Eisenhower's Presidency

Dwight D Eisenhower won the 1952 presidential elections. He was the Republican candidate, so he believed in letting the economy run itself. Although the Republican party had control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, he did not lower taxes because of the state's debt. He managed to prevent the national debt from rising and avoided inflation.

For the most part, Eisenhower's presidency was dominated by the Cold War. He formed to Pact of Madrid to make an alliance with Spain. He believed in the policy of containment, which was to keep communism from spreading to new areas. To do this, he started using the CIA to carry out covert actions, such as overthrowing leaders of other countries who could potentially be threats to the United States. Eisenhower was also a big supporter of increasing the United States' nuclear power.

During the election, Eisenhower had promised to end the Korean War if he became president. In 1953 a cease fire was established in Korea after Eisenhower threatened to use nuclear force on them. However, Eisenhower was also the first president to send troops into Vietnam. He opposed Britain, France, and Israel's involvement in the dispute in Egypt over the Suez Canal. He convinced them to pull out, but he later said that he regretted it.

~By Erin M