Chapter 28 - Affluence and Atomic Bombs, (1950-1960) Flashcards
What was Dwight Eisenhower’s political philosophy?
Dynamic conservatism. Conservative when it came to money. Liberal when it came to human beings.
How had American politics shifted by 1952?
To the left of center.
Who was arguably the most philosophically liberal candidate of all-time?
Adlai Stevenson.
What was Ike’s Presidential managerial style?
Very hands off and behind the scenes. A businessman’s government.
Who did FDR appoint to his cabinet?
Eight corporate executives and one labor union leader.
What was the economy like during the 1950s?
Economic Growth with Little Inflation meant a higher standing of living and greater affordability of consumer goods.
What played a significant role in creating the economic growth seen in the 1950s?
1) Increased Cold War military spending.
2) Destruction From WWII Gave the US a Basic Monopoly Over the World Market.
What happened to the GNP between 1940-1970?
Quadrupled
How many people lived below the poverty line in the 1950s?
30%.
What was Eisenhower’s perspective towards the New Deal?
He did not seek to repeal it, but stop its cost from increasing.
What are three Eisenhower Programs that show he was not averse to large-scale federal programs?
1) The U.S.-Canada St. Lawrence Seaway Project.
2) Interstate Highway System
3) The National Defense Education Act - To Get a Satellite Into Space and Help Beat the Soviets.
4) NASA - To Explore Space.
What was Eisenhower’s new foreign policy called?
The New Look.
What was the New Look?
Aggressive Containment Policy that did not break the bank with military spending.
How did Eisenhower reduce military spending while still pursuing a policy of containment?
1) Expanded CIA Operations and Clandestine Work in Other Countries
2) A Greater Dependence on Nuclear Weapons by Spending More on Procuring a Greater Nuclear Arsenal
What was Eisenhower’s one attempt at rolling back communism and how did it go?
The Bay of Pigs Invasion in Cuba and it went terribly and was a complete failure.
Instead of rolling back communism, what did Eisenhower do?
Encircled it.
What organizations did Eisenhower create to encircle communism?
1) NATO
2) CENTO
3) SEATO
Who were identified as the communists in Vietnam?
Ho Chi Minh
When did the Vietnam war begin?
1954.
How did the US attempt to contain communism in South Vietnam?
By creating a pro-US state in an otherwise communist country.
What kind of commitment did Vietnam become?
A permanent one.
Where does the modern Civil Rights Movement have its roots?
World War II.
When were the first legal battles of the Civil Rights Movement Fought?
The Eisenhower Administration.
What did Ike do in the realm of civil rights?
1) Eliminate segregation and discrimination in areas that were clearly under executive authority.
2) First to appoint an African American to a executive position on the White House staff.
What was Ike’s strategy towards civil rights?
Slow integration but quick action when forced to do so.
What group was the almost sole advocacy group for civil rights in the United States?
The NAACP
What was the strategy pursued by the NAACP?
All of its battles with racial discrimination took place inside the courtroom.
What did the Court decide in Brown v. Board of Education?
That all public schools had to integrate with all deliberate speed.
When did each region implement the Court’s order in Brown v. Board?
Border States - Late 1950s
Deep South - Late 1960s
How did the North accomplish racial segregation?
Through housing contracts that restricted blacks and whites to certain neighborhoods that meant different schools.
What type of segregation existed in the Souther Schools
De Jur School Segregation
What was the unintended consequence of Brown v. Board?
It Made Schools the focus of the civil rights movement and inflamed the issues.
