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 and refrained from
criticizing the Democrats
 However, Nixon had no problem verbally
abusing the Democrats
 Adlai Stevenson (Democratic candidate)
 Truman chose not to run again
 He was getting too old and became
extremely unpopular due to the Korean War

3. Election of 1952
 Eisenhower ran a campaign that
promised to end the Korean War
officially
 Settled for a armistice shortly after he enters
office
 Democrats tried 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
 Despite the attacks on Nixon,
Eisenhower easily won 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
 “I Like Ike” becomes the slogan of the
campaign and his tenure as president

8. Modern Republicanism
 Eisenhower surprised many as he
retained a majority of the social
programs from the New Deal
 However, he reigned in the federal
budget whenever possible
 Fiscal conservatism combined with
retention of New Deal programs
demonstrated his “flexible”
conservative agenda

9. Modern Republicanism
 “New Look” for the military
 Eisenhower favored massive deterrence
over traditional military might
 Allowed the government to cut defense
budgets while engaging in more covert
actions
 The Cold War mentality became
entrenched
○ World-wide intelligence gathering became a
priority

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)
worked quickly behind the scenes to illicit
(and sometimes coerce) changes inside
countries that they felt were causing
problems for America
○ Primarily Communist-influenced countries
 Eventually, the area that gave them the most
trouble was Vietnam
○ (sort of a second Korean conflict, initially)

11. Vietnam (Before the War)
 Initially, Vietnam was a colony of France
that proved vital in the American and
French fight against communism
 Prioritized blocking the spread of
communism within the country
 However, America rejected France’s
request for active military aid to retain
Indochina (including Vietnam) as a
colony
 As a result, France lost control of Vietnam

12. Vietnam (Before the War)
 After France lost control of Vietnam,
Eisenhower actively attempted to
prevent the election of Communist
dictator Ho Chi Minh
 Ironic?
 This is again reinforcing the post-World
War II ideal of fascism over communism

13. Vietnam (Before the War)
 Communist China becomes politically
deadlocked during the 1950s
 They cannot trust Russia to respond
whenever they are threatened, but they
certainly can’t trust the Americans
 Eisenhower realized China’s weakness with
Russia and decided to take a tough
approach with them
○ Eisenhower did not realize the differences
between Russia and China and squandered
potential reciprocity with China throughout the
1950s

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
○ Plessy -- 1896 ruling 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
 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks
rose to prominence as civil rights activists
 The bus boycott demonstrated the efficiency
of economic boycotts
○ Here’s a throwback to the colonial era! This is the
1760s-era boycotts for the sake of civil rights.
 The federal government opened a dialogue
with civil rights activists after the economy
was threatened.

19. The Golden Age
 Appears to be the “Era of Good Feelings”
(1820s) with TVs, Quiz Shows, and
Suburban Culture
 President James Monroe likely would have been
proud of Eisenhower for taking such a deliberate
middle course domestically
 The economy is surprisingly stable in the
1950s
 The economy began shifting away from
industrial manufacturing and large-scale farming
○ However, farming efficiency grew in Texas, Arizona, and
California

21. The Golden Age
 The primary factors of economic growth
during the 1950s were residential
construction and consumer spending
○ Shopping malls become commonplace
 Americans became accustomed to living
in perpetual economic debt for the sake
of owning ‘pretty things’
○ Cars, homes, appliances, electronics, etc.

23. The Golden Age
 California became the symbol of the
post-war suburban boom
 Western cities became 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 utter paranoia and fear of nuclear
attack

24. The Golden Age
 Television
 Replaced newspapers as the most common
source of information about public events
○ Quickly connected Americans with a common
cultural experience
○ Unifies different regions, cultural differences, and
economic backgrounds
 Becomes the most effective advertising
medium ever invented
 Deliberately championed the virtues of a
bland, middle-class life
○ Sitcoms attempted to distract Americans from the
paranoia the nightly news fueled

26. Check my SlideShare page
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