Eisenhower Years (1963)

on january twentieth nineteen fifty three Chief Justice Frederick M Vinson administered the oath of office to president-elect dwight d eisenhower I dwight d eisenhower do solemnly swear that you will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States that I will faithfully execute the Office of the President of the United States and will to the best of your ability and will to the best of my ability preserve protect and defend the Constitution of the United States preserve protect and defend the Constitution of the United States so help you God so help me God with this traditional oath dwight d eisenhower became the 34th president of the united states succeeding harry s truman affectionately known as ike president eisenhower came into international prominence as commander-in-chief of Allied forces in Europe during World War two he directed unified operations until the surrender of Germany in 1945 at the war's end he returned home to a hero's welcome following which as a civilian he served briefly as could president of Columbia University in 1950 President Truman recalled Ike from civilian life to organize and direct the military forces of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1952 he signified his availability for the presidential nomination as a Republican he won the party's nomination from Senator Robert a Taft the highly respected leader of Republican conservatives the convention named Richard M Nixon senator from California as Ike's vice-presidential running mate adlai e stevenson governor of illinois headed the Democratic ticket I don't like Texas I doubt if anybody does I shall do everything I can to reduce but I shall make no promises that I know I cannot eat I campaign successfully on the issues of reform a balanced budget governmental centralization and preparedness to preserve world peace from Eisenhower's first inauguration through his repeat victory over Stevenson in 1956 his administration covered eight years of profound social and scientific growth and change the new president organized an executive team of cabinet members and advisers on a staff basis he assigned individual responsibility for administrative action subject to his final approval and gave increased significance to the vice presidency by delegating to mr. Nixon functions in the field of international relations mrs. OV taquawpa v became the first secretary of the new Department of Health Education and Welfare this department has come to sponsor broad programs of research and support in health education and Social Security the Supreme Court became a focal point of national interest following the death of Chief Justice Vinson Earl Warren Governor of California was appointed to succeed him in 1954 the court rendered a verdict of far-reaching social significance by its decision that segregation in text supported schools is unconstitutional in Little Rock Arkansas preparations were being made by the school board for compliance with the court verdict Arkansas's governor Orval Faubus ordered the continuance of segregated schools violence occurred as anti integrationists prevented the enrollment of Negro pupils in hitherto all-white schools in view of continuing resistance the president served notice that the court decision would be firmly upheld he ordered federal troops to Arkansas for the protection of schoolchildren and the maintenance of law and order gradually southern states move toward acceptance of the legal requirements of the constitution on january third 1959 a 49th star was added to the united states flag when the territory of alaska climaxed almost two centuries efforts to achieve statehood admission to the union was celebrated in typical Alaskan fashion the 50th star was added when hawaii became a state on august twenty-first 1959 Governor Quinn with Hiram Fong in Oran long Hawaii's first US senators participated in the statehood day celebration mr. Fong is the first senator of Chinese ancestry in congressional history no Hawaiian celebration is complete without a traditional hula acclaimed as an anti-communist hero and denounced as a threat to civil liberties for his conduct of Senate investigations Joseph R McCarthy became the most controversial political figure of the period this morning we've been holding executive sessions covering the information programs dealing almost entirely today with the voice of America dealing with incompetent waste subversion I may say that we have good reason to believe we'll get full cooperation from the new Secretary of State mr. Dulles I think we can be helpful to him his charges of communist coddling by the army led to a clash with army secretary robert stevens both were subsequently censured by the senate in 1959 the president and mrs. eisenhower joined queen elizabeth and prince philip of england with canada's prime minister john diefenbaker at st. lambert near montreal in ceremonies opening the Saint Lawrence Seaway domestic Commerce and international trade were strengthened as a major of Midwestern cities on a great lakes became terminal ports of transatlantic shipping throughout the state's a vast program of highway construction was effected through matching federal funds in the main the eight years of Eisenhower's leadership constituted a period of prosperity production and consumption of goods reached new heights and the nation's economy enabled the president to balance the budget at the end of his first term with the exception of coal mining and certain depressed industries employment levels remain generally high the Eisenhower years constituted a period of tremendous progress in the fields of scientific research and development a major game against infantile paralysis occurred in 1956 when dr. Jonas Salk's vaccine proved 65 to 85 percent effective a significant scientific achievement in national defense was the design and construction of the atomic powered submarine under the direction of Admiral Hyman rickover Admiral rickover is shown demonstrating the model of the Nautilus the first atomic sub to Secretary of the Navy dan kimball an August twenty-fifth nineteen fifty eight the Nautilus arrived in New York Harbor after a one-month cruise from Hawaii across the top of the world and under the ice of the north pole automation came into common use in the economy the automatic computer but the so-called electronic brain was perfected to solve not only industrial operating problems but also for the launching in guidance of earth satellites and space capsules for this was the period when the Space Age arrived the Soviets gained an early advantage by orbiting Sputnik 1 on October fourth 1957 President Eisenhower authorized the establishment of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration as the United States began to challenge Russia's lead American scientists perfected miniaturized instrumentation for space exploration in 1960 they successfully launched tyros 1 the weather satellite demonstrated here by models tyros orbits the earth at a height of 450 miles it takes a series of photographs each covering 64,000 square miles of the Earth's surface the satellite transmits these photos to earth by television they form the basis of accurate long-range weather reports shared with the world by the United States government by 1959 seven astronauts had been selected for manned space flights the astronauts began rigorous training for their forthcoming explorations in space test shots were fired throughout 19° 59 and 60 with the mercury space capsule in preparation for orbiting a man around the earth and for interplanetary travel it was a period of intermittent global tension requiring constant vigilance by the United States and other democracies to contain communist aggression and prevent so-called brushfire Wars from leading to the atomic destruction of civilization early in the Eisenhower administration one such fire was put out when a truce was negotiated ending the Korean fighting on july 27th 1953 United States General Mark Clark as United Nations commander signed the treaty ending hostilities that began in nineteen fifty in French Indochina communist guerrillas infiltrated North Vietnam despite US aid in arms and supplies France had to accept an armistice yielding control of the colony to the Communists South Vietnam Cambodia Laos and Thailand faced a threat from the Communist dominated territory to counteract that threat Secretary of State John Foster Dulles was instrumental in organizing the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization uniting Australia New Zealand Pakistan the Philippines Thailand and the United States in a defensive alliance against communist aggression in the Middle East a crisis erupted when the Suez Canal was nationalized by egyptian premier abdul nasir Hulk's were scuttled as barricades and the canal was closed to British French and Israeli ships Israel invaded Egypt while England and France send a military expedition to seize the canal zone Russia proposed a Soviet American force to restore order but secretary Dulles prevailed on the combatants to yield to a UN mission pending mediation also in the Mideast a communist faction attempted to overthrow the Lebanese government its president camille chamoun asked for aid from the United States in the first application of the Eisenhower doctrine the president dispatched US Marines to Beirut despite strong russian protests the presence of the Marines quickly restored order when an acceptable plan was adopted in the united nations guaranteeing the integrity of lebanon american troops were withdrawn in favor of a UN force a simmering international problem came to a head in 1958 when the red forces of mao zedong and China's mainland shell the offshore islands of chemo and Matsu garrisoned by troops of the Republic of China the United States seventh Fleet prepared for action though America's allies opposed intervention Chiang kai-shek President of the Republic of China was persuaded by secretary Dulles to disavow intentions to invade the mainland and the shelling dwindled to a stop leaving the China conflict unresolved in Cuba several rebel factions united to fight for the overthrow of dictator Fulgencio Batista during the revolt the American naval base at guantánamo Cuba was reinforced as a precautionary measure but the United States maintained a hands-off policy Fidel Castro leader of the United rebel factions entered Havana in january nineteen fifty-nine following the flight of Batista Castro promised free democratic elections these never materialized brutal executions following his war trials and the Marxist backgrounds of his brother Raul and Ernesto Guevara Castro's chief aides made it increasingly evident that his regime was under Russian influence evidence of communist agents in Latin America had previously appeared in Caracas Venezuela when red inspired mobs disrupted the goodwill tour of vice president and mrs. Nixon in 1958 upon their return to Washington the Nixons were hailed by the president for their courage in the face of political gangsterism a crisis in the Congo reflected the problems of new nations complicated by Russian interference on june thirtieth 1960 King Baldwin of Belgium declared the end of the Congo status as a colony Patrice Lumumba who follow the Communist line was elected premier he demanded immediate withdrawal of Belgium troops anti-western riots resulted in which the Congolese soldiers participated in attacks on European settlers forcing them to evacuate wash ambe the premier of katanga province supported by Belgian troops remaining in his province declared secession from the central Congolese government United Nations secretary-general DAG hammarskjöld flew to katanga when the numba threatened to appeal for Russian aid against the Belgians i'ma show persuaded the Belgians to withdraw president Joseph casa booboo rousted Lumumba from the Premiership and with Colonel Joseph Mobutu expelled communist ambassadors from the Congo countries supporting Hamish old face the problem of preventing Russian interference while refraining from unduly influencing the congos internal affairs the United States provided world leadership against Russian Cold War aggression which underlay world tensions those tensions were heightened when Russia's premiere Joseph Stalin died under mysterious circumstances in 1953 gay orgy melenkov succeeded to the communist leadership during his brief Premiership he announced that Russia had the hydrogen bomb shortly before the big four summit conference scheduled for 1955 at the conference in Geneva Nikita Khrushchev who deposed malankov represented Russia with purple gunnin upon his return to Washington from Geneva President Eisenhower voiced hopes have improved east-west relations of course no one knows but the coming months will tell much but in the meantime we do know that new contacts have been established and there is evidence of a new friendliness in the world in Budapest the program of de-stalinization fostered by Khrushchev was carried by the Hungarians to extremes the threatened Russian control the Hungarian puppet government tried to halt anti-communist demonstrations and a revolt erupted fighting with paving stones and small arms the Hungarian successfully resisted Russian occupation troops for a brief period with on estas Mikah yan Khrushchev went to Hungary ostensibly to parley with leaders of the revolt as read reserves were secretly brought from Czechoslovakia and Romania Khrushchev stalled for time charging their American agents had fomented the uprising the Russian reserves swept across Hungary suppressing the revolt brutally some refugees escaped into Austria others less fortunate were shot down by red border guards in the United Nations ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge spearheaded a vote by the General Assembly condemning Russian intervention in Hungary the vote was 55 28 with 13 abstentions the Berlin situation became critical when Khrushchev demanded the evacuation of Allied troops from the city russia failed to win support of its burden policy in the UN as Britain France and the United States stood firmly on the Berlin treaty true chef was forced to adopt a softer policy in the following period of relaxed tension vice president nixon visited an American exposition in Moscow where he engaged crush off in an impromptu debate you must not be afraid of ideas but we won were William bleeping avoid the CD a number yes tynisha loser will run it is this a working lady paula zahn you are the repeating you provide we don't we are not a paper ID okay well then let's have more exchange other we all agree on that right let me get ashore nothing Oh Shaw paid a return visit to the United States the president entertained him at Camp David in the interests of world peace at that meeting plans were developed for a second summit conference at Paris in nineteen sixty plans for the summit meeting were well advanced and the big four national leaders had arrived in Paris preliminary discussions of the agenda were underway when an American u2 plane comparable to the one shown here took off from a base in Turkey it was shot down in Russia the Communists claimed the four pilot Francis Gary Powers confessed to being on a photo spy mission the Central Intelligence Agency denied this claim but the president verified powers admission crew chef used the incident as a reason for withdrawing from the summit conference throughout his administration President Eisenhower dealt firmly with Russian threats to advance the freedom of mankind in the American tradition in accordance with the 22nd amendment ratified in 1951 President Eisenhower was ineligible to seek a third term in 1960 the republican party nominated vice president nixon and Senator John F Kennedy of Massachusetts was the candidate of the Democrats the Democratic nominee was elected in one of the closest votes in national history following the election President Eisenhower invited president-elect Kennedy to the White House to plan the orderly transfer of executive powers after January 21st 1961 Ike retired to his farm near historic Gettysburg upon the completion of half a century of dedicated service to his country as soldier and as president you