Eisenhower Domestic Flashcards
Dynamic conservatism
liberal with people, conservative with money
Eisenhower fiscal aims
decrease defence expenditure, balance budget, pro-business
What years did Eisenhower balance the budget
1956, 1957, 1960
What did Eisenhower do with drilling rights
Congress passes law that overrules supreme court ruling under Truman administrations
Texas gets control of offshore drilling rights 10miles off the coast
less Govt. intrusion in business
What did Eisenhower do with TVA
Federal subsidies to the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) decreases from $185m in 1952 to just $12m in 1960
Liberal legislation
expand social security benefits by 10.5 million workers in 1954
raised annual benefits for future retirees to as much as $4,200
increased minimum wage from 75 cents to $1
What did congress reject in 1955
Legislation to finance school construction in poorer states - would benefit segregated south
What did Congress pass in 1958
National Defence Education Act
Impact of National Defence Education Act
low-cost loans to college students
federal funds to states to improve courses in STEM (important for Cold War struggle)
What did Eisenhower maintain
Truman’s free school lunch programme for poor schoolchildren
What were the two types of Republicanism
moderate and conservative
What did Eisenhower promote in 1956
Interstate Highway System construction
Interstate Highway Act 1956
Interstate Highway impacts
created employment
economic growth after Korean War
largest public works project
HEW impacts
second woman to hold a cabinet
oversaw distribution of polio vaccine
What was the Republican party division
The Old Guard led by Robert Taft
Old Guard ideologies
Support Bricker Amendment to limit presidential power
opposed foreign aid and NATO
What happened in 1958
economic recession
Republican worst defeat
Democrats “criticised six years of leaderless vacillation”
Eisenhower political moderation
Maintained a middle-of-the-road approach
What happened to Govt. spending
Increased by 11%
Why did Eisenhower spend more on defence
Pressures from military-industrial complex
exacerbated by USSR’s lead in the space race and media/ press
What was Eisenhower’s method to balance the budget
cutting, privatising, redeploying
How did Eisenhower appease the Old Guard
Appointed Nixon as Vice President - opposite ideologies
How did Eisenhower fund Interstate Highway System
Increased federal gasoline taxes raised from 2 cents to 3 cents per gallon
user-based taxes created a “pay-as-you-go” system, meaning people who used the roads paid for them
What did GNP rise to
$487b in 1960
