eisenhower CRs & FP

FP successes

-needed to protect Middle Eastern oil from soviets, containment + not go broke from over spending on defence. new look defence policy = reduce conventional forces & inc nuclear weapons. more security for less cost “more bang for a buck”

-usa had 5543 nuclear weapons 1957, ussr had 650

-ike combined diplomacy w/ suggestion of nuclear weapons to convince china to sign armistice dividing Korea 1953. brinkmanship + aggression strengthened position on world stage

-leader of Chinese nationalists chang kai shek had fled to formosa (Taiwan). quemoy & matsu = small islands under kai sheks rule right next to china + had US naval bases on them. Chinese bombarded them but ike didnt want to risk war w/ ussr & china over 2 small islands. when china contravened Korea armistice provisions + imprisoned American soldiers shot down over china in Korean War, ike threatened use of nuclear weapons so china backed down

-approach to Asia = brinkmanship. Europe = more diplomatic approach.

-1958 Berlin crisis: Khrushchev threatened to turn access routes to Berlin over to east Germany. ike didnt respond which got criticism but crisis passed

-1953 East German +1956 polish uprisings against harsh soviet living + working standards, hundreds killed & injured. these challenged soviet control (East German support for ike)

-irans dem elected PM siezed British owned oil company, 1953 coup to install pro usa dictator to prevent Iran turning commie. gave US 40% of Iranian oil

-egypt & Suez Canal crisis: ike promised Egypt financial aid to rebuild Aswan dam until leader Nasser bought soviet arms. Nasser then nationalised anglo French owned Suez Canal. ike didnt support British military action as he didnt want to annoy Americans

-Israel attacked Egypt, france + British moved in to safeguard canal. global anger, ike forced Br + Fr to withdraw receiving international acclaim. kept in w/ Arab nations for oil & to keep soviets out, avoided alienating muslims globally, taught Br, Fr + Israel to never act w/out informing USA

-iraq worried Lebanon who appealed for American aid. only time in presidency ike sent US military into another country. no commie threat + US never fired a shot but secured Lebanese regime + warned Nasser w/out soviet clash

FP failures

-ussr launched sputnik & created icbms. caused accusations ike was neglecting national security

-usa had suffered 50,000 casualties & spent nearly $70bill in Korean War. armistice had no offensive & didnt give US a clear win - looked weak.

-French begged ike for American airstrike in 1954. pros: france important to western alliance, he’d advocated rollback, didnt want accusations of losing Vietnam, domino theory in Southeast Asia. cons: small country, pointless, could snowball, had popularity from withdrawing from Korea, new look meant not many troops available

-ike opted out & French defeated at dien bien phu so left Vietnam

-1954 geneva accords = Viet divided into commie NV + SV then to be reunited w/ elections in 1956. ike didnt sign as polls showed Ho Chi Minh would win 80% vote

-missed chance to exit & leave French to have “lost Vietnam”

-collective leadership of ussr 1953-56 after Stalins death (malenkov/molotov/berla/khruschev), 4 diff viewpoints, ike must keep good relations w/ all 4

-positive attempts to use nuclear power for peaceful uses however soviets knew USA already ahead so didnt want to pause nuclear development

-1957 vanguard tv-3 = usa attempt to launch satellite into orbit, massively failed and crashed back down causing international humiliation

-hungarian uprising 1956 protested in favour of the prospect of destalinisation. hardline rakosi replaced w/ Nagy (promised free elections + neutrality in Cold War)

-prospect of hole in iron curtain caused krushchev to send tanks + troops in. 3000 Hungarians killed. Kadar installed to crush resistance. Hungarians had expected American aid due to rollback/truman doctrine but it was landlocked by commie countries so too risky. ike could only offer sympathy - failure

-covert warfare =. use of spying (U2 spy planes). one shot down by soviets in 1960. ike kept changing story saying it ws on a meteorological mission then that it lacked authorisation. eventually accepted responsibility. met kruschchev who shouted anti American abuses. improved relations ruined

-covert warfare: use of CIA to overthrow govts.

-guatemalan and iran coups created anti-American feeling & encouraged dictatorships. 1954 guatemalan coup d’état deposed democratically elected president & replaced w/US backed dictator

-Middle East problem: tension due to establishment of Israel, dependence on Middle East for oil, dem elected leaders susceptible to communism, Iran close to ussr

-nasser aroused Arab nationalism which caused overthrow of pro western Iraqi monarchy

CR successes

1958 CRB to ensure black voting rights (80% not registered). black leaders said it was better than no bill

-1960 CRA to stop bombings of black schools & churches. passed as both parties wanted black vote. made obstruction of school desegregation fed crime, added 8% black voters registered, encouraged CR activists

-1960 Greensboro sit in, black students refused to leave white canteen until served, led to widespread sit ins (mass direct action) & desegregation of Woolworths counters by 1961

-1954 NAACP Brown vs Board of education ruled “separate but equal” = unconstitutional meaning so are Jim crown laws. set model for future cases to follow

-NAACP Brown II 1955 said integration should happen “w/ all deliberate speed”. 70% school districts in Washington DC & border states desegregated within 1 year

-beginning to tackle injustices in south, emergency of popular figures like MLK

-1956 Montgomery bus boycott seen as start of CR movement. around 50,000 participated. new powerful mode of activism = mass direct action. when KKK sent members to Montgomery, black community emerged & waved instead of retreating

-ike eventually sent fed forces to protect Little Rock 9

-1953 state of the union address, ike called for publicity, persuasion & conscience to end racial discrim. worked against discrim in fed facilities/hiring, appointed earl warren

CR failures

-southern dems worked to weaken CRB & ike didnt try to keep it intact. passed very weakened, many thought it was a sham. CRA also weakened

-brown II Supreme Court lacked enforcement powers so enforcement times varied. Deep South remained segregated

-ike urged earl warren chief justice to avoid ruling in favour of desegregated schools

-southern state authorities did all they could to resist school desegregation

-although ike said SCt decisions had to be accepted, failed to use def power

-de fact segregation remained in north, CORE began to challenge it in schools

-only Montgomery buses desegregated. revival of KKK

-1957 Little Rock 9: black students attempted to enter school after brown ruling but were kept out by abusive white mob + national guard ordered by gov faubus

-ike reluctantly sent fed forced, not in support of desegregation, just fearing breakdown of law + order

-warren said a word of approval from ike in favour of brown would’ve helped stop violence

-dynamic conservatism - was ike being liberal w/ people

-ike only had 1 af-american on his staff

-emmet till murdered for flirting w/ white woman, murderers went unpunished

-autherine Lucy took uni of Alabama to court to obtain admission as first black student but then was quickly expelled. ike said nothing about either case

-only met black leaders once & was uneasy in presence of black Americans. opposed fed intervention so many states continued segregation