Download
1 / 24
240 likes | 406 Views
Dwight D. Eisenhower and the 1950s. Election of 1952. Democratic candidate: Adlai Stevenson b. Republican candidate: Dwight D. Eisenhower (VP) Richard M. Nixon c. Major issue: the Korean War!. d. campaign: “ I Like Ike ”. Green=Eisenhower, Blue =Stevenson.
E N D
Election of 1952 • Democratic candidate: Adlai Stevenson b. Republican candidate: Dwight D. Eisenhower (VP) Richard M. Nixon c. Major issue: the Korean War!
Green=Eisenhower, Blue =Stevenson e. Eisenhower won by more than 6 million votes!!!
Eisenhower’s Foreign Policy a. Made no basic changes in the containment policy b. Republicans pressured him to reduce government spending c. Eisenhower andSecretary of State John Foster Dulles developed a strategy calling for massive retaliation.
d. Massive Retaliation meant threatening to respond to Soviet aggression anywhere in the world with a nuclear attack. e. Brinkmanship meant willing to “go to the brink” of all-out war to contain communism
f. Dulles’ policy was pure bluff – neither Dulles or Eisenhower ever seriously considered dropping a nuclear bomb g. To do so would have been suicidal!
End of the Korean War a. Eisenhower campaigned to end the Korean War b. Eisenhower and Dulles hinted to the Chinese and North Koreans – “peace or else”
c. June 1953 – a truce was signed – no final treaty has ever been signed! d. U.S. soldiers remain at the DMZ of the 38th Parallel
Strengthening of Communism a. East Germany (1953) and Hungary (1956) both revolted against their communist governments – but Eisenhower did not intervene!
b. France was forced out of Vietnam (Vietnam was a French colony known as French Indochina since the 1860s) in 1954 by Communist forces led by Ho Chi Minh. • The Geneva Accords of 1954 divided Vietnam along the 17th Parallel – Communist North Vietnam and Democratic South Vietnam.
Thaw in the Cold War? a. Stalin died in 1953 – Nikita Khrushchev became the Soviet Premier b. Many thought there might be a “thaw in the cold war” due to a new Soviet leader.
c. July 1955 – Geneva Summit Meetingof world leaders discussed a possible end to the Cold War.
Suez Canal Crisis a. Egypt stepped up raids against Israel in 1956and seized control of the Suez Canal b. Israel fought back – joined by Great Britain and France – both wanted to reopen the canal.
c. Eisenhower was in a dilemma – the U.S. backed Israel and were allies with Great Britain and France. d. Eisenhower rejected using force to regain the canal – he demanded the 3 nations withdraw from Egypt.
Soviets demanded the same, and Egypt kept control of the Suez Canal (not much of a thaw….) • USSR will enjoy a much closer relationship with the Arab nations after this We countered this with the Eisenhower Doctrine (’57), which pledged military aid to any Middle Eastern country fighting communism.
Sputnik and the Space Race a. October 4, 1957 – theSoviets launched the first satellite into space b. Sputnik (Russian word for “traveling companion”) c. November, the Russians launched Sputnik II – dog onboard!
d. U.S.had MANY embarrassing feats – butfinally launched a small satellite in February 1958. e. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was created in 1958 to promote space research.
f. Americans were determined to catch up to the Soviets – Congress passed the National Defense Education Act to ensureAmerican students were studying math and science. g. NDEA: $887 million in loans to needy college students for the improvement of teaching the sciences and languages.
U-2 Affair a.1960 – the Soviets shot down an American U-2 spy plane. b. Eisenhower denied that we had a plane on a spying mission. c. Khrushchev revealed that the pilot had survived – and they knew EXACTLY what he’d been doing!
GREAT embarrassment to the Eisenhower administration. • Ike promised flights would stop but would not apologize. There was no more thawing of the Cold War between Ike and Khrushchev after this!
