Eisenhower 1952 - 1961 Flashcards
Popularly viewed as an idyllic time in American history, the 1950s saw the beginnings of the civil rights movement, continued struggles with the Soviet Union, and the rise of the military-industrial complex. This deck describes the foreign and domestic issues facing the country during the Eisenhower years.
In 1952, General Dwight Eisenhower ran for President against Governor Adlai Stevenson of Illinois, a Democrat. What campaign slogan did General Eisenhower’s supporters adopt?
Their slogan was “We Like Ike,” from Eisenhower’s nickname. Eisenhower’s simple campaign resonated with voters, in contrast to Stevenson’s intellectually driven effort, which earned him and his followers the sobriquet “Eggheads.”
What was General Eisenhower’s biggest campaign promise during the 1952 election?
Eisenhower promised to end the war in Korea.
The Korean War had devolved into a stalemate, with both sides at virtually the same position they had occupied before the war began. After his inauguration, Eisenhower kept his word and the Korean Peninsula was divided in two.
President Eisenhower’s Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles, announced a strategy known as “brinkmanship” in the United States’ dealings with the Soviet Union. What did the brinkmanship strategy entail?
Under brinkmanship policy, the United States would push dangerous situations to the brink of war, with the intention of making the Soviet Union back down in matters of foreign policy.
Each side possessed nuclear weapons, so Eisenhower rarely let Dulles pursue matters to the true “brink.”
Complete the sentence:
During the Eisenhower Administration, military spending was dictated by the principle of _____ _____.
massive destruction
Spending under massive destruction focused primarily on nuclear weapons and air power (as opposed to more conventional weapons such as tanks), designed to destroy as much as possible in a limited amount of time.
Complete the sentence:
During a process known as _____, European nations provided independence to former colonies throughout the globe.
decolonization
One of the earliest nations to achieve independence was India in 1947, and Britain only rarely fought to keep her colonies. France was more reluctant to give up her colonies. A French force attempted to retake French Indochina (Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam) and was defeated at Dien Bien Phu in Vietnam.
In 1954, the United States was a participant in the Geneva Conference, regarding the fate of what nation?
Vietnam
The Conference was called after the French were defeated by Vietnamese forces. Vietnam was divided in two, with the North under the control of Communist forces, and the South under the control of American allies.
Eisenhower provided the South Vietnamese government with $1 billion in aid. People in North Vietnam were not happy with this, since they believed in having a unified Vietnam. The leader who would be installed in South Vietnam would be greatly unpopular and viewed as a puppet of the U.S. Government.
To establish a protective containment barrier against communism, President Eisenhower’s Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles, established what international organization modeled on NATO?
The South East Asian Treaty Organization (SEATO) was established in the Philippines in 1954, and was comprised of France, the United States, Pakistan, New Zealand, the Philippines, Thailand, and Australia.
Explain what happened during the 1954 Iranian Coup.
The Iranian government was overthrown after the CIA helped to arrest their Premier, Muhammad Mossadeq. He would die 3 years later under house arrest.
The US and British governments did this to make sure that a British company, British Petroleum, could retain access to the Iranian oil fields. By doing this, the United States and Britain were securing their oil supply while at the same time politically de-stabilizing the middle east to serve their own economic interests.
Explain what happened after the Iranian Coup in 1954.
After the coup was over, the United States installed a leader called Shah Muhammad Reza Pahlavi. Shah Muhammad would operate as a dictator of Iran, ruling for 25 years, and acting as a puppet of the US government.
Complete the sentence:
In 1954, the United Fruit Company asked President Eisenhower for assistance in protecting their assets in _____.
Guatemala
Eisenhower and the CIA were concerned that the country’s government was under the control of the USSR. Hence, they went and forced the democratically elected leader, Jacob Arbenz, to leave the country. Jacob fled to Mexico, where he would die there in 1971.
After the American government forced Arbenz out of office, they installed Carlos Castillos Armas, who created a military dictatorship. His dictatorship, which lacked popular support, began to kidnap anyone who spoke out against the dictatorship and killing them. After the dictator was assassinated, Guatemala had a Civil War that lasted for 36 years.
Who helped train, and sometimes pay for, the military of the Guatemalan dictatorships who ruled for 36 years??
The US Government.
One of the people who was a participant in the fighting that occurred during the Guatemalan Civil War was a guy named Che Gevara. His experience fighting in Guatemala, and his escape to Cuba, made him a strong supporter of the need to fight American-style imperialism against Latin American countries. He would go on to help Fidel Castro win the Cuban Revolution in 1959.
What did the Guatemalan Dictatorships do while in power?
Over the course of 36 years, military-style dictatorships killed 200,000 people, most of them of Maya descent. This event in world history is called the Guatemalan Genocide or the Maya Genocide. This genocide would not have been possible without the financial and military support of the US government.
After Egypt seized control of the Suez Canal, how did the British, French, and Israelis respond?
The combined British, French, and Israeli forces launched an attack and seized the Canal.
Eisenhower, who hadn’t been advised of the attack, was livid, refused to support the operation militarily or morally, and led the United Nations in condemning the action.
Eventually, under American pressure the combined forces withdrew.
What was the Eisenhower Doctrine?
Under the Eisenhower Doctrine, the United States vowed to aid any nation resisting communist forces with material and financial aid.
As an example, in 1954 Eisenhower dispatched 14,000 Marines to Lebanon to prevent a civil war from breaking out between communists and Western allied forces.
What was the American reaction to the Soviet Union’s launch of Sputnik I and Sputnik II, the first two space satellites, in 1957?
The American reaction can only be described as shock; American technical supremacy over the U.S.S.R. had always been presumed.
Further, the rockets which launched the satellites confirmed that the U.S.S.R. was not only ahead in satellite technology, but in rocket technology as well.
What Congressional action resulted from the Soviet Union’s launch of Sputnik I and II?
In response to the Soviet launch, Congress established the National Air and Space Agency (NASA), Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and the National Defense and Education Act, which included massive funding for scientific research at the university level.
A space race, as a corollary to the arms race, was underway.
In 1958, Nikita Khrushchev repeated Stalin’s demand that the United States and the Western powers evacuate West Berlin. How did President Eisenhower lower tensions between the countries?
President Eisenhower invited Khrushchev to a meeting at Camp David, where the two men discussed the issue, and the Soviet demand was dropped.
A second meeting, scheduled for 1960 in Paris, was cancelled when a U.S. spy plane was shot down over Soviet territory.
Complete the sentence:
In 1959, Vice President Nixon and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev engaged in the _____ _____ about the merits of communism and capitalism.
Kitchen Debate
The debate between the two took place at an exhibition in Moscow, where the United States had shipped an entire “typical” American house. The house, modest by American standards, shocked and impressed Soviet visitors, and provided a much-needed boost after Sputnik. Nixon’s stature as a public statesman was raised as a result of the debate, which was televised in the United States.
Explain what the Cuban Revolution is.
Led by Fidel Castro, the Communists deposed Fulgencio Batista, the U.S.-backed Dictator of Cuba. Eisenhower immediately gave the Central Intelligence Agency permission to begin training Cuban dissidents, who would participate in the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961.
One of the people who will be an important figure during the Cuban Revolution is Che Guevara, who had participated in the Guatemalan Civil War.
Beginning in 1956, the United States embarked upon the largest public construction project since the erection of the Great Pyramids. What was the project?
The Interstate Highway System, which has cost an estimated $456 billion to date and constructed some 47,182 miles of roads.
In honor of President Eisenhower, who signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, the Interstate Highway System is officially known as the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways.
Complete the sentence:
Termed a “vast wasteland” by its critics, the ______ revolutionized popular culture during the 1950s.
television
With only three networks in 1957, viewing options were limited and Americans generally watched the same programming. Family events soon centered around popular shows such as I Love Lucy or My Three Sons (which prompted the invention of the TV dinner, so that families could watch and eat simultaneously).
Which J.D. Salinger novel features seventeen-year-old Holden Caulfield as its protagonist?
The Catcher in the Rye
Published in 1951, The Catcher in the Rye explored themes of alienation, young adulthood, preservation of childhood innocence, and death.
The book continues to be popular today, although critics have decried its frequent use of profanity and depiction of prostitution.
Who was the man in the gray flannel suit?
The man in the gray flannel suit was the “common man” of the 1950s, commuting to white-collar jobs in the city. During the period, conformity and outward appearances of wealth were particularly prized.
The term comes from a popular book, The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, written by Sloan Wilson and published in 1955.
Complete the sentence:
Published in 1953, the novel _____ _____ presented a cynical critique of bureaucratic reasoning, presaging much of the attitude of the 1960s.
Catch-22
Joseph Heller’s popular novel gave birth to the term “Catch-22.” In the novel, John Yossarian, a bombardier, wants to be grounded from flying further missions, but to do so needs to be found mentally “unfit to fly” in a mental examination. However, requesting a mental examination is proof that one is sane, and therefore fit to fly.
