Transcript RAHH Day 11 agenda `06 50s ike FP & moyers

RAH Day 11 Agenda
Goal – understand that life in the fifties and Ike’s administration
addressed domestic issues and foreign policy in a vital center and
paradoxical manner.
1. Reading Comprehension Packet page 6 – The Organization Man answer
questions 1-3
2. Review Critics of 50s culture and the paradoxes (related to vital
center) p 2
3. Identify the paradox inherent in life in the 50s, including
paradoxes of the criticisms
4. How does this chapter reflect your lives today?
Rise of Suburbs
5. Questions from homework
6. Finish and review pp 8 and top of 9 about Ike’s presidency at
home
7. Nixon’s scandal - Complete pp 10-11
8. Notes on Eisenhower’s foreign policy
The Organization Man
1. A. O-man works in a hierarchical organization
where he is not at the top, but hopes to be able to
move up.
B. He lives in the suburbs in middle class
neighborhoods
C. works in a collective for the betterment of the
organization but loathes the word collective
D. Has given himself to the org. giving up
individuality, family and spirit
E. Extols the idea of individuality while not having
any
F. Is aware of the lack of control in his life but is
delusional about his relationship between the
reality of the collective and individuality
2. The protestant work ethic of the individual for individual gain does not jive
with the demands and facts of the organization collective
The Organization Man
The conflict between the American value of
individualism and the fact of organization
life is that:
 individualism is not workable in a
hierarchical organizational environment
like corporate America or big bureaucracy
government, university or research work.
The organization environment is a collective, similar to the
collectivism of communist USSR.
Since the two cannot work together, the organization man deluded
himself into thinking that he was an individual, that he was not part of a
collective – which of course was really not correct.
Criticisms of the ’50s culture
Religious leaders – thought that the culture was getting away from
traditional American values because there was the promotion of sex,
gender role changes, the evil of greed, covetousness through
advertising and consumerism and increased violence in media.
Writers/artists – thought that the culture was too conformist and
stifling, too homogenized, lacking in creativity and individuality – too
bland.
Sociologists – thought there was too much peer pressure, too inner
directed with individualized goals rather than social communal and
outer-directed goals. They believed there was a loss of individual
personality due the need to work within an organization system
Paradoxes
Critics complained of homogenization, which occurred simultaneously to
greater choices of books, magazines movies and artistic activities;
and simultaneously to the angst about an invasion of communist
ideology that would make people be the same.
The affluence promoted on television belied the 25% poverty rate and
while promoting homogenization and conformity, also promoted
dissatisfaction leading less to consensus but to racial and gender
and class and generational conflict
While celebrating universal values of freedom, god, prosperity, equality,
suburbia and the expectation of progress, the reality was that many
were kept from all of these things and that behind the scenes and
behind closed doors people behaved differently.
1952 Presidential Election
Candidate Info
Republican – Dwight David
“Ike” Eisenhower
Democrat – Adlai
Stevenson
Campaign
Style
Comfortable w/ TV, calm,
reassuring, smiling and vague
terms
Uncomfortable with TV,
eloquent, erudite, somewhat
bluntly honest
Personal style
Serene and confident
Intellectual, aristocratic,
practical and realistic as to costs
of Korea and Cold War
Issue Civil
Rights
Non-committal – believed in
limited federal power
Strong promoter of Civil Rights
but practical politically re: south
Issue – Cold
War
Strong anti-communist (chose
Nixon of HUAC and Alger Hiss
fame as v-p running mate)
Anti-communist but more in
mold of George Kennan
Issue Red
Scare
Publicly promoted idea that
Truman was soft on communism
Opposed to red-baiting and
McCarthyism
Issue – Fair
Deal
Wanted to lower taxes, but
understood that New Deal
programs like Social Security
were the third rail of American
politics
Rejected public housing and
National Health plan – lukewarm
on Fair Deal
Adlai Stevenson
David Dwight “Ike” Eisenhower – President of
the United States of America 1953-1961
Nicknamed “Ike” from the first letter in last name
Nixon’s 1952 v-p election scandal
The scandal related to $18,000 for campaigning and a cocker
spaniel named “Checker” – Nixon was accused of taking campaign
donations for personal use to upgrade his lifestyle
Nixon’s Response was to go on public TV to defend himself, his
history and finances to show that he was a self-made American
Dream success story, but not over the top.
He trotted out his wife and discussed how she did not have a fur
coat, they did not drive fancy cars, they had two mortgages just
like everyone else.
But, he said, he did get the dog and he is not going to give it back
because his kids loved the dog too much. This showed he was a
family man.
Dynamic Conservatism
• Liberal when it comes to people and conservative when it comes to money.
• Expanded social security, minimum wage, housing assistance and used
loads of federal money to build the National Highway system BUT…
• Wanted to control federal spending and deregulate business activity, cut
the TVA and other government projects related to electricity generation
Immediate goals and beliefs of
Dynamic conservatism – go slow to review
the situation Ike inherited
Shrink power of president and fed. Gov’t
Believed gov’t regulations were hurting
business
Reverse deficits, balance budget, cut
defense $
Don’t use fed taxes to reward friends
Immediate actions after inauguration
Selected pro-business cabinet
Submerged Lands Act to transfer oil lands
to state control
Cut TVA expansion
Cut 200,000 federal jobs
Cut 10% of budget
Cut planned hydro plant
Conservative action – cut taxes, Cut
federal jobs, toughened FELP, FBI wiretaps
and supported Communist Control Act
Liberal actions – increased spending in
54 and 58 recessions, expanded S.S., $1.3
billion for housing and slum clearing,
created Dept of Housing , education and
Welfare, social spending increase 50% in 8
years, federal money for ed. & highways
Dynamic conservatism cont.
Economic results – GNP goes up
during a period of unprecedented
widespread prosperity for most
Americans, with top marginal tax rate
still at 90%
The political results were that
Democrats win Congress in 1954 but
Ike retains presidency and leaves
office as the third most popular
president in the entire 20th century
behind only FDR and Bill Clinton
Dynamic Conservatism is based on the underlying vital center
theory and the resultant paradoxes. Tough on communism but
cuts in defense $. Smaller gov’t and taxes but expansions of
social programs.
Ike’s Foreign Policy
Practicality –
•rhetorically tough, but understood
that global communism was not
monolithic: PRC and USSR at odds.
•Did not go into Hungary during ’56
though “rolling back” called for it.
•Saw Soviets as wanting to avoid
war w. US so “New Look” kept up
appearance of pressure but allowed
US to avoid costly wars like Korea
Resultant policy choices
•New Look – reliance on massive
retaliation of Nuclear Weapons
•Avoiding Hungary situation
•Ending Korean War
•CIA covert actions in Iran, Guatemala,
planning Bay of Pigs
•Regional defense treaties like ANZUS and
SEATO
•Eisenhower Doctrine re: defend Mid-east
Beliefs of Economics and politics
on Foreign Policy
Wanted to cut spending and have a
smaller gov’t w less taxes and less
risk of long-term war but still
containing communism
Resultant policy choices
Ended Korean War
New Look
Built massive nuclear arsenal
Decreased defense spending from 14% to
9% of GDP
Built Strategic Air Command with longrange nuclear-armed bombers and the
first Polaris missile-armed nuclear
A. New Leadership
1. Stalin died (1953).
2. New Soviet leader - Nikita Khrushchev.
a. Called Stalin a "cruel dictator"
b.Talked of "peaceful coexistence" with the West
c. Americans hoped for better relations.
3. New U.S. President - Dwight D. Eisenhower.
a. Proposed idea of “Open Skies” (1955)
b. Idea rejected by Soviets.
c. U.S. began U-2 flights over USSR.
Nikita Khrushchev – General Secretary of
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Dwight David “Ike” Eisenhower – President of
the United States of America 1953-1961
John Foster Dulles – Secretary of State 1953-1959
B. Eisenhower's "New Look"
Defense Policy
1. How to deter communist aggression, yet reduce U.S.
defense spending?
2. Answer: Greater dependence on nuclear weapons
(cheaper than trying to match Soviet buildup of
conventional forces).
3. Size of army and navy reduced.
4. Air Force (and stockpile of nuclear weapons) increased.
’62 H-bomb test on Christmas Island
’52 H-bomb test Ivy King 2 – 550kt
12
million
tons of
earth
moved
by blast
’62 104 kt 635 ft underground test made this 1280ft wide 320ft deep crater
C. Led to new strategy of "Massive
Retaliation"
C. Led to new strategy of "Massive Retaliation"
1. Idea of John Foster Dulles (Sec. of State)
2. Implied U.S. would use nuclear weapons in response to any act
of communist aggression.
3. Was the U.S. bluffing?
4. Dulles said it was sometimes necessary to "go to the brink."
5. Critics called the idea brinkmanship” and said it was way too
dangerous.
6. Proved to be impractical.
John Foster Dulles – Secretary of State 1953-1959
D. "Rolling back" communism
D. "Rolling back" communism
1. Dulles said containment of' communism wasn't good
enough.
2. Said U.S. goal was now the liberation of "captive
peoples” living in countries already under communist rule.
3. "Roll Back" proved to be a bluff during a revolution in
Hungary in 1956.
But in fact the invasion of Iraq and the doctrine of preventive war have
a sterling conservative pedigree; they were handed down from the
right-wingers in the early years of the Cold War who rejected the
strategy of containing communism and argued instead for rolling it
back (an idea that Dwight Eisenhower considered sheer madness).
Michael Kinseley – Washington Post 11/15/06
Hungarians overthrow the communists in October 1956 and
destroy tanks and symbols of the Soviet Union
In November 1956,
Soviet tanks return,
taking Hungary back and
putting it under a new
Communist dictatorship,
and killing 30,000
Hungarian “freedom
fighters.”
E. Cold War Politics in the Third
World
E. Cold War Politics in the Third World
1. Third World - non-white, developing countries in Africa~ Asia
Latin America, and the Middle East.
2. Movements for national independence resulted in many new
countries.
3. Third World important to U.S. for resources and allies against
communist expansion.
4. U. S. assumed these- struggles for self-determination were
directed by the Soviet Union.
5. U.S. feared these revolutions would lead to new communist
countries.
6. U.S. sent massive amounts of foreign aid to the Third World to
win friends and combat Soviet influence there.
Locations of CIA covert operations to overthrow unwanted
leftist governments
F. CIA Operations
1. The CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) was created by Truman
in 1947.
2. The purpose of the CIA was to spy and conduct covert
operations.
3. CIA worked behind the scenes to overthrow pro-Soviet
governments and support pro- Western ones.
4. CIA helped overthrow governments in Iran (1953) and
Guatemala (1954).
G. Security Alliances
1. Part of Eisenhower's containment policy.
2. U.S. signed many NATO-like mutual security pacts with nations
next to communist ones. Like SEATO and ANZUS
3. U.S. threat: Soviet aggression against any U.S. ally would result
in "massive retaliation".
H. Nuclear Arms Race
1. Reliance on nuclear weapons to keep the peace (deter war)
based on concept of MAD (Mutual Assured Destruction).
2. If war came, both sides hoped to destroy other side's nuclear
weapons before they could be used.
3. Neither side could allow the other to get too far ahead - an
arms race developed.
1945 Atomic bomb (US.) (USSR in 1949)
1948 Intercontinental Bombers (U.S.) (USSR in 1955)
1952 H-Bomb (U;S.) (USSR in 1953))
1957 First satellite - "Sputnik" (USSR) (US. in 1958)
1957 First ICBM (USSR) (U.S. in 1958)
1960 First submarine with missiles (U S.) (Soviets in 1968)
1966 First ICBM with multiple warheads (US.) (Soviets in 1968)