Esquema metodológico

Born in 1890 in Abilene, KA

Attends West Point – more athletic than academic WWII – Operation Torch, Invasion of Normandy Supreme commander of the allied forces in Europe After WWII – President of Columbia [1948-1950] Head of NATO [1950-1952]

Ike and Korea

[Dec. 1952] visits Korea to attempt to end the war

-is unsuccessful – fighting continues for a few months [March 1953] Stalin dies

Ike begins to threaten use of nuclear weapons on North Korea [July 1953] cease-fire is announced – DMZ zone

Ike and John Dulles (Secretary of State)

Dulles – has a more aggressive approach towards the Soviet Union -calls for a policy of “brinkmanship”

-getting as close to war as possible without actually getting to war -a very dangerous plan

Ike prefers a more conciliatory policy [1953] East German workers revolt [1956] Poles and the Hungarians revolt Meanwhile, the U.S. does nothing

-The conciliatory policy leads to a thaw in the Cold War

Cold War Thaw

Ike makes an “atoms for peace” speech at the U.N.

-use for beneficial ideas instead of nuclear weapons [1955] Ike and Soviet Union leaders meet at Geneva

-first time U.S. and the Soviet Union leaders meet at Geneva

[1958] S.U. halts all atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons – U.S. follows suit Dulles creates pacts with any nation wishing to side with the U.S. against communism

-also cuts back spending on the army and the navy

New Cold War strategy – rely on their nuclear stockpile and planes Ike creates the CIA

-by the National Security Act of 1947 -grows out of SSS – Strategic Services -Allen Dulles is the head of the CIA

CIA leads covert operations around the globe – concentrates on Third-World Nations [1953] Iran

The CIA overthrows the elected government and reinstalls the pro-U.S. Shah Why? Oil reserves in this region

However, they create seeds of discontent towards the U.S. [1953] CIA halts elections in the Philippines

[1954] Overthrow forces in Guatemala Ike and Vietnam

Truman sent money to help the French in Vietnam

-Communists are fighting the French, led by Ho Chi Minh [1954] French defeat at Diem Bien Phu

-a cease-fire is announced

Geneva convention for the armistice – Vietnam is split at the 17th parallel [1956] U.S. refuses to allow the elections to take place

-the CIA funds and supports the S. Vietnam gov’t of Ngo Dinh Diem -Catholic (a negative – most Vietnamese are Buddhist) -schooled in U.S.

-Pro-West

Opposition grows against Diem

[1960] National Liberation Front forms in S. Vietnam Viet Cong – oppose the Pro-West government

Ike sends only money and some advisors to Vietnam – no troops Ike & Egypt

[1954] Gaural Abdel Nasser takes control over Egypt U.S. offers a loan to build a dam in Egypt

Nasser declares his neutrality in Cold War – then buys arms from Czechoslovakia – behind the iron curtain

Dulles cancels the loan

Nasser nationalizes the Suez Canal – angers Britain [1956] Great Britain, France, and Israel invade Egypt

Ike is extremely angry about this and condemns the invasion

Goes before the U.N. and names the three as aggressor nations

Why? Because the Soviets threaten to get involved, and also because Ike was not informed of it [March 1957] All three countries pull out of Egypt

Significance

-the U.S. is forced to act as the protector of Western interests in the Middle East Ike passes the Eisenhower Doctrine

-Hatred of the West and the U.S. increases at the time [1958] 14,000 U.S. soldiers sent to Lebanon

Ike and South America

[1958] Nixon is sent to Peru and Venezuela

-is promptly spit upon and had stones thrown at him

[1959] Fidel Castro overthrows Batista in Cuba and brings communism to the country Ike & the Soviet Union

[1958] Nixon visits the Soviet Union – the Kitchen Debate with Khrushchev [1959] Khrushchev visits the U.S.

visits Camp David (a presidential retreat in Maryland) – “spirit of Camp David” agrees to meet again in Paris in 1960 – never happens

The U-2 Incident

on the eve of the conference…

the Soviets shoot down a U.S. U-2 spy plane in Soviet airspace reveals that the U.S. has been spying on the Soviets since 1956 Ike claims it was a weather plane that flew off course

Khrushchev has the pilot (does not commit suicide as he’s supposed to)

-puts him, Gary Powers, on TV, who admits to spying on the Soviet Union Ike admits that the U.S. is spying, but he refuses to apologize

-They cancel the 1960 Paris conference The Cold War returns at full force Ike’s Farewell

Warns against a number of things

warns the U.S. economy is too dependent on military spending the military-industrial complex is too powerful

warns that he cannot guarantee that peace will continue with the Soviet Union Ike’s Failures & Accomplishments in the Cold War

Accomplishments

ends the Korean War kept U.S. out of war

claims there are no troops in Vietnam

halts atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons promotes better relations with the Soviet Union Failures

accelerates the arms race

allows the CIA to run amok around the globe continues to keep the U.S. involved in Vietnam

Ike and Domestic Policies

Ike is elected in 1952 – first Republican in office since Hoover -more of a manager than a true leader

-there are 8 corporate executives on his cabinet

-wanted at first to remain “in the middle” regarding politics – reflective in his first term reduces farm price subsidies

cut government power

wants to balance the budget – cut federal spending – successful in three out of eight times development of nuclear and hydroelectric companies – private ownership

does not like public energy

gives oil reserves back to the coastal states

[1954] Democrats take control over both houses of Congress Ike becomes more liberal – modern Republicanism

o vetoes a bill to get rid of the Council of Economic Advisors increases unemployment benefits

increases the minimum wage from $0.75 to $1.00 per hour increases social security benefits

increases federally-funded public housing projects for low-income families increases public works projects

o St. Lawrence Seaway

connects Great Lakes to the Atlantic o Interstate Highway Act of 1956

The largest and most expensive

Creates 41,000 miles of highways in U.S. Significance:

Increases growth of suburbia

Increases the dependency on the automobile Increases dependency on oil

Decrease in use of RR Decay of the inner cities Increase in pollution Election of 1956

Eisenhower easily defeats Adlai Stevenson again.