A Comparison of the Leadership of Eisenhower and Kennedy through the 1950-60’s
Throughout the mid-20th century, the United States went tough trials and times. Domestically, there were racial and civil issues, whereas internationally there was great competition. America succeeded in keeping its status as the most powerful country in the world, behind the presidencies of two revered leaders: Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy. These two men were very well-liked in the eyes of the public and are still remembered fondly for their work and leadership. They united the nation and had the support of the majority of people, yet both had widely different ideals, policies and opinions on how things should be executed. Usually Kennedy is remembered …show more content…
Eisenhower became “dedicated to the conviction that government best by safeguarding the individualism of the governed and allowing maximum liberty within those limits” (Newton 160). This is a very typical conservative view, and meant that Eisenhower would seek out to form a government in which its role in society was to guide and help it but not to control it. So when it came to keeping a healthy economy, Eisenhower would try to retract the government out of affecting it and rely on American businesses in order to keep the economy booming. At the beginning of Eisenhower’s presidency, this was a simple task. As a result of the War, the post-war years had America in a state of economic prosperity. Therefore Eisenhower’s plan worked very well and the Gross National Product more than doubled from 1945 to the end of his terms in 1960, going from $212 billion all the way up to $504 billion. In the end the United States had become the richest country in the world. Eisenhower helped improve the economy by decreasing national spending, especially military spending and not giving out any tax cuts. Eisenhower’s hiccup was the 1958 recession also known as the Eisenhower recession. In 1958, the economy started to take a turn for the worse. After many years of prosperity, the effect of the war started to wear off, less people were buying cars and felt less of a need to spend as much money, lowering the consumption of the American people causing the economy to start to head back to its previous status. Eisenhower though wasn’t going to let the recession ruin his reputation with the people. Therefore he took immediate steps in order to repair the economy and lower unemployment. He did this by following his original ideals and giving power to the states to help their own unemployed better and by providing help to the people. The
Throughout the mid-20th century, the United States went tough trials and times. Domestically, there were racial and civil issues, whereas internationally there was great competition. America succeeded in keeping its status as the most powerful country in the world, behind the presidencies of two revered leaders: Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy. These two men were very well-liked in the eyes of the public and are still remembered fondly for their work and leadership. They united the nation and had the support of the majority of people, yet both had widely different ideals, policies and opinions on how things should be executed. Usually Kennedy is remembered …show more content…
Eisenhower became “dedicated to the conviction that government best by safeguarding the individualism of the governed and allowing maximum liberty within those limits” (Newton 160). This is a very typical conservative view, and meant that Eisenhower would seek out to form a government in which its role in society was to guide and help it but not to control it. So when it came to keeping a healthy economy, Eisenhower would try to retract the government out of affecting it and rely on American businesses in order to keep the economy booming. At the beginning of Eisenhower’s presidency, this was a simple task. As a result of the War, the post-war years had America in a state of economic prosperity. Therefore Eisenhower’s plan worked very well and the Gross National Product more than doubled from 1945 to the end of his terms in 1960, going from $212 billion all the way up to $504 billion. In the end the United States had become the richest country in the world. Eisenhower helped improve the economy by decreasing national spending, especially military spending and not giving out any tax cuts. Eisenhower’s hiccup was the 1958 recession also known as the Eisenhower recession. In 1958, the economy started to take a turn for the worse. After many years of prosperity, the effect of the war started to wear off, less people were buying cars and felt less of a need to spend as much money, lowering the consumption of the American people causing the economy to start to head back to its previous status. Eisenhower though wasn’t going to let the recession ruin his reputation with the people. Therefore he took immediate steps in order to repair the economy and lower unemployment. He did this by following his original ideals and giving power to the states to help their own unemployed better and by providing help to the people. The