The Presidency Under Eisenhower (1952-1960)

Question 1

Why was Ike’s election victory significant for the Republicans?

Answer 1

He was the first Republican president in 20 years

Question 2

What was Ike’s political stance before the elections?

Answer 2

• He wasn’t very interested in politics
• He turned down Truman in both 1947 and 1951 when he was asked to be the democratic candidate

Question 3

Who was Ike’s opponent in the 1952 election?

Answer 3

• Adlai Stephenson was the Democratic candidate with John Sparkman as his running mate

Question 4

Who was Ike’s running mate?

Answer 4

Richard Nixon

Question 5

Why was Ike’s presidential campaign successful?

Answer 5

• His campaign ignored Stevenson and attacked Truman as a formula for victory (K1C2)
• He was a war hero who had ended the Korean War
• He had a simple slogan ‘I like Ike’
• He used TV for his campaign (“You like Ike, I like Ike, Everybody likes Ike for president”)

Question 6

What was K1C2?

Answer 6

It stands for ‘Korea, Communism, and Corruption’ which represented Ike’s key attacks on the Democrats

Question 7

What was the result of the 1952 election?

Answer 7

• Ike won with 442 electoral votes and 55.2% of the popular vote
• 61.1% of the population voted in this election

Question 8

What was the result of the 1956 election?

Answer 8

• Ike ran again against Adlai Stephenson despite his 1955 heart attack
• He won 457 of the electoral vote and 57.4% of the popular vote
• 59.3% of the population voted in this election

Question 9

Which party was in control of Congress for the majority of Ike’s presidency?

Answer 9

The Democrats were in control after winning the 1954 midterm

Question 10

What was Ike’s domestic policy called?

Answer 10

Dynamic Conservatism (conservative when it comes to money, liberal when it comes to human beings)

Question 11

What years did Ike achieve a balanced budget?

Answer 11

1956, 57, and 60

Question 12

What were some of Ike’s domestic policy successes?

Answer 12

• He created a new Department of Health, Education, and Welfare
• He expanded the Social Security benefit to reach 1 million Americans
• He increased the minimum wage by 25%
• He made $500 million available for low-income public housing
• He made the 1956 Federal Highway Act (4,000 miles of Interstate highways built over 20 years)
• He made Alaska and Hawaii states
• He established two Civil Rights Acts in 1957 and 1960

Question 13

What was Ike’s average approval rating during his presidency?

Answer 13

70%

Question 14

How many of Ike’s bills were rejected by the Democratic heavy Congress?

Answer 14

only 10 out of 83

Question 15

What were the problems Ike faced in his final years as president?

Answer 15

• The Republicans did badly in the 1958 midterms
• His administration was blamed for a second recession in 8 years
• He was blamed for losing the Space Race
• He struggled to reduce spending (rose from 31% in 1953 to 49% in 1961)
• One in four Americans were still living in poverty
• He struggled to integrate the Indigenous people with mainstream society (like through the 1956 Indian Relocation Act)

Question 16

How was Ike involved with religion?

Answer 16

• He proclaimed national days of prayer
• His administration added the words ‘under God’ to the pledge of allegiance
• Congress made the phrase ‘In God we trust’ the national motto
• He invited the evangelist Billy Graham to the White House

Question 17

What was Nixon like as Ike’s Vice President?

Answer 17

• He was known for his involvement in the Alger Hiss case and was picked by Ike to balance the ticket as he was better versed in political affairs
• He was known as ‘Tricky Dicky’
• He was a bit problematic and often accused of corruption

Question 18

What was the Checkers speech?

Answer 18

• A televised speech given by Nixon in September 1952 after being accused of using $18,000 of political donations for his personal use
• Nixon defended himself and his integrity, stating that he would not return a gift of a dog named Checkers that had been given to his family. The speech became famous for its emotional appeal

Question 19

How did McCarthy lead to his own downfall?

Answer 19

• In 1954, he accused the army of having communist influences live on television
• This led to people turning on him and Joseph Welch, a lawyer for the army, asking him ‘Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last’?
• He eventually died of alcoholism in 1957
• Ike referred to his downfall as McCarthywasm