Chapter 38 Reading Guide

The Eisenhower Era 1952-1960

Terms: Nixon, Eisenhower, Checker’s speech, McCarthy, M.L. King, Jim Crow Laws, Emmett Till, Jackie Robinson, Rosa parks, Montgomery Bus Boycott, To Secure these Rights, Earl Warren, Thurgood Marshall, Civil Rights Act of 1957, SCLC, SNCC, Greensboro Sitins, AFL-CIO, Operation Wetback, John Foster Dulles, Ho Chi Minh, Dienbienphu, Diem, Seato, Suez Crisis, Landrum Griffin Act, Sputnik, Missile Gap, National Defense and Education Act 1958, U-2, Eisenhower Doctrine, Kitchen Debate, JFK, LBJ, Elvis Presley, Betty Friedan.

  1. Eisenhower as President
  1. The Advent of Eisenhower
  2. Why were Democratics hopes so dismal for the election?
  3. Why was Nixon chosen as the Vice Presidential candidate?
  4. What were the political assets of Eisenhower in 1952?
  5. Why did Eisenhower consider dropping Nixon from the ticket? How did Nixon stay on the Ticket?
  6. What did the “Checker’s Speech” reveal about the political power of T.V.? How did T.V. affect political parties?
  7. What were the results of the election?
  1. “Ike” Takes Command
  2. What pledge did Eisenhower make regarding Korea?
  3. How did the Korean War end?
  4. How did Eisenhower’s style help to sooth American fears during the Cold War?
  1. The Rise and Fall of Joseph McCarthy
  2. How did McCarthy become a national political figure? How did his party use him?
  3. What did American people think of McCarthy?
  4. How did McCarthy’s purges affect American Asian policy?
  5. What finished McCarthy?
  1. Inequality for African Americans and the Beginning of the Civil Rights Movement.
  1. Desegregating the South
  2. How many blacks lived in the U.S. in 1950? What proportion lived in the South?
  3. Describe the life of blacks in the South under Jim Crow.
  4. How many blacks were registered in the South? Deep South? Why might this have been?
  5. What happened after the black veterans after the war?
  6. Why was Emmett Till lynched?
  7. Describe the progress in race relations in 1946-50.
  8. What successes did the NAACP have combating segregation before 1951?
  9. What brought M.L. King to a leadership position in the civil rights struggle?
  1. Seeds of the Civil Rights Revolution
  2. How did Truman respond to the lynching of black vets after war? What actions did he take? Explain the significance of those actions.
  3. What was the attitude of Eisenhower towards racism?

C. Crisis at Little Rock

  1. Explain the significance of Brown vs. board of Education. What case did it overturn?
  2. What did the response of the Southern states to the Brown case?
  3. How did Eisenhower respond to the Little Rock Crisis?
  4. What did the Civil Rights Bill of 1957 do? How effective was it?
  5. What was the purpose of the SCLC?
  6. Why was the SNCC formed?

III. Eisenhower’s Policies

A. Eisenhower Republicanism at Home

  1. What was “dynamic conservatism”?
  2. How did Eisenhower change previous policy on defense spending?
  3. How did Eisenhower’s domestic policy differ form the previous administration?
  4. How did Eisenhower’s policy towards the Indians differ from the New Deal?
  5. How successful was Eisenhower in balancing the budget?

B. A New Look in Foreign Policy

  1. How did Dulles and other hard-line Republicans wish to change the containment policy
  2. Why was massive retaliation cheaper than the containment policy? How effective was this policy? What was the flaw in this policy?

IV. Foreign Problems

A.The Vietnam Nightmare

  1. What were the Vietnam accords of 1954? Why weren’t elections held in Vietnam?
  1. A False Lull in Europe
  2. How did the Cold War ease in 1955? Why did it return in 1956?
  1. Menaces in the Middle East
  2. Why did the CIA cause a coup in 1953 in Iran?
  3. Why did Nassar nationalize the Suez Crisis?
  4. How did Eisenhower extend the Truman Doctrine?

V. Eisenhower’s Second Term

A.Round Two for Ike

  1. What were the issues of the 1956 campaign?
  2. What were the results? How long were Eisenhower’s coattails?
  3. What happened to Eisenhower’s top two advisors early in his 2nd term?
  4. Why was the Landrum-Griffin Act passed?
  1. The Race with the Soviets into Space
  2. How did Americans react to Sputnik?
  3. How did Sputnik affect the U.S. educational system?
  1. The Continuing Cold War
  2. How did the U.S. fulfill the Eisenhower Doctrine in 1958?
  3. How did the shooting down ot the U-2 affect the Paris Conference of 1960?
  1. Cuba’s Castroism Spells Communism
  2. How did the CIA coup in Guatalmala in 1954 affect Latin American relations?
  3. How did relations with Cuba deteriorate after Castro’s revolution? Why?

VI. Election of 1960

A.Kennedy Challenges Nixon for the Presidency

  1. How did Nixon differ form previous Vice Presidents?
  2. Why did JFK offer LBJ the Vice Presidency?
  1. The Presidential Issues of 1960
  2. To what extent was Catholicism an issue in the election?
  3. Why was Nixon vulnerable to JFK’s attacks?
  4. What were the results o the election?
  1. An Old General Fades Away
  2. Summarize the assessment of Eisenhower’s Presidency in your book.

VII. Postwar America

A. Changing Economic Patterns

  1. What was crucial to the new life style of the 1950’s? Explain.
  2. How did the work force change?
  3. How were women affected?
  4. Explain the importance of Betty Friedan.

B. Consumer Culture in the Fifties

1. How did the widespread ownership of TV’s affect society?

  1. How did pop music change in the ‘50s? Who were the influences on early rock and roll?
  2. What did Galbraith call for?

C. The Life of the Mind in Postwar America

  1. How were Heller and Vonnegut Jr.’s writings different than Mailer and Jones writings?
  2. Explain the importance of Richard Wright and Ralph Ellison.