The Eisenhower Era Affluence and its Anxieties

 Post War Economic Boom continued. Emphasis on aerospace and high tech.

 IBM (International Business Machines) began its rise as a company.

  Airline business becomes big business.

White Collar jobs grow faster than blue collar jobs.

 US became a nation of home owners rather than renters.

Affluence (Continued)

    Of the 40 million new jobs created after 1950, 30 million were in white collar clerical positions.

Many women filled these new jobs. Many women were workers and home-makers.

This dual role caused stress.

1963 Betty Friedan’s

The Feminine Mystique

was a best seller and chronicled the boredom and lack of satisfaction that many suburban housewives were experiencing.

Consumer Culture in the 1950’s

  Huge expansion of the middle class caused enormous growth in consumer culture. After being denied by the Great Depression and tested by WWII, Americans wanted to relax in the 1950’s Fast Food (McDonald’s) and Disneyland were very popular. Leisure and recreation became serious business.

 Television was enormously popular. By 1960, almost every household had one and there were hundreds of stations operating across the country.

Consumer Culture (Part Two)

 Advertisers drove profits for TV networks.

 Donna Reed Show, Ozzy and Harriet, Lucille Ball, Show of Shows were all examples of 1950’s programming.

 Sports reflected trend to sunbelt as both Dodgers and Giants moved from New York to California.

The Birth of Rock and Roll

   African American and White Artists were playing rock and roll in the south as an offshoot of the blues.

Little Richard and Chuck Berry were two of the most famous along with Buddy Holly, Fats Domino, & Jerry Lee Lewis Elvis Presley became the icon for millions of young baby boomers.

The Advent of Eisenhower

      Democrats were in disarray in 1952 Military deadlock in Korea & the Truman- MacArthur squabble War time inflation and whispers of corruption Eisenhower most popular man in America Eisenhower’s running mate Richard Nixon caught up in scandal.

Eisenhower’s first task was to reach agreement on Korea in 1953.54,000 Americans were killed and treaty restored original boundary only. What was limited war?

The Rise and Fall of Joe McCarthy

   Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy began conducting investigations to ferret out hidden communists. These investigations often ruined the lives of the suspects.

He was considered useful during the Truman administration by fellow republicans.

Began to attack the army which ultimately brought him down.

Desegregating American Society

    Two thirds of 15 million Afro Americans lived in the South in 1950.

Jim Crow laws mandated segregation in restaurants, movie theatres, schools, stores, and bus stations to name a few.

Only about 20% of eligible Black voters actually voted due to Grandfather Clauses, Poll Taxes and literacy tests.

For those who resisted there was the violence of the KKK and other groups.

Desegregating American Society (Part Two)

 Two main strategies for change: Nonviolent protest (SCLC)& legal challenge (NAACP).

    1948 Truman desegregates military and civil service after six black veterans were lynched in Georgia in 1946. Begins split of democratic party.

Brown vs. Board of Education 1954 1955 Rosa Parks begins Montgomery Bus Boycott Montgomery also sees the rise of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

Eisenhower Republicanism at Home

     Elected in 1952, Eisenhower pledges to be a “Dynamic Conservative” “Ike” tried to reduce the power and presence of government but was only partially successful.

“Operation Wetback” sought to return many Mexican workers to Mexico.

Ike tried to reverse “Indian New Deal” which had restored tribal identities. He sought the same assimilation used in the Dawes Severalty Act of 1887.

1956 Interstate Highway Act

Cold War policy

    Eisenhower’s Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles sought to end communist expansion.

Strategic Air Command (SAC) would inflict “massive retaliation” on any enemy.

Khrushchev is Stalin’s tough successor. Hungarian revolt brutally crushed by Soviets in 1956.

Military budget and nuclear tests: dirty, worrisome, and expensive

The Vietnam Nightmare

 1954 France loses Battle of Dienbienphu  Ho Chi Minh Vietnamese nationalist and ultimately communist leader.

 Legacy of French Colonial rule  Vietnam is split along the 17 th Parallel.

 Mutual hostility remains between North and South after truce is arranged.`

Cold War Crisis Europe and the Middle East

     Despite French reluctance, West Germany is welcomed into NATO.

Conference in Geneva appeared to signal thawing of Cold War tensions but bloody suppression of Hungarian Revolt in 1956 revealed otherwise.

Egyptian President Nasser took over the Suez Canal. US refuses to back UK and France 1958.

Hoping to contain Soviet influence, the US CIA installs Mohammed Reza Pahlevi as Shah of Iran in 1953.

1957 Sec of State Dulles proclaims Eisenhower Doctrine, US pledge to resist communist advance in the Middle East.

Eisenhower’s Second Term

 Landrum-Griffin Act 1959 passed designed to regulate union bosses.

 1957, Soviet scientists launch world’s first satellite into orbit, “Sputnik” US follows in 1958.

 Despite efforts, cold war tensions will persist, often as a consequence of internal political pressures.

Cuba’s Castroism spells communism

 Latin Americans resented the Marshall Plan’s exclusive interest in Europe. It was billions versus millions. CIA sponsored coup against leftist government in Guatemala also incensed many in the region.

 Problems in Latin America caused by poverty and lack of access to opportunity.

Castro in Cuba

    Cuban dictator Batista strongly dislike by his own people.

1959- Castro overthrew Batista and began to hand out American owned properties as part of a land re-distribution program.

One million Cubans fled many going to South Florida.

As Castro distanced himself from democratic reforms, US broke diplomatic relations and imposed an embargo which is still in effect.

New Guard: Nixon & JFK The Election of 1960

 Nixon was the Republican Party’s heir apparent, Kennedy was the glamorous millionaire from Massachusetts.

   Both had strong Cold War credentials.

Election was very close & televised debate tipped the scales in favor of JFK . JFK was the nation’s first Catholic president and the youngest ever elected