Policies of dynamic conservatism Flashcards
How did Eisenhower explain dynamic conservatism ?
“conservative when it came to money, liberal when it came to human beings”
Give an example of how, economically, Eisenhower could be considered a dynamic conservative.
1) Emphasised the need for a ‘balanced budget, which he achieved in 1956, 57 & 60
Give 2 examples of how Eisenhower was not a dynamic conservative when it came to the economy - (high spending/ intervention)
1) Eisenhower promised to reduce spending. However, domestic spending rose from 31% of the budget to 49% in 1961.
2) The cost of building 41,000 miles of Interstate highway in the 1956 Federal Aid highway act was around $25billion
3) Eisenhower increased the minimum wage by 25% Challenging the Republican ideal of the ‘free market’
4) A ‘Soil bank’ was created - farmers were paid to stop farming in order to maintain food prices and preserve agricultural resources
Give 4 examples of how Eisenhower was not a dynamic conservative when it came to addressing social problems. - (not liberal)
1) Eisenhower was reluctant to intervene in civil rights until forced to do so
2) Eisenhower was criticised by congress for not using his powers to effectively protect individual freedom and justice
3) African and Native Americans still lived in poverty. The Indian Relocation act of 1956 encouraged Native Americans to move to the cities but was unsuccessful.
4) 25% of Americans still lived in poverty
1) Social security benefits were expanded to cover 10 million Americans - concerned for the bottom of society
2) Eisenhower created new departments of Health, Education and Welfare to improve support for all Americans
3) the 2 civil rights acts signed in 1957 & 1960 both aimed to stop African Americans being denied the vote made him the only Republican President to pass significant civil rights legislation in the period
4) Due to Democrats having control of Congress for 6 of Eisenhower’s 8 years as President, Eisenhower tried to balanced his Republican views with Democrat ideas.
5) $500 million was made set aside to pay for low income public housing - deal with problems in housing
In which years did Eisenhower achieve a balanced budget ?
1956, 1957 & 1960
How did Eisenhower intend on spending more money developing America’s welfare system ?
by spending less money on the military
What new Departments did Eisenhower create in an attempt to improve support for all Americans ?
Department for Health, Education and welfare
When did Eisenhower create the department for Health, Education and welfare ?
1953
Under Eisenhower, How many more Americans became covered with Social security benefits ?
10 million
How much did Eisenhower increase the minimum wage by ?
25%
How much money was set aside for low income public housing ?
$500 million
What is a limitation for the $500 million set aside by Eisenhower for low income public housing ?
It was not enough to deal with all the problems in housing
When was the Federal Aid highway act introduced ?
1956
How many miles of highway did the Federal aid highway act build ?
41,000
Roughly, how much did the Federal aid highway act cost ?
$25 billion
How long did the building of the interstate highway system consisting of 41,000 miles last ?
built over a 20 year period
What did the ‘soil bank’ that Eisenhower created do ?
Farmers were paid to stop farming in order to maintain food prices and preserve agricultural resources.
When did Eisenhower introduce the ‘soil bank’ ?
January 9th 1956
When were the 2 civil rights acts from Eisenhower signed ?
1957 and 1960
What did the 2 civil rights acts that Eisenhower passed in 1957 and 1960 aim to do ?
aimed to stop African Americans being denied the right to vote
How were the aims of the 1957 and 1960 civil rights acts introduced by Eisenhower not successfully achieved ?
(aim was to stop African Americans being denied the right to vote)
Only 3% more Black Americans registered to vote
As a result of Eisenhower trying to balance his Republican views with Democrat ideas due to Democrats being in control of congress for 6 of his 8 years as President, How many of the bills he sent through congress were rejected ?
Because he embraced Democrat ideas, only 10 of 83 bills he sent to congress were rejected
How much did Domestic spending rise to by 1961 as a result of Eisenhower’s presidency ?
from 31% of the budget to 49% by 1961
How many Americans lived in poverty by the end of Eisenhower’s presidency ?
25%
What did the Indian relocation act of 1956 encourage native Americans to do ?
to move to the cities - unsuccessful
What 2 places were accepted as states in 1959 ?
Alaska and Hawaii
Why were there fears from congress around Eisenhower accepting Hawaii as a state ?
As it was led by Asian Americans, Hawaii was a potential haven for communism
What church did Eisenhower develop a closer relationship with ?
The Protestant church
What did Eisenhower add to the pledge of allegiance revealing his religiousness ?
‘under God’
What did Congress change their motto to highlighting how Eisenhower developed a closer relationship to the protestant church ?
‘In God we trust’
National days of ______ were created under Eisenhower highlighting how he developed a closer to relationship to the Protestant church.
prayer
