Eisenhower's Contributions to the Spirit of the American Dream
Dwight D. Eisenhower was president from 1953 to 1961 (Shi and Tindall A120). During this time, he made many important impacts on the American Dream. In fact, before his presidency he made multiple militaristic impacts in society. Eisenhower was the president during an age of economic prosperity and social insecurity. Post war citizens of the 1950s struggled to find their identities. This time period created many social norms that still impact American society to this day (Shi and Tindall 954-961). President Dwight D. Eisenhower made many impacts on the American Dream before his presidency, positive and negative impacts during his presidency, along with impacting history and the arts.
Eisenhower was an important military figure even before he was president. Early in his career, he served under generals John J. Pershing, Douglas MacArthur, and Walter Krueger during World War II. Later in the war, he would command the Allied Forces in 1944 on D-Day, as the supreme commander of the troops invading France. This was a major accomplishment for Eisenhower because he was protecting the United States from Nazi Germany during the largest naval invasion of all time, before even becoming president. This invasion was successful, and being a commander of such a successful operation, he became well known to the American public. He became a leading role model of the time (“Dwight D. Eisenhower” 1). He also helped protect the United States by having supreme command over NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) forces when they were created in 1951. All of this proves that Eisenhower was showing signs of great militaristic authority and organization at the beginning of his career. Eisenhower’s great military career lead to his election in 1953 as the Republican nominee for president (Dwight D. Eisenhower Biography 2).
When Eisenhower became president, he had many positive impacts on the nation. He made many positive economic ideas, and several of them were bipartisan. The president urged for a strong middle class and continued most of the New Deal and Fair Deal programs. Eisenhower’s ability to be bipartisan lead to an overall balanced budget. This expansion of the middle class lead the “American Dream” of the time to be the same for most Americans. They wanted to own their own homes, have a modest, but steady job, and they strove to give their children a better life than what they had. Also, Eisenhower made the American dream possible by protecting the U.S. in the Cold War. He helped create an anti-communism sentiment, while warning that the U.S. must act in caution due to the prospect of nuclear warfare (“Dwight D. Eisenhower” 1). An example of his position on the cold war is when he said this in his inaugural address, “This trial comes at a moment when man’s power to achieve good or to inflict evil surpasses the brightest hopes and the sharpest fears of all ages. We can turn rivers in their courses, level mountains to the plains. Oceans and land and sky are avenues for our colossal commerce. Disease diminishes and life lengthens.” (“Avalon” 2) This basically means that Eisenhower knew the great things that the U.S. accomplished, but he also recognized the terrible things that the new technology, of nuclear warfare, could bring. He knew that he had the great responsibility of keeping peace to ensure that the human race would not become extinct. He did this by negotiating an armistice in the Korean Conflict. He also did not lead the country into war with Indochina in 1954. He encouraged peace in order to not jeopardize the strong economy of the 1950s, and so the war would not interfere with the interstate highway system (“Miller Center: American President: Dwight David Eisenhower: Impact and Legacy” 1-2). Finally, Eisenhower helped desegregate the schools when he sent troops into Little Rock, Arkansas to make sure that the school followed the federal court orders. He also ordered the desegregation of the armed forces. Both of these were expanding on the civil rights of African Americans, but this was all that Eisenhower did for civil rights. Although Eisenhower only expanded civil rights in these two ways, the tone was set for the future civil rights movement of the 1960s. He did this by creating a hope in the minorities that change was possible, but they soon realized that it would be hard fought with a president like Eisenhower. This would set a fire of passion in Civil Rights advocates, and would later inspire a new American dream of hard fought freedom, equality, and individualism (“Dwight D. Eisenhower” 1-2).
Along with the positive impacts of Eisenhower’s presidency, there were also negative impacts. Many of his critics said that Eisenhower’s greatest weakness was the fact that he did not take enough action. In terms of keeping peace, that was a positive thing to protect the U.S. from nuclear war, but in social and political terms it was not. An example of this is that Eisenhower was unwilling to confront McCarthy directly. Eisenhower used his “hidden hand” to help push the senator out of popularity and power. However, in the time that it took for him to do this, McCarthy abused his power. McCarthy ruined the reputations of many that he accused of being “anti-democracy”. This tore Americans further away from the American Dream because of the paranoia instilled by the fear of being accused of being a communist, socialist, or anarchist. McCarthy did not just wrongfully accuse many of treason, but he also used false statistics and did not give defendants fair trials (“Miller Center: American President: Dwight David Eisenhower: Impact and Legacy” 2). Although this created a frenzy of paranoia, such as seen during the Salem witch trials, this was not Eisenhower’s greatest negative impact. Historians agree that Eisenhower’s worst failing was in civil rights. In general, he did not take the stance to advocate for civil rights because it was very controversial at the time. He did not want to lose voting supporters. Instead, he lumped together extremist civil rights advocates with all civil rights advocates, creating a reason to not support civil rights. This furthered America from the American Dream because Eisenhower turned his back on giving minorities basic civil rights. He made it seem acceptable to the American people because he made it seem as if all civil rights advocates were extremists. By stereotyping, he made it harder for the majority of America to sympathize with the majority of civil rights advocates (Shi and Tindall 981).
Dwight D. Eisenhower Farewell Address
http://millercenter.org/scripps/archive/speeches/detail/3361
Questions from Reading
1. Name two positive impacts President Eisenhower made, and how they contributed to the American Dream.
2. Name two negative impacts President Eisenhower made, and how they took away from the American Dream.
3. What militaristic position did Eisenhower hold on D-Day?
Author: Jackie Dambrosio
Dwight D. Eisenhower was president from 1953 to 1961 (Shi and Tindall A120). During this time, he made many important impacts on the American Dream. In fact, before his presidency he made multiple militaristic impacts in society. Eisenhower was the president during an age of economic prosperity and social insecurity. Post war citizens of the 1950s struggled to find their identities. This time period created many social norms that still impact American society to this day (Shi and Tindall 954-961). President Dwight D. Eisenhower made many impacts on the American Dream before his presidency, positive and negative impacts during his presidency, along with impacting history and the arts.
Eisenhower was an important military figure even before he was president. Early in his career, he served under generals John J. Pershing, Douglas MacArthur, and Walter Krueger during World War II. Later in the war, he would command the Allied Forces in 1944 on D-Day, as the supreme commander of the troops invading France. This was a major accomplishment for Eisenhower because he was protecting the United States from Nazi Germany during the largest naval invasion of all time, before even becoming president. This invasion was successful, and being a commander of such a successful operation, he became well known to the American public. He became a leading role model of the time (“Dwight D. Eisenhower” 1). He also helped protect the United States by having supreme command over NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) forces when they were created in 1951. All of this proves that Eisenhower was showing signs of great militaristic authority and organization at the beginning of his career. Eisenhower’s great military career lead to his election in 1953 as the Republican nominee for president (Dwight D. Eisenhower Biography 2).
When Eisenhower became president, he had many positive impacts on the nation. He made many positive economic ideas, and several of them were bipartisan. The president urged for a strong middle class and continued most of the New Deal and Fair Deal programs. Eisenhower’s ability to be bipartisan lead to an overall balanced budget. This expansion of the middle class lead the “American Dream” of the time to be the same for most Americans. They wanted to own their own homes, have a modest, but steady job, and they strove to give their children a better life than what they had. Also, Eisenhower made the American dream possible by protecting the U.S. in the Cold War. He helped create an anti-communism sentiment, while warning that the U.S. must act in caution due to the prospect of nuclear warfare (“Dwight D. Eisenhower” 1). An example of his position on the cold war is when he said this in his inaugural address, “This trial comes at a moment when man’s power to achieve good or to inflict evil surpasses the brightest hopes and the sharpest fears of all ages. We can turn rivers in their courses, level mountains to the plains. Oceans and land and sky are avenues for our colossal commerce. Disease diminishes and life lengthens.” (“Avalon” 2) This basically means that Eisenhower knew the great things that the U.S. accomplished, but he also recognized the terrible things that the new technology, of nuclear warfare, could bring. He knew that he had the great responsibility of keeping peace to ensure that the human race would not become extinct. He did this by negotiating an armistice in the Korean Conflict. He also did not lead the country into war with Indochina in 1954. He encouraged peace in order to not jeopardize the strong economy of the 1950s, and so the war would not interfere with the interstate highway system (“Miller Center: American President: Dwight David Eisenhower: Impact and Legacy” 1-2). Finally, Eisenhower helped desegregate the schools when he sent troops into Little Rock, Arkansas to make sure that the school followed the federal court orders. He also ordered the desegregation of the armed forces. Both of these were expanding on the civil rights of African Americans, but this was all that Eisenhower did for civil rights. Although Eisenhower only expanded civil rights in these two ways, the tone was set for the future civil rights movement of the 1960s. He did this by creating a hope in the minorities that change was possible, but they soon realized that it would be hard fought with a president like Eisenhower. This would set a fire of passion in Civil Rights advocates, and would later inspire a new American dream of hard fought freedom, equality, and individualism (“Dwight D. Eisenhower” 1-2).
Along with the positive impacts of Eisenhower’s presidency, there were also negative impacts. Many of his critics said that Eisenhower’s greatest weakness was the fact that he did not take enough action. In terms of keeping peace, that was a positive thing to protect the U.S. from nuclear war, but in social and political terms it was not. An example of this is that Eisenhower was unwilling to confront McCarthy directly. Eisenhower used his “hidden hand” to help push the senator out of popularity and power. However, in the time that it took for him to do this, McCarthy abused his power. McCarthy ruined the reputations of many that he accused of being “anti-democracy”. This tore Americans further away from the American Dream because of the paranoia instilled by the fear of being accused of being a communist, socialist, or anarchist. McCarthy did not just wrongfully accuse many of treason, but he also used false statistics and did not give defendants fair trials (“Miller Center: American President: Dwight David Eisenhower: Impact and Legacy” 2). Although this created a frenzy of paranoia, such as seen during the Salem witch trials, this was not Eisenhower’s greatest negative impact. Historians agree that Eisenhower’s worst failing was in civil rights. In general, he did not take the stance to advocate for civil rights because it was very controversial at the time. He did not want to lose voting supporters. Instead, he lumped together extremist civil rights advocates with all civil rights advocates, creating a reason to not support civil rights. This furthered America from the American Dream because Eisenhower turned his back on giving minorities basic civil rights. He made it seem acceptable to the American people because he made it seem as if all civil rights advocates were extremists. By stereotyping, he made it harder for the majority of America to sympathize with the majority of civil rights advocates (Shi and Tindall 981).
Dwight D. Eisenhower Farewell Address
http://millercenter.org/scripps/archive/speeches/detail/3361
Questions from Reading
1. Name two positive impacts President Eisenhower made, and how they contributed to the American Dream.
2. Name two negative impacts President Eisenhower made, and how they took away from the American Dream.
3. What militaristic position did Eisenhower hold on D-Day?
Author: Jackie Dambrosio