Conciliation
and
Confrontation
1953-1964
, Eisenhower
• October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969
• He was an American politician and
Army general who served as the 34th
President of the United States from
1953 until 1961. (Republican)
Role as president:
• He won the 1952 and 1956 elections
in landslides, and was the first
Republican winner to accomplish
this since 1928.
• He achieved widespread popular
esteem both in and out of office.
Since the late 20th century,
consensus among Western scholars
has consistently held Eisenhower as
one of the greatest U.S. Presidents.
• His foreign policy consisted of a
‘New Look’, a more hard-line
approach (more cautious in private).
A policy of ‘massive retaliation’
against communism.
, Eisenhower
Foreign Events:
• In 1953, he threatened the use of nuclear
weapons until China agreed to terms
regarding POWs in the Korean War.
• In 1955, Geneva conference, delegation had
prepared 20 "basic documents" and 150
"secondary papers”. It served to reopen
communication. Ike’s popularity index
reached 79% after the conference and it was
to act as a model to the other summits
following.
• He continued Harry S. Truman's policy of
recognizing the Republic of China as the
legitimate government of China, and he won
congressional approval of the Formosa
Resolution.
• His administration provided major aid to
help the French fight off Vietnamese
Communists in the First Indochina War.
After the French left (1954) he gave strong
financial support to the new state of South
Vietnam.
, Eisenhower
Foreign Events:
• During the Suez Crisis of 1956, Eisenhower
condemned the Israeli, British and French
invasion of Egypt, and forced them to
withdraw. He also condemned the Soviet
invasion during the Hungarian Revolution of
1956 but took no action.
• After the Soviet Union launched Sputnik in
1957, Eisenhower authorized the
establishment of NASA, which led to the
space race
• Washington Conference 1959, Khrushchev
visited Eisenhower in DC in September
1959. Alleged want of liquidation of Cold
War tensions.
• May 1960 the Soviets shot down an
American U2 spy plane over Russia. The
resulting charges and counter charges
between the two nations ruined any plans
for another Eisenhower-Khrushchev
summit. By the time Eisenhower left office
in January 1961, the relationship between
the U.S. and the Soviet Union was as bad as
it had ever been. Paris Conference 1960.
and
Confrontation
1953-1964
, Eisenhower
• October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969
• He was an American politician and
Army general who served as the 34th
President of the United States from
1953 until 1961. (Republican)
Role as president:
• He won the 1952 and 1956 elections
in landslides, and was the first
Republican winner to accomplish
this since 1928.
• He achieved widespread popular
esteem both in and out of office.
Since the late 20th century,
consensus among Western scholars
has consistently held Eisenhower as
one of the greatest U.S. Presidents.
• His foreign policy consisted of a
‘New Look’, a more hard-line
approach (more cautious in private).
A policy of ‘massive retaliation’
against communism.
, Eisenhower
Foreign Events:
• In 1953, he threatened the use of nuclear
weapons until China agreed to terms
regarding POWs in the Korean War.
• In 1955, Geneva conference, delegation had
prepared 20 "basic documents" and 150
"secondary papers”. It served to reopen
communication. Ike’s popularity index
reached 79% after the conference and it was
to act as a model to the other summits
following.
• He continued Harry S. Truman's policy of
recognizing the Republic of China as the
legitimate government of China, and he won
congressional approval of the Formosa
Resolution.
• His administration provided major aid to
help the French fight off Vietnamese
Communists in the First Indochina War.
After the French left (1954) he gave strong
financial support to the new state of South
Vietnam.
, Eisenhower
Foreign Events:
• During the Suez Crisis of 1956, Eisenhower
condemned the Israeli, British and French
invasion of Egypt, and forced them to
withdraw. He also condemned the Soviet
invasion during the Hungarian Revolution of
1956 but took no action.
• After the Soviet Union launched Sputnik in
1957, Eisenhower authorized the
establishment of NASA, which led to the
space race
• Washington Conference 1959, Khrushchev
visited Eisenhower in DC in September
1959. Alleged want of liquidation of Cold
War tensions.
• May 1960 the Soviets shot down an
American U2 spy plane over Russia. The
resulting charges and counter charges
between the two nations ruined any plans
for another Eisenhower-Khrushchev
summit. By the time Eisenhower left office
in January 1961, the relationship between
the U.S. and the Soviet Union was as bad as
it had ever been. Paris Conference 1960.
