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Essay on whether Eisenhower united the us
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Eisenhower was a popular president with a record average 64% approval rating across histwo terms; many Americans attributed the prosperity and unity that characterised 1950s
America to Eisenhower. The three factors that will be discussed in this essay in relation to
whether Eisenhower united the US are Eisenhower’s policies of dynamic conservatism, his
advancement of civil rights and political divisions in the Republican party. The main line of
argument in this essay will be that Eisenhower united the United States through his policies
of dynamic conservatism.
Eisenhower united the United States through his policies of dynamic conservatism.
Eisenhower’s dynamic conservatism can be explained through “conservative when it comes
to money, liberal when it comes to people”; this belief was shown through Eisenhower’s ‘
The chance for peace’ speech in which he described ‘every warship launched’ as ‘theft from
those who hunger’ highlighting his emphasis on social improvements which would lead to
unprecedented prosperity in his years in office. Although Eisenhower’s defence cuts
antagonised Democrats and Republicans as he fell victim to the military industrial complex, it
led to increased social improvements which constituted an economic boom leading to
national unity as it created equal opportunity for attainment of the American Dream. For
example, Eisenhower was able to pass legislation that increased social security benefits and
added 10 million to its coverage in 1954. Additionally, he raised the minimum wage from 75
cents to $1 in 1955 improving the quality of life for working Americans and uniting the
country. Eisenhower’s ‘liberal when it comes to people’ policies were demonstrated through
his efforts to improve education and job opportunities through his interstate highway system.
From 1955, Eisenhower proposed legislation to help finance school construction in poorer
states and in 1958 passed the Nation Defence Education Act. This act gave low cost loans
to college students and federal funds to states to improve their courses in science,
mathematics and foreign languages; not only was this act revolutionary as it introduced the
principle of federal aid to education, it also united the US as the country was making a
collective effort to beat the Soviet Union in the space race and demonstrate their
superiority.Furthermore, Eisenhower’s interstate highway system demonstrated his
moderate republicanism as the largest public works project in US history which employed
millions. The highway system revolutionised American roads by connecting the entire
country and uniting them; it also led to economic growth and created employment
opportunities, something which the economy needed after Truman’s excessive spending on
the Korean war. Eisenhower’s legislation along with his strict regime of low taxes and high
public spending led America into an era of peace and prosperity further uniting the country. It
could be argued that the US was divided by Eisenhower due to political divisions in the
Republican party; not only did the party suffer their worst defeat since the depression in the
1958 elections, divisions were demonstrated in tensions over domestic and foreign policy.
For example, whilst Eisenhower supported NATO and was a “Europe-firster”, the Old Guard
opposed NATO and were Asia-firsters”. However whilst the party did have some divisions,
through Eisenhower's policies of dynamic conservatism he was able to increase national
unity and prosperity leading him to receive a record 64% approval rating over his two terms.
Therefore, through Eisenhower's policies of dynamic conservatism he united the United
States.
Another way in which Eisenhower united the United States was through his advancement of
civil rights. Although Eisenhower retained his conservative stance on civil rights, he
continuously stressed that Supreme Court decisions had to be accepted and the US
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