rubber soul

DWIGHT EISENHOWER (Part 2)


Second Term: As Eisenhower’s second term began, the major issues were the strife in the Middle East, the Space race, and at home, civil rights. Eisenhower addressed the Middle east issue with what he called the Eisenhower Doctrine. This one dealt with the Middle east. With this doctrine Eisenhower promised economic and military aid to any middle eastern nation that rejected Soviet Communism. I imagine it didn’t hurt that the Middle East was rich in oil reserves either. In any event, ever since then, the US, Europeans, Russians, Chinese, etc. have been overly involved in Arab affairs and their historical hatred of Israel, who the Christian leaning US blindly allies with, regardless of their politics (Israel has historically wavered from wanting peace to waging World War III on the Palestinians). It’s a quagmire that we have yet to get ourselves out of, so thanks, Ike.

1957 was also the year the Soviets launched the Sputnik Satellite. This especially concerned the Administration, and the American people since it seemed to give the Soviets an advantage in the space race as well. This prompted Congress and the Eisenhower Administration to start its own space program. The US launched their first satellite in January 1958 and created the National Aeronautical Space Agency, or NASA, the following summer. Though initially intended for military use, it would prove to be the leader in space exploration for decades. We can thank Ike for that one too, sincerely this time.

The burning issue in 1957, however, was the Civil Rights movement. In particular was the refusal of southern states to desegregate schools as per the order of the Supreme Court. Virginia responded by refusing to open schools at all.

But it especially got ugly in Arkansas when the Governor mobilized the National Guard to prevent the enrollment of African American students. President Eisenhower may not have been crazy about the Supreme Court decision, but he was a man who believed in the law and as such, would enforce the order. As such, he sent Federal Troops to Little Rock to ensure the students would be enrolled. It wasn’t pleasant as the students were taunted and spat on by those friendly white Christians (yeah, I know, I’m showing my bias here), but they braved the insults and slowly but surely, not only schools, but mostly all institutions would become integrated.

Another milestone was the Civil Rights Act of 1957. It didn’t have the teeth the more famous Civil Rights Act of 1964 would have, but it was nonetheless an important stepping stone in the quest for racial equality. Strom Thurmond knew this, and he did everything he could to block it. He performed with the longest filibuster in Senate history, for over twenty-four hours in fact. In the end, he failed, and the bill passed and would be signed by President Eisenhower.

The remainder of Eisenhower’s term dealt mostly with foreign affairs with the exception of a scandal involving his Chief of Staff, Sherman Adams, forced to resign after accepting improper gifts. He also would lose his Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles, to cancer.

But again, Eisenhower would deal with mostly international issues. In 1958, Vice President Nixon went on a tour of Latin America and met with a somewhat violent reception. Eisenhower sent a thousand troops to the Caribbean in case the violence went beyond the egg throwing incidents (Fortunately, it didn’t).

Closer to home, there was a revolution going on in Cuba, and the dictator, Fulgencio Batista, was overthrown by a revolutionary army led by Fidel Castro. At first, Eisenhower was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, but it soon became obvious the two had different priorities. By the time the Eisenhower Administration had ended, Castro was all but aligned with the Soviet Union and a decades long boycott was placed on Cuban goods. The Cold War was at our doorstep.

Vietnam too was now on our radar and Eisenhower was looking for ways to help the South Vietnamese as well. It clearly became more profound under Kennedy, but the long involvement started with Eisenhower. He had also backed a coup in Guatemala in 1954 on behalf of the United Fruit Company (Folk artists would later have a field day with this).

Of course, none of this mattered to the American public. They were happily watching Leave It To Beaver and keeping up with the latest fads. Indeed, the biggest problem in late fifties America seemed to be the scourge that was rock n roll. Whatever was going on, President Eisenhower gave Americans a sense of security. A false security? Maybe, but there was nothing sinister about it from Eisenhower’s standpoint.

President Eisenhower left office in January 1961 but not before he gave a rather prophetic warning when he warned the public about the military-industrial complex.

And it wouldn’t be very long for the American public to understand what he meant.

Post Presidency: General Eisenhower, as he preferred to be called as opposed to President, left office as one of the most popular Presidents in history. At seventy, he was the oldest President to date, and he decided to retire on his farm in Pennsylvania. Though retired, he was always available to give advice to Presidents Kennedy and Johnson.

Though he was able to travel for a time (He visited Normandy with his wife for example), health issues kept getting in the way. He suffered a major heart attack in 1965 and never really recovered. He spent the last nine months of his life at Walter Reed Hospital where he would be visited by his former Vice President, now President Nixon. Eisenhower died peacefully on March 28, 1969.

Odd notes: Eisenhower named the Shangri-La retreat camp David after his grandson

Despite being the Commander of Armed Forces in Europe, Eisenhower never saw active duty

Final Summary: When I think of the phrase the road is paved with good intentions, Eisenhower comes to mind. He truly thought that the best way to keep Americans safe was to build enough nuclear weapons to destroy the world hundreds of times over. Even his penchant for covert actions (Kennedy initiated the Bay of Pigs fiasco but it started under Eisenhower), had the welfare of the United States in mind. Unfortunately, all it did was to encourage future Presidents to initiate their own misadventures, the Vietnam War only being the tragic tip of the iceberg.

Having said that, Eisenhower accomplished a lot of great things starting with the Interstate Highway System. NASA likely would have not transformed into the great reservoir for space exploration without him lighting the match. And, yes, he did drag his feet when it came to civil rights, but when he had to act, he did, and wouldn’t flinch while doing it.

Because Eisenhower was undoubtedly the perfect President for the conservative, laid back fifties, his standing among historians have risen to the point where he is in some top tens. Of course, I can’t rate him that high because of the covert actions mostly.

But when you compare him to the more recent Presidents, the man looks like George Washington. Why? Because he had the qualities that few Presidents have had but we have always wanted, Integrity, honesty, a certain confidence without being arrogant, and trust.

So, no, he certainly wasn’t perfect, but for a General, he didn’t do too bad.

Overall rating: B

https://millercenter.org/president/eisenhower

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