C. Interstate Highway System a. Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 i. National Interstate and Defense Highways Act ii. Modeled after Autobahn in Germany b. Military transportation c. Growth of suburbia/tourism