1. Chapter 24

2. Election of 1952
 Eisenhower (President); Richard Nixon (VP)
 Classic “Good cop, bad cop” personalities;
Eisenhower (Ike) espoused morality and took
the high road regarding criticizing the
Democrats
 Nixon had no problem at all verbally abusing the
Democrats
 Democrat opponent was Adlai Stevenson
 Truman chose not to run again
 Truman was getting too old and was extremely
unpopular because of the Korean War

3. Election of 1952
 Eisenhower ran on a platform that
promised to end the Korean War
officially
 Settled for a armistice shortly after he enters
office
 Democrats try to discredit Nixon by
implicating him as a receiver of
inappropriate funds/gifts
 Nixon goes on television and bears his
entire personal life (including finances) in the
“Checkers Speech”

5. Election of 1952
 After this, Eisenhower and Nixon easily
win the presidency
 Eisenhower becomes the sterling
example of a moderate, stable, and
unflappable president
 Gave the American people a sense of
security amidst a country filled with fear,
suspicion, and the terror of nuclear war
becoming a reality at any moment.
 “I Like Ike” becomes the slogan of the
campaign

8. Modern Republicanism
 Eisenhower surprised many as he
kept a good majority of the social
programs from the New Deal
 However, he reigned in the federal
budget whenever possible
 Demonstrated his “flexible” conservative
agenda

9. Modern Republicanism
 “New Look” for the military
 Massive deterrence over traditional
military might
 Allowed the government to cut defense
budgets while engaging in more covert
actions; everyone has to be watching all
over the world to protect themselves

10. Modern Republicanism
 “New Look” for the military
 This becomes the stage for the classic
James Bond movies of the 1960s
 The new Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
works quickly behind the scenes to illicit
(and sometimes coerce) changes inside
countries that they felt were causing
problems for America (aiding the communist
cause)
 Eventually, the area that gave them the most
trouble was Vietnam (sort of a second
Korean conflict, initially)

11. Vietnam (Before the War)
 Was a colony of France that proved
vital in the American (and French)
fight against communism
 Vital to keep the spread of
communism from affecting the whole
country, yet America rejected
France’s request for active military aid
to retain Indochina (including
Vietnam) as a colony

12. Vietnam (Before the War)
 However, Ike prevents an election in
Vietnam that would have allowed
Communist Ho Chi Minh from being
placed in control of the entire nation
 Ironic?
 This is again reinforcing the idea of
fascism over communism

13. Vietnam (Before the War)
 China becomes stuck during this time
period
 They cannot trust Russia whenever they are
threatened, but they certainly can’t trust the
Americans
 Eisenhower realizes their weakness with
Russia and decides to take a tough
approach to them
○ Eisenhower did not realize the differences
between Russia and China, squandering potential
with China throughout the 1960s

14. Birth of the Civil Rights Era
 Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
 Huge landmark case that led the Supreme
Court to strike down Plessy v. Ferguson
○ The ruling from 1896 that allowed “separate but
equal” facilities
 Racial segregation was ruled a violation of the
Equal Protection Clause (14th Amendment)
○ “No state shall…deny to any person within its
jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws”
 This ruling paved the way for public school
integration and the Civil Rights Movement

17. Birth of the Civil Rights Era
 Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955-56
 Brought prominence to Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr. and Rosa Parks as activists
 Showed civil rights activists the efficiency
of economic boycotts
 Here’s a throwback to the colonial era!
This is the Boston Tea Party for the sake
of civil rights.
 The government starts to listen after the
economy gets threatened.

19. The Golden Age
 Seems to be the “Era of Good Feelings” with
TVs, Quiz Shows, and Suburban Culture
 President James Monroe probably would have
been proud of Eisenhower for taking such a
deliberate middle course domestically
 The economy is surprisingly well in the
1950s
 Readily shifting away from industrial
manufacturing
 Also shifting away from high numbers of farms,
yet farming efficiency is growing in Texas,
Arizona, and California

21. The Golden Age
 The main engines of economic growth
during the 1950s were residential
construction and spending on consumer
goods
○ Shopping malls come into fad
 People were alright living in perpetual
economic debt for the sake of owning
‘pretty things’

23. The Golden Age
 California becomes the symbol of the
post-war suburban boom
 Western cities become decentralized
clusters of single-family homes and
businesses become connected by
highways (Federal Highway Act of 1956)
 Ushers in an era of “Leave it to Beaver”
ideals
 Such an odd paradigm amidst an era
of paranoia and fear of nuclear attack

24. The Golden Age
 Television
 Replaces newspapers as the most common
source of information about public events;
quickly connects Americans with a common
cultural experience (unifies different regions
and backgrounds of people)
 Becomes the most effective advertising
medium ever invented.
 Deliberately showed the virtues of a bland,
middle-class life
○ Trying to prevent paranoia (which the news media
and Joseph McCarthy fueled)