Eisenhower's Presidency

As President Truman’s presidency drew to a close, voters were disappointed with the Democratic Party for the stalemate in the Korean War and for the sweeping wave of McCarthyism. Since his approval rating declined to a meager 23 percent, Truman decided not to run for reelection in 1952. Due to discontent with the Democratic Party, voters elected General Dwight D. Eisenhower over his Democratic opponent, Governor Adlai Stevenson.

As Eisenhower entered the presidency, and his running mate, Richard Nixon, took office as Vice President, it became clear that the new administration would take a new approach to government. Eisenhower’s “dynamic conservatism,” or “Modern Republicanism,” was a middle-of-the-road approach involving fiscal conservatism and social liberalism. Among his accomplishments in the domestic arena were balancing the budget, cutting taxes, and raising the minimum wage. He also extended Social Security and unemployment benefits, increased funding for public housing, and played a part in the formation of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.

The fiscal responsibility and social reform of the Eisenhower administration ushered the United States into the age of prosperity typically associated with the 1950s. For example, the Interstate Highway Act of 1956 laid down plans for 41,000 miles of freeways, networked across the country. This legislation boosted the appeal of the automobile and gave Americans a way to leisurely spend their time—by embarking on family road trip vacations and visiting national parks. Another example of the Eisenhower administration’s influence on American culture could be found in the growing consumerist mentality of the American people. Because Eisenhower minimized government spending, cut taxes, and raised the minimum wage, middle-class Americans generally had more money to spend. The comfortable financial situation of the nation’s middle class caused people to embrace consumerism, associating success with the accumulation of material goods such as automobiles, houses, household appliances, televisions, and other consumer products.

Eisenhower’s “reign” was not absolutely successful. Despite the relative comfort of the middle class, the urban poor witnessed little improvement in quality of life, partly because of the fact that middle and upper class Americans flocked to the suburbs, leaving cities unbalanced and poor. Furthermore, Eisenhower did little to promote civil rights. In the Cold War, Eisenhower focused on the development of nuclear weapons, following a policy of brinkmanship, and he issued the Eisenhower Doctrine in 1957, pledging to defend the Middle East against attacks from communist countries. His failure to focus on a space program, however, provoked fears that the Soviet Union would overtake the United States, especially after the USSR launched Sputnik into space in 1957. Despite inaction with regard to civil rights and a questionable Cold War policy of brinkmanship, the eight years during which Dwight Eisenhower was President are generally remembered as a time of peace and prosperity.