Cold War Era

Eisenhowers Domestic Program

Election of 1952

Republican Nominee: Dwight D. Eisenhower

GOP Grand Old Party: Nickname of Rep. Party

Democratic Nominee: Adlai E. Stevenson

Eisenhower won easily

Eisenhowers Farm Problem

Farm Problem: Surplus farm production

Eisenhower admin.- Discouraged overproduction, paid for not over planting or

for planting certain things

Soil bank- paid farmers to not use land for 10 years today called

Combating Communism

US

Many believed that there was a strong communist conspiracy to take over the

Truman- Issued an executive order to go after suspected communists

FBI and Civil Service Commission checked the loyalty of all federal
employees; many were dismissed
McCarthyism and its demise

Senator Joseph McCarthy felt communists had taken over many govt.
positions

Accused many individuals of Communist activities

TV exposed and defeated McCarthy- influence rapidly declined

Election of 1956

Rep. Nominee Ike

Dem. Nominee Stevenson

Eisenhower wins his second term easily

Alaska and Hawaiian Statehood

49th State- Alaska Jan. 1959; fish

50th State- Hawaii Aug. 1959

Eisenhower and Foreign affairs

Brinkmanship

Eisenhowers se. of state John Foster Dulles

Dulles threatened massive retaliation against the Soviet Union or

Communist China if they attacked any country

Brinkmanship- necessary to go to the brink of war to preserve the peace

of the world
Crisis in Indochina

Following WWII Communist Ho Chi Minh liberated Vietnam

The French tried to regain control and set up as a puppet government

US aid to the French

US aided the French because we felt they were helping us contain

communism
o 1950- US helped the French with money and arms
o 1954- US paid for 80% of the cost of the war
Dien Bien Phu

Communist Viet Minh troops had trapped a large French force

Should the US assist the French? Decided against it: the French were defeated

Geneva Agreement

Vietnam would be divided in two

o North: Communist
o South: A free government
S.E.A.T.O.

Southeast Asia Treaty Organization

Special attention/support to Non-Communist nations- an attempt to keep

Communism from spreading
Hungarian Revolution, 1956

Hungarian people revolted against communism

Crushed by soviet tanks and troops

US could not provide much help

Eisenhower Doctrine


March 1957- US would help any Middle East country that requested aid to
resist military aggression from a communist country
o Came about as a result of the Suez crisis
Sputnik and the Space Race

Rocket development became very important

Operation Paperclip- project to rescue German Rocket engineers from WWII

Worked on rocket and space travel for the US

Oct. 4, 1957- Russians sent up the first man-made earth satellite- Sputnik

Feb. 1958- US launches its first satellite- Explorer I Space race is on!

1958- National Aeronautics and Space Admin. (NASA)

Schedule Submit Conference

U-2 Incident:

May 5, 1960 Soviet forces shot down an American U-2 spy plane

Khrushchev demanded an apology; Ike refused

Wreck of Summit hopes:

The chance of a summit was now gone

Rise of Castro in Cuba

1958- forces led by Fidel Castro overthrew the Cuban government

Set up Communist Govt. supported by the soviets

Eisenhower Steps down

Farewell address warned of a military-industrial complex

He and others were concerned with the new relationship formed between the
military establishment and defense industry

Many did not see a lasting peace in future years, and feared spending on
defense
Berlin wall
August 1961 Russia sealed off east berlin/ east Germany from west berlin
by erecting a wall
1500 troopers sent to W. Berlin western powers would not give in
Khrushchev backed down
-

total length of the wall 96 miles

The Cuban Missile Crisis:

summer 1962 USSR began to move ballistic missiles and nuclear warheads
into Cuba
JFK ordered a naval blockade on all offensive military equipment on the way
to Cuba
-

Missiles were dismantled and removed from Cuba

US pledged not to invade the island

Nuclear test ban treaty:

-

Outlawed nuclear tests in the atmosphere, outer space, or under water

The first step towards mutual arms reduction

Does not last

Peace corps
-

Volunteers that helps work in undeveloped countries

Was not the success people had hoped it would be

Deepening involvement in Vietnam

-

Diem leader of South Vietnam

Kennedy supported diem sent advisors to train S. Vietnamese Army

1963 diem overthrown and murdered 16,000 Americans in S. Vietnam

Assassination of JFK and the Warren Commission: Death in Dallas

-

Feelings towards JFK in Dallas were bitter

Nov. 22, 1963 president motorcade passed through the city

dealey plaza shots heard president Kennedy was shot in both the neck
and head
dead

He was rushed to parkland memorial hospital where he was pronounced

Lee Harvey Oswald seized for the crime

Oswald gunned down by Jack Ruby

The warren commission

-

Chief justice Earl warren headed a commission investigating the shooting

Conclusion: lee Harvey Oswald and jack ruby acted alone

Johnsons domestic program

-

LBJs honeymoon

Tax Cut originally asked for by Kennedy

Lowered taxes by $11.5 billion

Economic opportunity act

War on poverty set up work and job opportunity programs

Election of 1964
-

Republican Nominee Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona

Democratic nominee LBJ

LBJ wins easily

The Great Society

-

Was a program of social reform

Civil rights act of 1964

Forbade racial discrimination in the use of federal funds and in most places
of public accommodation
-

Equal access to: restaurants, parks, libraries, and theatres

Equal employment opportunity commission sought to protect African- am.

Rights to jobs
Medicare
-

Citizens over 65 received low cost hospital insurance

Financed by the federal government (tax)

Medicaid
Federal govt. financed health care (to states) to help needy people (welfare
recipients living below the poverty line) below the age of 65
Elementary and secondary education act
-

1.3 billion for aid to education

could not receive aid unless schools obeyed laws against segregation

Voting rights act

-

increased the number of black voters by 50%

Outlawed measures used to suppress minority votes

Johnsons Foreign Policy

Deeper involvement in Vietnam: The Tonkin Gulf Resolution

August 2 and 4 1964 Two US destroyers attacked by N. Vietnamese

gunboats
-

Tonkin gulf resolution allowed the Pres. to expand war powers in Vietnam

Could repel any armed attack

Why we were inn Vietnam

-

Jan 1965 LBJ sent 20,000 more troops to help the 27,000 already there

Domino Theory If S. Vietnam fell to Communism so would the rest of

Southeast Asia
-

To stop aggression and protect our reputation

Dec. 1965 185,000 Am. Troops in S. Vietnam

Effects of Vietnam on the election of 1968

-

LBJ decided not to run for a second term as a result of the Vietnam war

Robert F. Kennedy assassinated after winning the Calif. Primary

Election and results:

-

Democratic nominee Hubert. H. Humphrey

Bitter fighting between democratss in the convention in Chicago

Republic nominee Nixon

Am. Independent Party Gov. George C. Wallace Alabama

Nixon wins close election

QUIZ^
Globalization
Nixons Domestic Affairs
Moon walk
-

Space programs pushed for many years

Goal: putting a man on the moon by the end of the decade

Apollo 11- command ship for Aldrin, Armstrong, and Collins

Eagle Lunar Model

Domestic policy
-

Cuts costs of govt. and balance the budget

Made four Supreme Court appointments

Democrats in control of congress; Nixon had trouble reaching his goals

Foreign affairs during Nixons first term

Vietnamization: slowly bring American troops home, and turn war over to the
South Vietnamese
-

Anti war protests

Opposition mainly occurred at colleges and universities

Kent St. Univ four students killed by Nat. Guard.

My Lai Massacre (Vietnam)

-

US troops killed 300 civilians in village of My Lai

Most of the killed were women and children

The military attempted to cover up the crime

SALT I agreement 1972

-

Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT)

Limited nuclear arms development

Dtente French term Nixon used the word to describe the reduction of
tensions between US and USSR
Election of 1972
-

Republican nominee President Nixon

Democratic nominee George McGovern

Nixon wins landslide

Foreign Policy during Nixons Second Term

-

Secret Cambodian bombings (1965-1973)

Bombed suspected Viet Cong bases in Cambodia (Operation Menu, 1969-70)

Congress & public were not told

Vietnam bombing intensifies

March 1972 thousands of N. Vietnamese invade S. Vietnam

Us response bombings raid all across Indochina

US aid to Israel 1973

-

Oct 1973 Egypt and Syria attacked Israel on Yom Kippur (Yom Kippur war)

Nixon added the Israels with carious supplies

First Arab oil embargo 1973

-

Arab response to US aid to Israel embargoed oil shipments

US faced with gasoline shortages & higher prices

Domestic affairs during Nixons second term Watergate

A special investigations unit, plumbers, broke into the Democratic Nat.
Comm. Headquarters in the Watergate office building
-

Caught! Nixon attempted a cover up

Reporter Bob Woodward, Wash. Post, broke the story

Nixon under pressure

-

Ervin Committee investigate the Watergate situation

Nixon fired two tope aides

Tape recorded conversation hurt Nixon

Resignation of Agnew
-

VP Agnew accused of serious crimes

Resigned and pleaded no contest to tax evasion

Nixon Nominated Gerald R. Ford as VP

Resignation of Richard Nixon

-

Supreme court ruling Nixon had to hand over tapes

Nixon knew he would be impeached

August 9, 1974 Nixon resigned the office of the president

Domestic problems of Gerald Ford

-

Nixon Pardon

Pred. Ford granted a full pardon to Nixon

Pardoning Nixon lost Ford much public support

Problems with congress

Ford had problems dealing with democratic congress

Foreign affairs during Ford administration

S. Vietnam never took control of Vietnam war; US evacuates South Vietnam
in Oct. 1975

Arab oil exchange

Lasting effects OPEC, fuel efficiency, speed limit

Alaskan pipeline completed

Election of 1976
-

Republic nominee pres. ford

Democratic nominee Jimmy carter gov. of Georgia

Carter wins close election

Carters presidency
-

Foreign policy

Main goal promote human rights

SALT II Attempted, but never came

Domestic policy
-

Energy crisis carter dealt with the problem by creating the dept. of energy

Three mile island accident (1979) feared radiation leak

International problems
-

Soviet invasion of Afghanistan

US response embargo of grain to the soviets, and boycott of 1980 Olympics

in Moscow
-

Iran Hostage Crisis Nov. 4 1979

Angry mob invaded US Embassy in Teheran, talking to 52 American hostages

Lasted 444 days

Middle east problems continues

Egypt and Israel met at camp David to discuss peace

Result camp David accords Est. official diplomatic relations between

Egypt and Israel
Neo Conservatism
Election of 1980
-

Republican nominee Ronald Reagan Gov. of Calif.

Democratic nominee Pres. Carter

Reagan easily wins

Reagans domestic policy

The economy
Took over during a time of stagflation a combination of high employment
and high inflation
-

The solution:

Cut many domestic programs; increased spending on military defense

Dismantle the welfare state and shrink the size of the federal government

new federalism shifting responsibility for many social programs to the

states
supply side or trickle down economics tax cuts to businesses and
wealthy individuals
The Results:
By 1984
-

the biggest economic expansion in history up to that time

median income grew 15%

5 million new businesses were formed

20 million new jobs were created

by 1989, the unemployment rate dropped to 5.5%

the Reagan doctrine

a policy of supporting guerrilla groups that were fighting to overthrow
communism or pro- soviet governments
-

supported Afghanistan guerillas

supported anti Sandinistas guerillas in Nicaragua

sent American troops to Grenada

election of 1984
-

Reagan wins an overwhelming landslide over Walter Mondale

Sandra day OConnor

-

Appointed to the supreme court by Reagan

First women to serve on the court

Troubles Abroad

Wanted to stop communism and saw the Soviet Union as the force of evil in
the modern world
-

peace through strength

1983 marine headquarters blown up in Lebanon

241 American marines were killed in the terrorist attack

they were sent there on peacekeeping mission

October 1983 Grenada after a military coup, a govt. sympathetic to

communist Cuba was established
US invades Grenanda did not want another communist courty in the
western hemisphere
Iran Contra
Iran Contra Scandal US sold arms to Iran; Reagan wanted to free
hostages being held in the Middle East
-

The money went to help support contra rebels in Nicaragua

Election of 1988

Republican nominee- George H.W. Bush- Vice pres. Under Reagan

Democratic nominee- Michael Dukakis- Gov of Massachusetts

Bush wins easily

Foreign Issues under Bush

1989- Berlin wall comes down

1991- the soviet unions communist government collapse, becomes a

democracy and others start to do this too in eastern Europe

The cold war comes to an end

Persian Gulf War

Iraq seizes Kuwait

August 2, 1990- Iraq invades and takes Kuwait

US- sent forces to protect Saudi Arabia

The allies attack

Operation Desert storm US and allies attack Jan. 17, 1991

Iraq agreed to withdraw after 43 days of fighting

Clinton presidency
-

Struggled with both health care and gays in the military

He and the republican congress passed legislation requiring a balanced

budget
-

Attempted to reduce deficit

December 1998 impeached for perjury nd obstruction of justice

Foreign policy
-

NAFYA - north America free trade agreement

Eliminated tariffs and other barriers to trade with Canada and Mexico

Election of 2000
-

Rep. Nominee George Bush Gov. of Texas

Dem. Nominee Al Gore VP under Clinton

Bush wins one of the closest elections in history

Came down to florida bush won by 537 votes

9/11
-

Al-Quada terrorist group responsible for the attack

Coordinated attack- 4 US commercial planes hijacked

pa

2 flown into the world trade centers (nyc), 1 into the pentagon. 1 crashes in

2,996 died