America at Midcentury

1
Chapter 27

• America at Midcentury
• 1952-1960

2
Introduction

• 1.) Did President Eisenhower practice the
  politics of moderation?
• 2.) Did Eisenhower essentially continue or modify
  Trumans containment policy?
• 3.) What were the objectives, successes, and
  failures of the 1950s civil-rights movement?
• 4.) What impact did television and
  suburbanization have on American life in the
  1950s?

3
Introduction (cont.)

• 5.) Were the 1950s a decade of conservatism and
  conformity?
• 6.) How did the discontent of some young people
  and minorities foreshadow the social ferment to
  come in the 1960s?

4
The Eisenhower Presidency

• Dynamic Conservatism
• WWII commander of Allied forces in Western Europe
• 1953 became Pres.
• Used executive authority with restraint
• Seldom took a public role in lawmaking
• Delegated responsibility
• He could be an active and ruthless politician

5
Dynamic Conservatism (cont.)

• Dynamic conservatism
• Modern Republicanism
• Staffed his administration with corporate
  executives
• Business efficiency
• Resisted right-wing pleas to dismantle the New
  and Fair Deals
• Tried to restrain further growth of federal
  activities

6
Dynamic Conservatism (cont.)

• He did increase federal spending to combat
  economic recessions in 1953 and 1957
• Interstate Highway Act of 1956
• National Atlas website
• Raised the minimum wage
• Extended social-security coverage
• Created the Dept. Of Health, Education, and
  Welfare
• 1956 he was reelected

7
The Downfall of Joseph McCarthy

• Eisenhower did not speak out against McCarthy
• 1954--McCarthy/Army hearings
• Televised
• He accused the army of protecting communist spies
• Led to his downfall
• Hearings video
• The Senate censured him
• Media and public ignored him

8
The Downfall of Joseph McCarthy (cont.)

• House Un-American Activities Committee continued
  its endless hunt for communists
• Right-wing groups warned against the creeping
  socialism of Truman and Eisenhower

9
Jim Crow in Court

• Earl Warren became Chief Justice of Supreme Court
  in 1953
• Court became more liberal
• Court reversed the convictions of some Communist
  Party leaders

10
Jim Crow in Court (cont.)

• Brown v. Board of Education
• 1954
• Racially segregated schools violated the 14th
  Amendment
• Eisenhower did not back the Brown decision

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12
Jim Crown in Court (cont.)

• Eisenhower regretted the appointment of Warren
• This encouraged southern resistance
• White Citizens Councils, KKK, Southern Manifesto
  all fought school integration
• By 1956--no progress toward desegregation made in
  the South

13
The Laws of the Land

• Little Rock, AR Central High School
• Sept. 1957
• Gov. Faubus ordered the blockade of the all-white
  Central High School
• Eisenhower ordered the U.S. Army into Little Rock
  to enforce the desegregation
• 40th anniversary website

14
The Laws of the Land (cont.)

• By 1960--less than 1 of African-American
  students in the Deep South attended integrated
  schools
• Eisenhowers use of troops at Central High raised
  the hopes of African-Americans
• 90 of northern whites approved

15
The Laws of the Land (cont.)

• Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and 1960
• Did little to protect the rights of
  African-Americans to vote
• Did establish a permanent federal civil-rights
  commission with broad investigation powers

16
The Cold War Continues

• Introduction
• July 1953, Korean War armistice was signed
• Korea was still divided at the 38th parallel

17
Ike and Dulles

• John Foster Dulles
• Secretary of State
• CNN summary of Dulles
• Advocated liberating the Eastern European
  countries from communism

18
Ike and Dulles (cont.)

• Insisted the West should risk war rather than
  back down
• Eisenhower ignored Dulles advise
• Ike continued the containment policy

19
Ike and Dulles (cont.)

• 1955 Geneva summit conference
• Eisenhower tried to achieve peaceful
  coexistence with U.S.S.R. by meeting Soviet
  leaders
• Produced no nuclear-arms control plan
• But laid the ground work for future plans

20
Ike and Dulles (cont.)

• The U.S. relied increasingly on its nuclear
  weapons to deter Soviet aggression
• Dulles committed the United States to defending
  many Third World countries

21
CIA Covert Actions

• Eisenhowers administration relied more and more
  on covert actions
• Secure anticommunist regimes
• Do so by
• Assassinations
• Overthrow of govts.
• Central Intelligence Agency was in charge of the
  covert actions

22
CIA Covert Actions (cont.)

• Allen Dulles led the CIA
• 1950s installed pro-Western autocratic govts.
  in
• Iran
• Many Iranians hated the U.S. for keeping Shah
  Reza Pahlavi on the throne
• Philippines
• Guatemala

23
The Vietnam Domino

• The CIA carried on its most extensive secret
  operations in Vietnam
• Vietnamese overthrow the French
• CIA blocked elections to unify the country
• Pushed into power the dictator Ngo Dinh Diem

24
The Vietnam Domino (cont.)

• Eisenhower claimed Diem had to remain in office
  to prevent Vietnams fall to the Communists
• domino theory
• If one country fell to Communism, then the
  surrounding countries would fall
• Prevent this from happening in Asia

25
Troubles in the Third World

• 1956--England, France, and Israel invaded Egypt
  to reclaim Suez Canal from Egypt
• Eisenhower demanded that they withdraw
• Eisenhower feared that it might led to war with
  the Soviets (they backed Egypt)
• Eisenhower Doctrine
• 1957
• Committed the U.S. to keeping communism out of
  the Middle East
• 1st used in Lebanon
• July 1958 sent in 14,000 marines to stop a
  rebellion against a pro-Western govt.

26
Troubles in the Third World (cont.)

• Anti-U.S. demonstrations in Latin America and
  Japan
• Because of Eisenhowers support for pro-Western
  dictators
• Fidel Castro became the leader in Cuba in 1959

27
Troubles in the Third World (cont.)

• 1960 summit conference with the U.S. and U.S.S.R.
• Attempt to improve Soviet-American relations
• American U-2 reconnaissance plan was shot down
  over the Soviet Union as it was spying on Soviet
  military installations

28
The Eisenhower Legacy

• Foreign Policy
• Positives
• President Eisenhower ended the fighting in Korea
• Initiated small steps toward relaxing Soviet-U.S.
  tensions
• Negatives
• Speeded up the nuclear-arms race
• Expanded the Cold War
• Gave the CIA the go-ahead to subvert foreign
  govts. that the U.S. disliked

29
The Eisenhower Legacy (cont.)

• Domestic Legacy
• Middle-of-the-road course that pleased neither
  right-wingers nor liberals
• Liberals
• criticized his failure to denounce McCarthy and
  racism
• Conservatives
• Faulted him for not repealing the New and Fair
  Deals

30
The Eisenhower Legacy (cont.)

• Eisenhower left office warning the nation about
  the growing influence of the military-industrial
  complex over American society

31
The Affluent Society

• Introduction
• 1950s the U.S. enjoyed a broad-based and
  unprecedented level of prosperity
• By 1960--60 of American families owned homes and
  75 had cars
• There were 3 slight recessions though
• Worry developed over a mounting national debt

32
The New Industrial Society

• Increased govt. expenditures accounted for the
  prosperity and the national debt
• Some of the federal financed public works and
  other domestic programs
• The majority about 10 of the GNP when into
  military buildup

33
The New Industrial Society (cont.)

• The govt. and large corporations also increased
  spending on scientific research
• New technology fueled the growth of the
  technology industry
• Increased automation
• Increase in consumer products
• Western states profited the most from govt.
  -financed research and development

34
The New Industrial Society (cont.)

• Little attention was paid to the environmental
  toll was taken by the expanded economic activity
• Increase use of petroleum
• warming up the Earth

35
The Age of Computers

• Development of computers was a key aspect of the
  postwar technological revolution
• Mark I calculator in 1944
• Became a billion-dollar business
• Transformed the U.S. economy and way of life

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37
The Costs of Bigness

• Technology accelerated the trend toward fewer but
  larger economic enterprises controlling the U.S.
  industry and agriculture
• New middle class of professionals and
  administrators arose to management positions
• Big corporate farms developed
• Increased yields and profits
• Used chemical fertilizers, herbicides, and
  pesticides

38
The Costs of Bigness (cont.)

• Most Americans ignored the dangers of these toxic
  substances to the environment
• 1962 Rachel Carson wrote about the dangers in
  Silent Spring
• In the late 1960s and 1970s states and federal
  govts. begin to ban the use of DDT

39
Blue-Collar Blues

• Union membership and power reached its peak in
  the early 1950s
• AFL and CIO merged as one in 1955
• Won for some of the 36 of nonagricultural union
  workers benefits such as guaranteed annual wages
  and health-care plans

40
Blue-Collar Blues (cont.)

• The Union movement then began to decline
• Successes quieted labor militancy
• of blue-collar laborers fell
• Growing portion of workers in public,
  white-collar, and service employment proved
  difficult to organize
• By 1960--31 of workers were union members

41
Prosperity and the Suburbs

• Consumerism increased
• Rising purchasing power
• Expanding credit
• Advertising
• 1950s58 million cars were purchased
• Improved mobility
• Contributed to increased highway fatalities, air
  pollution, and the movement of whites to suburbs

42
Prosperity and the Suburbs (cont.)

• Growth of suburbs
• Govt. highway building
• Loans
• Tax credits
• Allowed city dwellers to purchase homes in the
  suburbs
• Construction industry built 2 million new home
• 85 of them in suburbs
• 20 million Americans moved to the suburbs
• By 1960--suburban population of the U.S. equaled
  that of the central cities

43
Prosperity and the Suburbs (cont.)

• Movement of people from Northeast to the Sun Belt
  states
• 1963--CA became the state with the largest
  population
• By 1980--more Americans lived in the South and
  West than in the North and East
• This would boost the of conservatives and help
  the Republicans

44
Consensus and Conservatism

• Togetherness and the Baby Boom
• 1950s Americans married younger
• Largest population growth in any decade
• Increased birthrate
• Medical advances cut infant mortality
• By 1960, 1/3 of the population was under 14 years
  old
• Baby boomers
• Childcare became important
• Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care
• Dr. Benjamin Spock
• Best seller
• Women need to be stay-at-home moms

45
Domesticity

• Women were most content when they fulfilled their
  natural roles of wife, mother, and homemaker
• Fewer men attend college than men
• Almost 2/3s dropped out before graduating
• Numbers of working women began to grow
• 1/3 of labor force
• Low-paying, dead-end positions

46
Religion and Education

• Renewed interest in religion
• Popularity of films and books with religious
  themes
• Growing church attendance
• Inclusion of the under God in the Pledge of
  Allegiance
• Inclusion of In God We Trust on currency

47
Religion and Education (cont.)

• school and college enrollment reached all-time
  peaks
• Focused on social and psychology classes

48
The Culture of the Fifties

• American fiction favored personal issues of
  alienated characters
• Authors
• William Faulkner
• Eudora Welty
• James Baldwin
• Philip Roth

49
The Culture of the Fifties (cont.)

• Hollywood films showed Americans as white and
  middle class
• Ignored minorities and the poor
• Women were shown as cute helpmates and dumb
  blondes
• Movie-going declined
• Television watching increased

50
Television Culture

• Television influenced the economy and culture
• By 1960--90 of all households owned at least 1
  TV
• ABC, NBC, CBS monopolized the industry
• 1.5 billion in advertising revenue
• TV commercials influenced what people read, ate,
  and wore

51
Television Culture (cont.)

• TV industry reflected and influenced the values
  and perceptions of the country
• TV programs avoided controversial or complex
  issues
• soap, unsophisticated comedies, and violent
  westerns
• Fostered consumerism, conformity, complacency,
  racial and gender stereotypes

52
Television Culture (cont.)

• TV also impacted politics
• A politicians TV image became extremely
  important
• McCarthys negative image led to his downfall in
  the Army hearings
• John F. Kennedys telegenic image helped him
  win the presidency in 1960
• TV greatly escalated the cost of campaigning
• Encouraged the 60 second sound bite

53
The Other America

• Poverty and Urban Blight
• 1/5 of Americans lived below the poverty line
• Elderly, migratory agricultural workers, Native
  Americans, Appalachian whites, African-Americans,
  and Hispanics
• City slums
• Low-cost public housing was needed
• Housing Act of 1949
• Only built a small of what it was supposed to
  build

54
African-Americans Struggle for Justice

• Southern African-Americans entered nonviolent,
  direct action
• 1955 Montgomery bus boycott
• Rosa Parks
• Martin Luther King, Jr.

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56
African-Americans Struggle for Justice (cont.)

• Southern Christian Leadership Conference
• Organized by African-American ministers
• Led by King
• Campaign against discrimination

57
Latinos and Latinas

• Mostly poor and discriminated against
• By 1960--almost 1 million Puerto Ricans lived in
  East Harlem
• Struggled with low-paying jobs, poor housing,
  inadequate school, inability to speak English,
  and a new culture

58
Latinos and Latinas (cont.)

• Mexican-Americans in the Southwest were no better
• Bracero program--brought temporary agricultural
  workers in from Mexico
• Keep wages for farm laborers low
• Competition for jobs though
• Many Mexican Americans moved to cities
• Los Angeles
• Denver
• El Paso
• Phoenix
• San Antonio

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60
Latinos and Latinas (cont.)

• During the 1950s, they began to organize and
  protest against discrimination
• Cesar Chavez

61
Native Americans

• Poorest group in the U.S.A.
• The govt. terminated all special federal services
  for Native Americans
• Encouraged the breakup of the reservations
• Transferred more than 500,000 acres of Native
  American land to white
• Further impoverishment and demoralization of
  Native Americans

62
Native Americans (cont.)

• Some transplanted Natives prospered and
  assimilated in cities
• Most could not obtain jobs and survived on
  welfare
• 1/3 returned to their depleted reservations
• National Congress of American Indians condemned
  the termination policy

63
Seeds of Disquiet

• Sputnik
• Russia launched Sputnik in 1957
• Shook American confidence and complacency

64
Sputnik (cont.)

• National Aeronautics and Space Administration
• Created in 1961
• Launched missiles
• Increased federal spending on education
• Focus on engineering, science, and math

65
A Different Beat

• Many teenagers expressed mild cultural rebellion
• Dress enthusiasm for rock and roll
• Elvis Presley

66
Portents of Change

• Late 1950s--first signs of the youth movement
• Beat writers
• Dissatisfaction with contemporary American
  society
• College student protests against
• the House Un-American Activities Committee
• racial segregation
• the nuclear-arms race

67
Conclusion

• 1950s were a complex time
• Americans, on the whole, were conformist,
  complacent, and prosperous
• Eisenhowers policies
• Friendly toward big business
• Did not dismantle New Deal reforms
• Expanded some social welfare programs
• Deficit spending to combat recessions
• Containment of communism

68
Conclusion (cont.)

• U.S. had a tendency to back repressive,
  dictatorial rulers
• As long as they were anticommunist
• The govt. and middle-class Americans largely
  ignored
• persistent poverty
• urban decay
• racial injustice

69
Conclusion (cont.)

• There were glimmers of protest and progress
• Beat writers, social scientists, and disaffected
  youths started to question middle-class values
  and assumptions

70
Conclusion (cont.)

• African-Americans began their nonviolent struggle
  for full equality
• African-Americans made some gains through Supreme
  Court decisions the passage of 2 civil-rights laws