Mdn Chapter 40 Notes
Chapter 40 - The Eisenhower Era 1952 – 1960
1. The Advent of Eisenhower
1. Election of 1952: Democrats not favored- had not succeeded in Korea, Truman had retired McArthur, war had caused inflation, and there were accusations of scandal amongst communist-hunters
2. Democrats chose Adlai E. Stevenson, the witty, eloquent, idealistic governor of Illinois
3. Republicans rejected isolationist Robert A. Taft and instead chose World War II hero Dwight D. Eisenhower to run for president and California anticommunist Richard M. Nixon to be his running mate (pleased Taft’s supporters a bit).
4. Eisenhower was a war hero (supreme commander of Allied forces in Europe, army chief of staff and supreme commander of NATO after war) and was liked by everyone (had a good TV grin and personality—she loves to ask about their looks on tests!). Also briefly president of Columbia University.
5. Took the grandfatherly approach and left the rough part of campaigning to Nixon, who attacked Stevenson as soft against Communists, corrupt, and weak in the Korean situation.
1. Nixon then almost got caught with a secretly financed “slush fund” from when he was a Senator, but to save his political career, he delivered his famous, touching “Checkers Speech,” in which he talked about his family and specifically mentioned his cocker spaniel, Checkers—this is another VERY IMPORTANT name you MUST keep in mind for the AP test, because the AP people love to hear about Checkers and Spot and on occasion even Paul Revere’s horse, Brown Beauty. In case you are wondering, too, our current president’s dog’s name is Bo.
6. The “Checkers speech” showed the awesome power of television, (foreshadowed by FDR w/ radio), since Nixon had pleaded on national TV, and even later, “Ike,” as Eisenhower was called, agreed to go into studio and answer some brief “questions,” which were later spliced in and edited to make it look like Eisenhower had answered
1. The Advent of Eisenhower
1. Election of 1952: Democrats not favored- had not succeeded in Korea, Truman had retired McArthur, war had caused inflation, and there were accusations of scandal amongst communist-hunters
2. Democrats chose Adlai E. Stevenson, the witty, eloquent, idealistic governor of Illinois
3. Republicans rejected isolationist Robert A. Taft and instead chose World War II hero Dwight D. Eisenhower to run for president and California anticommunist Richard M. Nixon to be his running mate (pleased Taft’s supporters a bit).
4. Eisenhower was a war hero (supreme commander of Allied forces in Europe, army chief of staff and supreme commander of NATO after war) and was liked by everyone (had a good TV grin and personality—she loves to ask about their looks on tests!). Also briefly president of Columbia University.
5. Took the grandfatherly approach and left the rough part of campaigning to Nixon, who attacked Stevenson as soft against Communists, corrupt, and weak in the Korean situation.
1. Nixon then almost got caught with a secretly financed “slush fund” from when he was a Senator, but to save his political career, he delivered his famous, touching “Checkers Speech,” in which he talked about his family and specifically mentioned his cocker spaniel, Checkers—this is another VERY IMPORTANT name you MUST keep in mind for the AP test, because the AP people love to hear about Checkers and Spot and on occasion even Paul Revere’s horse, Brown Beauty. In case you are wondering, too, our current president’s dog’s name is Bo.
6. The “Checkers speech” showed the awesome power of television, (foreshadowed by FDR w/ radio), since Nixon had pleaded on national TV, and even later, “Ike,” as Eisenhower was called, agreed to go into studio and answer some brief “questions,” which were later spliced in and edited to make it look like Eisenhower had answered