Eisenhower's Presidency
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Election 1952
Eisenhower had been a favorite of the New Dealers during the war, especially Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Hopkins. But he and Harry S. Truman were antagonistic. Eisenhower had strong conservative beliefs which led him to reject Democratic efforts to nominate him in 1948. Instead he announced for the Republican Party nomination in 1952. His goal was to prevent Robert A. Taft's version of isolationism--such as opposition to NATO--from becoming public policy. On domestic issues they were in general agreement, and a compromise was reached after Eisenhower won the nomination that Taft would be dominant in domestic affairs and stay out of foreign affairs. Ike crusaded against "Korea--Communism--Corruption", that is the failures of Truman on these issues. He electrified the country just before the election by promising to personally go to Korea and end that stalemated conflict.In the 1952 U.S. presidential election, Eisenhower easily defeated Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson and became the first career soldier since Ulysses S. Grant to be elected President. Although many presidents have served in the military, Eisenhower was the only general to serve as President in the 20th century.
Presidency 1953-1961
Foreign affairs
Eisenhower's presidency was dominated by the Cold War, the prolonged confrontation with the Soviet Union which had begun during Truman's term of office.
During his campaign, Eisenhower had promised to end the stalemate Korean War. He threatened to use nuclear weapons and a cease-fire was signed in July 1953. He signed defense treaties with South Korea and the Republic of China, and formed an anti-Communist alliance with Asian and Pacific countries, SEATO, to halt the spread of Communism in Asia.
Eisenhower, while accepting the doctrine of containment originally developed by George Kennan, sought to fight the USSR through more active means as detailed in the State Department memorandum NSC-68. His covert action policy was laid out in NSC 162/2. He, along with Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, developed the tactic of covert action, used the CIA--directed by Allen Dulles to interfere with suspected Communist governments abroad. An early use of covert action was against the elected Iranian prime minister Mossadeq in 1953. The Shah of Iran and pro-monarchy forces ejected him from power in a complex coup led by British and US intelligence agencies.
Covert action continued throughout Eisenhower's administration. In the newly independent but chaotic Republic of Congo, the Soviet Union and the KGB had intervened in favor of popularly elected Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba. Anti-Communism had become an issue and the U.S. and CIA gave weapons and covert support to pro-Western and Democratic CIA assets Joseph Kasavubu and his subordinate, Colonel Joseph Mobutu. The initial struggle came to a close in December 1960, after Kasavubu and Mobutu overthrew Lumumba and proceeded to turn the country (later known as Zaire) into an autocracy which was unstable long after the end of Eisenhower's term. Mobutu assassinated Lumumba shortly after his overthrow, and some allege that the CIA (Sidney Gottlieb), collaborated with Mobutu in the assassination.
Eisenhower also increased U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia, a process which had begun under his predecessor Truman. In 1954, he sent Dulles to Geneva as a delegate to the Geneva Conference, which ended the First Indochina War and temporarily partitioned Vietnam into a Communist northern half (under Ho Chi Minh) and a non-Communist southern half (under Ngo Dinh Diem). In February 1955, Eisenhower dispatched the first American soldiers to Vietnam as military advisors to Diem's army. After Diem announced the formation of the Republic of Vietnam (RVN, commonly known as South Vietnam) in October, Eisenhower immediately recognized the new state and offered military, economic, and technical assistance.
In 1956, Eisenhower strongly disapproved of the actions of Britain, France and Israel in sending troops to Egypt in the dispute over control of the Suez Canal (see Suez crisis). He used the economic power of the U.S. to force his European allies to back down and withdraw from Egypt.
During his second term he became increasingly involved in Middle Eastern affairs, sending troops to Lebanon in 1958, and promoting the creation of the Baghdad Pact between Iraq, Turkey, Pakistan, and Iran, as well as the United Kingdom.
Under Eisenhower's presidency the U.S. developed as a global nuclear power. When Russia also developed their nuclear weapons, fears of mutual annihilation in a Third World War intensified. On 30 October 1953, Eisenhower approved the security policy document NSC 162/2, which emphasized nuclear weapons above all other defense means. Nuclear weapons were seen as the most economically feasible means to deter the Soviet Union from military action against what then was called the "Free World." American chagrin at the Soviets' 1957 surprise launch of Sputnik, the first artificial satellite, led to many strategic initiatives, including the creation of NASA in 1958. Eisenhower hoped that after the death of Stalin in 1953, it would be possible to come to an agreement with subsequent Russian leaders to halt the nuclear arms race. Several attempts at convening a summit conference were made. The last attempt failed in 1960 when Nikita Khrushchev withdrew following the shooting down of an American U-2 spy plane over the Soviet Union.
Domestic affairs
Like most Republican presidents, Eisenhower believed that a free enterprise economy should run itself, and he took little interest in domestic policy. Although his 1952 landslide gave the Republicans control of both houses of the Congress, Eisenhower believed that taxes could not be cut until the budget was balanced. "We cannot afford to reduce taxes, [and] reduce income," he said, "until we have in sight a program of expenditure that shows that the factors of income and outgo will be balanced." The Democrats regained control in the 1954 Senate and House elections, limiting his freedom of action on domestic policy. He forged a good relationship with Congressional leaders, particularly House Speaker Sam Rayburn.
Eisenhower appointed a Cabinet full of businessmen and gave them wide latitude in handling domestic affairs. He allowed them to take credit for domestic policy and allow him to concentrate on foreign affairs. With respect to the emerging American Civil Rights Movement, he has been criticized by liberals for being reluctant to exercise leadership unless forced. In 1957, however, he sent federal troops to Little Rock, Arkansas after Governor Orval Faubus attempted to defy a Supreme Court ruling that ordered the desegregation of all public schools.
Eisenhower was also criticized for not taking a public stand against Senator Joseph McCarthy's anti-communist campaigns. Privately he held McCarthy in contempt, saying, "I just won't get down in the gutter with that man". Later, it was revealed that Eisenhower worked behind the scenes to weaken McCarthy.
Eisenhower endorsed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, which created the United States' Interstate Highways. It was the largest public works program in U.S. history, providing a 41,000-mile highway system. Eisenhower had been impressed during the war with the German Autobahn system, and also recalled his own involvement in a military convoy in 1919 that took 62 days to cross the U.S. Another achievement was a 20% increase in family income during his presidency, of which he was very proud.
Eisenhower retained his popularity throughout his presidency. In 1956 he was re-elected by an even wider margin than in 1952, again defeating Stevenson, and carrying such traditional Democratic states as Texas and Tennessee.
However, there were three recessions during Eisenhower's administration — July 1953 through May 1954, August 1957 through April 1958, and April 1960 through February 1961. Real GDP growth averaged just 2.5 percent over those eight years.
Eisenhower had mixed feelings about his Vice President, Richard Nixon, and only reluctantly endorsed him as the Republican candidate at the 1960 Presidential election. Nixon campaigned against Kennedy on the great experience he had acquired in eight years as Vice President, but when Eisenhower was asked to name a decision Nixon had been responsible for in that time, he replied (intending a joke): "Give me a week and I might think of something." This was a blow to Nixon, and he blamed Eisenhower for his narrow loss to Kennedy.
Administration and Cabinet
| OFFICE | NAME | TERM |
| President | Dwight D. Eisenhower | 1953–1961 |
| Vice President | Richard Nixon | 1953–1961 |
| State | John Foster Dulles | 1953–1959 |
| Christian A. Herter | 1959–1961 | |
| Treasury | George M. Humphrey | 1953–1957 |
| Robert B. Anderson | 1957–1961 | |
| Defense | Charles E. Wilson | 1953–1957 |
| Neil H. McElroy | 1957–1959 | |
| Thomas S. Gates, Jr. | 1959–1961 | |
| Justice | Herbert Brownell, Jr. | 1953–1957 |
| William P. Rogers | 1957–1961 | |
| Postmaster General | Arthur E. Summerfield | 1953–1961 |
| Interior | Douglas McKay | 1953–1956 |
| Fred A. Seaton | 1956–1961 | |
| Agriculture | Ezra T. Benson | 1953–1961 |
| Commerce | Sinclair Weeks | 1953–1958 |
| Lewis L. Strauss | 1958–1959 | |
| Frederick H. Mueller | 1959–1961 | |
| Labor | Martin P. Durkin | 1953 |
| James P. Mitchell | 1953–1961 | |
| HEW | Oveta Culp Hobby | 1953–1955 |
| Marion B. Folsom | 1955–1958 | |
| Arthur S. Flemming | 1958–1961 | |
White House staff and advisors
Supreme Court appointments
Eisenhower appointed the following Justices to the Supreme Court of the United States:
- Earl Warren (Chief Justice) – 1953
- John Marshall Harlan II – 1955
- William J. Brennan – 1956
- Charles Evans Whittaker – 1957
- Potter Stewart – 1958
States admitted to the Union
References
Secondary sources
- Albertson, Dean. ed. Eisenhower as President (1963)
- Alexander, Charles C. Holding the Line: The Eisenhower Era, 1952-1961 (1975)
- Ambrose, Stephen E. Eisenhower. The President (1984); Eisenhower: Soldier and President (2003) one volume version. standard biography
- Anderson J. W. Eisenhower, Brownell, and the Congress: The Tangled Origins of the Civil Rights Bill of 1956-1957. University of Alabama Press, 1964.
- Bean Louis, Influences in the 1954 Mid-Term Elections. Washington: Public Affairs Institute, 1954
- Brands, Henry W. Cold Warriors: Eisenhower's Generation and American Foreign Policy Columbia University Press, 1988.
- Broadwater; Jeff. Eisenhower & the Anti-Communist Crusade University of North Carolina Press 1992.
- Burns James MacGregor, The Deadlock of Democracy. Prentice-Hall, 1963
- Caridi Ronald J., The Korean War and American Politics. University of Pennsylvania Press, 1968.
- Corwin Edward S., and Koenig Louis W., The Presidency Today. New York University Press, 1956.
- Damms, Richard V. The Eisenhower Presidency, 1953-1961 (2002)
- David Paul T. (ed.), Presidential Nominating Politics in 1952. 5 vols., Johns Hopkins Press, 1954.
- Divine, Robert A. Eisenhower and the Cold War (1981)
- Divine, Robert A. Foreign Policy and U.S. Presidential Elections, 1952-1960 1974.
- Eulau Heinz, Class and Party in the Eisenhower Years. Free Press, 1962. voting behavior
- Greenstein, Fred I. The Hidden-Hand Presidency: Eisenhower as Leader (1991)
- Harris, Douglas B. "Dwight Eisenhower and the New Deal: The Politics of Preemption" Presidential Studies Quarterly, Vol. 27, 1997.
- Harris, Seymour E. The Economics of the Political Parties, with Special Attention to Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy (1962)
- Krieg, Joann P. ed. Dwight D. Eisenhower, Soldier, President, Statesman (1987). 24 essays by scholars
- Mary S. McAuliffe, "Eisenhower, the President," Journal of American History 68 (1981): 625-632
- Medhurst; Martin J. Dwight D. Eisenhower: Strategic Communicator Greenwood Press, 1993
- Olson, James S. Historical Dictionary of the 1950s (2000)
- Pach, Chester J. And Elmo Richardson. Presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower (1991), standard scholarly survey
- Parmet; Herbert S. Eisenhower and the American Crusades (1972). Scholarly biography of post 1945 years.
Primary sources
- Adams, Sherman. Firsthand Report: The Story of the Eisenhower Administration. 1961. by Ike's chief of staff
- Ezra Taft Benson; Cross Fire: The Eight Years with Eisenhower 1962 Secretary of Agriculture
- Peter G. Boyle, ed. The Churchill-Eisenhower Correspondence, 1953-1955 University of North Carolina Press, 1990
- Eisenhower, Dwight D. Mandate for Change, 1953-1956 (1963)
- Eisenhower, Dwight D. Waging Peace (1965), presidency 1956-60
- Eisenhower, Milton S. The President Is Calling 1974. by Ike's influential brother
- Gallup, George H., ed. The Gallup Poll: Public Opinion, 1935-1971. 3 vols. Random House, 1972. press releases summarizing all their polls
- Hagerty, James C. The Diary of James C. Hagerty: Eisenhower in Mid-Course, 1954-1955 . Edited by Robert H. Ferrell. Indiana University Press, 1983. by the press secretary
- Hughes, Emmet John. The Ordeal of Power: A Political Memoir of the Eisenhower Years. 1963. Ike's speechwriter
- Lodge, Henry Cabot. As It Was: An Inside View of Politics and Power in the '50s and '60s 1976, ambassador to UN
- Martin, Joe. My First Fifty Years in Politics 1960. House GOP leader
- Nixon, Richard M. The Memoirs of Richard Nixon 1978.
- Howard Nathaniel R. (ed.), The Basic Papers of George M. Humphrey as Secretary of the Treasury, 1913-1957 The Western Reserve Historical Society, 1965
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