Politics in the 1950's
President Truman was the democratic president who reigned over the United States following the immediate end of WWII and into 1953. Although Truman did not dominate politics in the 1950's it is important that we touch on NSC-68. National Security Council Paper 68 was a group-effort report that formed the very basis for America's Cold War policy for the next two decades. After the USSR had successfully tested an atomic weapon, and China had fallen to communism, Truman wanted a complete evaluation of USA's strategy in the Cold War- the result being NSC-68. The report stated that USA was facing a new, unknown, ever-changing world in which the USA and USSR were left as the remaining superpowers following WWII. The report recommended that the USA fight against the policy of Soviet Expansion. It also stated that the USA should embark in a massive, yet covert, enlarging of all military and nuclear programs at a rapid rate.
In the 1950's President Eisenhower was the main president who defined the very decade itself. Eisenhower was born in the good ole' state of Texas in 1890 amongst six other brothers. After excelling in high school athletics, he went on to attend West Point Military Academy. While in the military he served under John Pershing and Douglas MacArthur- both prominent military generals during the world wars. Most importantly, he commanded the allied invasion of Normandy France on June 6, 1944: known as D-Day.
As a result of his allied victory at Normandy, Eisenhower became a mainstream celebrity throughout the United States! After becoming president at the prestigious Columbia University, he opted to leave the university in order to serve as the head commander of the NATO military.
Did you know that Stevenson received the nickname "egghead" because he was deemed as too smart, so he would never relate to the common man?
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In 1952, Eisenhower decided to run for president of the United States. He ran with the amazingly catchy slogan, "I like Ike." He ran against the well known front runner of the Democratic party, Adlai Stevenson. The two men were direct opposites in many ways, and as a result, the two's personalities were greatly reiterated by the results at the polling stations. Eisenhower won a clear victory with 55% of the popular vote- easily securing the electoral votes.
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Eisenhower won the campaign because he made use of modern advertising techniques and began to effectively use the television (being entirely new at the time). The chairman of the Republican National Committee once stated in regards to Eisenhower, "Politics these days is like a business. You sell your candidate and your programs the way a business sells its products."
FUN FACT: **Eisenhower successfully passed 80% of the bills he sent to Congress with a Divided Government- claiming,"Every measure we deem essential... requires Democratic Support." ** |
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Dynamic Conservatism= Eisenhower's philosophy of Government. He called it this because he wished to distinguish as different and better than previous Republican Administrations because they were previously backward-looking. As a result, he was determined to work with the opposing party and often times opposed proposals made by members of his own party.
The age of McCarthy was vainly defined in the 1950's . Despite economic prosperity following WWII, Senator McCarthy was the head of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in conducting investigations against suspected Communists. This greatly exemplifies the heightened fear of communism during the second red scare because of heated controversy with the USSR.