EISENHOWER: DOMESTIC POLICY Flashcards
1
Q
1952 election
A
- relatable, worked his way up to the top, given command of the American forces in Europe and the allied landings in France in 1944
- Emerged from the war confident, even arrogant
- Ideology/political views: insisted he didn’t have political ambition or any interest in politics, Truman invited him to lead NATO, in 1950, was anxious about US defence polict, felt it was his duty to run
- Defeated Taft for nominated by appeasing the Old Guard and choosing Nixon as his running mate - anti-communism appealed to the Old Guard, internationalism & relative liberalism domestially appened to moderates
- Was a war hero whom voters felt they ould trust natiional security
- Promised to go to Korea & by implication, end the war
2
Q
Nixon as Vice President
A
- Frequently disagreed with the president’s policies especially over communism, but was loyal and cooperative
- Entrusted with partisan campaigning, liasing with Old Guard, civil rights advocacy
- Attacked democrats where Eisenhower couldn’t - in 1953, Eisenhower told him to tone down partisan attacks on democrats, because southern ones were economically/socially conservative & gare vital congressional votes to the administration
- Only member of Eisenhower administraion with congressional experience as a goodwill ambassador - 1958 visit to Venezuela: resentment of US economic dominance meant that when he arrived at the airport they shouted ‘go home’ and ‘kill Nixon,’ threw rocks at his car and tried to overturn it. Nixon stopped soldiers from shooting at students
- Eisenhower was unsure about retaining him, considered Nixon ‘the best of a bad bunch’. Dealth with Eisenhower’s health issues well
3
Q
Dynamic Conservatism
A
‘conservative when it comes to money, liberal when it comes to human beings’
4
Q
Conservative with money
A
- cut defence spending
- Balance the budger
- A strong economy is basis of national security – 4th arm of defence to be able to sustain war
- Excessive defence spending wastes money better spent on societal provision
- Resisted pressure from military-inustrial complex to a certain extent - MIC build military technology & would encourage war as they profit from it
5
Q
Liberal with people
A
- 10 million more could claim social security by 1954
- Minimum wage increased from 75c - $1
- Proposed finance for building more schools (blocked by congress as it would have benefited segregated south)
- 1958 National Defence Education Act gave loans to college students to pursue key subjects
- Continued free lunch programmee
- Little inflation/unemployment
- Public works created employment - interstate highway system was largets public works project in AMerican history, St Lawrence Seaway opened the Great Lakes tp ocean traffic - create employment and help economic growth
- Department of Health, Education and Welfare established to fight polio epidemic – headed by Overa Culp Hobby, second woman in a cabinet pose, vaccines made available from 1955
- 1956 legislation added 300,000 acres to the national park system
6
Q
Divisions in the Republican Party
A
- Eisenhower supported foreign aid, NATO, peace in Korea, sought to improve Soviet-American relations. Old Guard opposed these and were furious at Eisenhower inviting Khrushchev to visit the US in 1959
- McCarthy delayed Eisenhower’s nomination for Undersecretary of State
- Dulles complained investigations that Repubilcan congressional commitees were conducting into his State Department made it difficult to do meaningful work
- Eisenhower was popular and won presidential elections early
- People rejected the Republican’s more conservative views in congress. They liked the idea of greater federal government intervention on ideas such as health, education and other factors related to poverty - the 1958 mid terms were the worst defeat for the Republicans since the 1930s Depression
7
Q
The end of McCarthyism
A
- Eisenhower described McCarthy as ‘a pimple on the path of progress’, but refused to take him on: he needed McCarthy’s support in the senate, and he said it ‘would have made the presidency ridiculous to get into a pissing contest with that skunk;’ he believed McCarthy would ultimately destroy himself
- Unhampered by the new president, he continued his witch-hunts, hounded Voice of America for having subversive books in overseas libraries. Some were burned and 830 employees were sacked
8
Q
Army-McCarthy hearings
A
- Led a congressional investigation into subversives on New Jersey army bases – people were proud of their military
- Eisenhower denied him access to administration personnel and records
- Without subpoena power, he couldn’t obtain any concrete evidence or senatorial disclosures
- He was reduced to a bullying bluster on television and his poll rating slumped
- March 1955 the senate finally censured him
9
Q
Consumer Society
A
A society in which the buying and selling of goods and services is the most important social economic activity
10
Q
During the 1950s, the American economy experienced unprecedented growth
A
- From 1950 to 1960: GNP rose from $355.3 billion to $487.76 billion, and a family had 30% more disposable income
- Through 1953-7, the cost of living rose 2.8%, and fatory wages rose 8.6% inflation and unemployment were low
11
Q
It rose because…
Consumer Society
A
- Rival economies were damaged in the war
- Cheap oil
- Baby boom
- Scientific & technological advances
12
Q
Construction
A
- Between 1948-58, 11 out of 13 million of new homes were built in the suburbs
- Provided employment
- Levitt brithers were the most famous suburban builders, eh Hempstead had 17,000 houses which housed 80,000, primarily young veterans. Expected to conform to rules, includinga restricted covenant so African Americans wouldn’t buy houses there
- Housing shortage continued
- White flight caused ignorance to civil rights
13
Q
Cars
A
- Automobile industry employed tens of thousands
- Encouraged to buy a new car as often as possible - 7.9 million new cars in 1955
- 4.5 million scrapped a year on average
- Made lives easier - faster, more comfortable
- Necessitated cheap accomodation and fast food, particularly with the building of the interstate highway
- First Holiday Inn opened in 1952
- 226 McDonalds by 1960
- Large areas of rural America covered
14
Q
Service industries
A
- Increased numbers of service workers - by 1960, the 7.6 service workers and 21.2 white collar workers outnumbered the 25.6 million blue collar workers
- Economy became more depedent on service industries and office based work
- Growing automation decreased need to heavy manual labour - industrial workers went from 39% of the workforce to 36%
- Many servicr workers were poorly paid
15
Q
TV advertising
A
- By 1960, 90% of US homes had a TV, and over 50% said it was their favourite leisure activity
- Promoted conformity and the domestic bliss of white middle class suburban families
- Contributed to consumerism by suggesting must-have products - Vance Packard argued that it psuchologically manipulated customers
- Advertising industry spent more on ads than state and federal government spent on education
- David Potter argued that advertising was as socially influential as education or religion - dominated media, shaped popular media
16
Q
Easy Credit
A
- Federal Housing Administration and Veteran’s Administration offered low interest loans to allow families to buy new homes
- First credit card meant private debt doubled from $104.8 billion to $263.3 bllion by 1960
- Growth in debt further stimulated economy and created jobs in manufacturing
17
Q
Baby Boom
A
- Demand was stimulated by millions of new Americans
- Increase in sales for baby products teenagers became a powerful economic force and created an entirely new demographic
18
Q
Impact of consumer society
A
- By 1959, the American standard of living was umparalleled
- Unemployment remaind low, bottoming out at 45% in 1957; inflation averaged 2%
- A quater still lived in poverty (income under $3000 for a family of four), exposed by Michael Harrington - invisible poverty was easy to ignore
- Two recessions - minor in 1954, but a serious one in 1958 which left 5 million unemployed and production fell by 14%
- Drastically reduced federal subsidies to TVA
19
Q
Rural workers
A
- real prices of food dropped - set up Soil Bank to provide subsidies to farmers of $5.1 billion
20
Q
Teenagers
A
Gained huge freedoms and opportunities, with part time work giving them disposable income
21
Q
Women
A
Many had lost their war jobs to accommodate returing men and were now trapped in a suffocating suburban world
22
Q
Elderly
A
Became increasingly isolated as families moved away into places like Levittowns
23
Q
Ethnic Minorities
A
- Industrialisation made manual jobs redundant so many lost employment
- Employment practices were still often racist so they were the first to be fired
