eisenhower domestic/econ/political

domestic & econ successes

-dynamic conservatism = Ike’s progressive republican idea, con w/ money, liberal w/ people

-lib w/ people = inc SS benefits + added 10 mill to its coverage in 1954, raised min wage 75 cents-$1 in 1955, gave fed aid to education

-1958 national defence education act gave low cost loans to college students

-little inflation or unemployment

-created interstate highway system which employed millions

-dept of health, education & welfare (HEW) established headed by texan dem woman. 1956, 500,000 acres added to national park system

-by 1960 median family inc was $5250, gave family 30% more disposable income than 1950

-13 mill new homes constructed, 11 mill in suburbs, provided employment

-automobile industry employed thousands + made travel easier, proliferation of motels/fastfood places/shopping malls (more employment), less need for labour heavy work. made Americans prosperous. dramatic growth of service industries & changing nature of american workforce

-90% homes had at least 1 TV

-baby boom increased pop by millions + inc demand, teens became econ force w/ jobs + spending

-soil bank subsidies for farmers to stabilise prices + protect farm incomes

-cheap credit helped by 1st credit card from diners club. growth in debt stimulated econ & created jobs in manufacturing

-cheap mass production of housing for 80,000 families

-levitt brothers built homes for young veterans w/ lots of facilities. Levittown homes popular & well constructed

domestic & econ failures

-con w/ money = econ is 4th arm of defence, saw expenditure on defence could be spent on social improvement. angered repubs & dems w/ defence cuts when soviets took lead in space race.

-military industrial complex (US weapons manufacturers just self interested in profit not the country) pushed him to spend more than he wanted

-congress rejected proposed financing for school construction in poorer states as it would benefit segregated south

-several recessions

-growth of housing in suburbs caused white flight + left black people in poor overcrowded accom. Levittown restricted af-americans from buying property

-private debt more than doubled from $104.8 bill - $263.3 bill

-not all that benefitted from employment growth lived the American dream due to poor wages

-TV growth promoted consumerism + conformity

-1/4 families of 4 had less than $3000 annual income, ethnic minorities lost jobs to industrialisation & racist policies

-housing shortage in of trumans presidency continued

-americans convinced to buy new cars as often as possible, 4.5 mill cars scrapped each year in 1950s

-women lost wartime jobs & had suburban boredom

political successes/nixon as VP

-ike believed McCarthy would destroy himself

-1954 army-McCarthy hearings: extremism lost him support. tried to investigate the army but Ike denied him access to administration records giving him lack of concrete evidence. hearings were televised & McCarthy appeared drunk. lost support in poll ratings, end of McCarthyism

-nixon was clever & hardworking, prominent in HUAC, served ike well. entrusted w/ partisan campaigning (attacking opponents) & liasing w/ old guard. was sometimes praised for dem attacks. only member of ike administration w/ congressional experience so was useful + worked hard to restrain McCarthy

-nixon lib stance on CRs, speeches against inequality & discrim. used as goodwill ambassador to foreign nations, worked hard to understand countries. often contributed to good relations.

-worked admirably after Ike’s heart attack & toned down partisanship

political failures/nixon as VP

-repub party divisions. old guard wanted to limit workers rights (led by Robert taft) + often didnt cooperate

-ike more popular than his party, lost congress in 1954

-disliked McCarthy but he was still liked by 50% Americans at first

-voice of America (highly successful broadcast service) had 830 employees sacked bc of McCarthy

-nixon made untrue accusations of dems whilst in HUAC. frequently disagreed w/ nixon on policies (especially on communism). ike publicly rebuked Nixons comment on FP & was told what he says sometimes lacked validity

-CR attitude was felt to get black vote for repubs. trips to countries was often only concerned w/ press they gave him back home

-told that he lacked presidential timber, ike thought he was immature, “people don’t like him”, best of a bad bunch