The American Pageant Chapter 37 The Eisenhower Era, 1952-1960 Cover Slide Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved

The American Pageant

Chapter 37

The Eisenhower Era, 1952-1960

Cover Slide

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Eisenhower happyLike a benign grandfather, Dwight D. Eisenhower provided a reassuring presence in the White House in the 1950s. His moderation, balanced judgment, and apparent aloofness from partisanship appealed to as many as did his fondness for bridge and poker, bourbon, fishing and hunting, and golf. (Courtesy Dwight D. Eisenhower Library)

Eisenhower happy


ElvisIn 1954, Elvis Presley's first record was released and within a year a new rock'n'roll star had burst onto the music scene. Elvis's style blended rhythm and blues, country, and gospel into a unique sound that, along with his body language, created an American icon. (Michael Barson Collection/Past Perfect)

Elvis


Host Dick Clark and teenagers on American Bandstand

In the 1950s the teenage culture of the baby boomers became a national phenomenon through such outlets as Dick Clark's American Bandstand, where teens danced in front of a national TV audience. (Library of Congress)

Host Dick Clark and teenagers on American Bandstand


Map: The Rise of the Third World

The Rise of the Third WorldAccelerated by the Second World War, decolonization liberated many peoples from imperial rule. New nations emerged in the postwar international system dominated by the Cold War rivalry of the United States and the Soviet Union. Many newly independent states became targets of great power intrigue but chose nonalignment in the Cold War.


Indian boy protesting, April 18, 1958One of Eisenhower's goals was to reduce federal spending and controls. In line with this policy, he tried to turn Indian affairs over to the states and liquidate federal services and reservations. Between 1954 and 1960, sixty-one tribes were affected. This picture shows a 4-year-old Tuscarora boy protesting state and federal policies that attacked Indian rights. (Wide World Photos, Inc.)

Indian boy protesting, April 18, 1958


Jackie Robinson baseball promotional bookletJackie Robinson broke the color barrier in major league baseball in 1947, when he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers. After serving as a lieutenant in the army during the war, Robinson, an All-American in football and baseball at UCLA, played with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro American Baseball League until he was signed by the Dodgers in 1945. Moved from the minors to the majors in 1947, he earned "Rookie of the Year" honors and later was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. (Collection of Michael Barson/Past Perfect)

Jackie Robinson baseball promotional booklet


Kennedy campaigningJohn F. Kennedy is surrounded by supporters and the press as he arrives for the 1960 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles. Young, handsome, and articulate, Kennedy introduced new vitality, and perhaps superficiality, into political campaigning. On television and in person, Kennedy was a popular politician; when he became president, he became a media star as well. (Wide World Photos, Inc.)

Kennedy campaigning


Little Rock--white student yelling at Elizabeth Eckford, September 4, 1957Elizabeth Eckford, age 15, one of the nine black students to desegregate Central High School, endures abuse on her way to school. Forty years later, the young white woman shouting insults asked for forgiveness. (Wide World)

Little Rock--white student yelling at Elizabeth Eckford, September 4, 1957


Martin Luther King, Jr. outside courthouse with wife, 1957When Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–1968) and other African Americans, including twenty-three other ministers, provided support and leadership during the Montgomery, Alabama, bus boycott they were indicted by an all-white jury for violating an old law banning boycotts. In late March 1956 King was convicted and fined $500. A crowd of well-wishers cheered a smiling King (here with his wife, Coretta) outside the courthouse, where King proudly declared, "The protest goes on!" King's arrest and conviction made the bus boycott front-page news across America. (Corbis-Bettmann)

Martin Luther King, Jr. outside courthouse with wife, 1957


McCarthyism, "I have here in my hand..."A term invented by cartoonist Herblock, McCarthyism to most liberals and Democrats meant the use of lies, slander, and innuendo to attack and discredit the Democratic party for "twenty years of treason." ("I have here in my hand…" from Herblock : A Cartoonist's Life (Macmillian Publishing Company , 1993))

McCarthyism, "I have here in my hand..."


Nixon and Eisenhower at the 1952 Republican Convention In this picture, the triumphant Republican nominees for the White House pose with smiles and wives--Pat Nixon and Mamie Eisenhower. Seen as a statesman and not a politician during the campaign, Eisenhower worked hard to ensure his nomination over Robert Taft, and then chose Richard Nixon to balance the ticket because he was a younger man, a westerner, and a conservative. (UPI Bettmann Archives)

Nixon and Eisenhower at the 1952 Republican Convention


Rosa Parks and the Montgomery bus boycottA member of the Montgomery chapter of the NAACP since 1943, and the organization's secretary, Rosa Parks had protested segregation by refusing to drink from fountains labeled "Colored Only" and by climbing stairs rather than using segregated elevators. Her act of protest against bus segregation inspired a whole black community to join her cause and sparked the massive nonviolent civil disobedience phase of the struggle against white supremacy. ((c) Bettmann/Corbis)

Rosa Parks and the Montgomery bus boycott


Sit-in--Jackson, Mississippi, May 28, 1963The sit-ins of 1960 initiated the student phase of the civil-rights movement. Across the south, young black activists challenged segregation by staging nonviolent demonstrations to demand access to public facilities. Their courage and commitment reinvigorated the movement, leading to still greater grass-roots activism. (World Wide)

Sit-in--Jackson, Mississippi, May 28, 1963


The Great Kitchen Debate, July 24, 1959At the opening of the American National Exhibit in Moscow, Vice President Richard Nixon and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev engaged in a "kitchen debate," arguing not about the strength of their rockets or bombs but about the relative merits of American and Soviet washing machines and television sets. (Wide World)

The Great Kitchen Debate, July 24, 1959


Westinghouse laundromat adIn the "kitchen debate" of September 1959, Vice President Nixon argued with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev about the types of appliances the average working family in America had in their kitchens. This advertisement showing the range of consumer products made by Westinghouse clearly supports Nixon's claim that American families were affluent enough to furnish their homes with a wide range of products. (Picture Research Consultants)

Westinghouse laundromat ad


Map: Presidential Election, 1960

Presidential Election, 1960In 1960 John F. Kennedy won the closest presidential election in twentieth-century American history. In fact, Richard M. Nixon won the popular votes twenty-six states to Kennedy's twenty-four. In the electoral college, fifteen southerners voted for neither Kennedy nor Nixon but cast protest votes for Harry F. Byrd, a conservative senator from Virginia.


Map: The Election of 1952

The Election of 1952Dwight David Eisenhower and the Republicans swept into office in 1952. Leading the ticket, Eisenhower swamped his Democratic opponent Adlai Stevenson with 83 percent of the electoral vote and 55 percent of the popular vote. Republicans also won majorities in both houses of Congress. In the 1956 presidential election, Eisenhower beat Stevenson by even larger margins, but Democrats regained majority status in Congress.


Kennedy/Nixon Presidential Debate(1960. Great Speeches of the 20th Century, Rhino Records, Los Angeles, CA 1991)

Audio: Kennedy/Nixon Presidential Debate


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The American Pageant Chapter 37 The Eisenhower Era, 1952-1960 Cover Slide Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved