Segregation In United States
Racism in the US:
Like other presidents at the time, Eisenhower faced the challenge of racism within the United States, and even within the government. As a nation, Eisenhower was faced with a country, whose people were divided and had tension increasing between them. This made governing the nation more difficult, because it created one more thing that Eisenhower had to worry about, and deal with along with the Soviets and several other affairs at the time. Within the government Eisenhower like other presidents, had to deal with racist southern politicians, who made certain domestic policies more difficult to uphold. Fortunately for Eisenhower, the majority of the racist politicians were from the Democratic party, which had less of an effect on him and the republican party, than some of the democratic presidents of the 1900s.
Like other presidents at the time, Eisenhower faced the challenge of racism within the United States, and even within the government. As a nation, Eisenhower was faced with a country, whose people were divided and had tension increasing between them. This made governing the nation more difficult, because it created one more thing that Eisenhower had to worry about, and deal with along with the Soviets and several other affairs at the time. Within the government Eisenhower like other presidents, had to deal with racist southern politicians, who made certain domestic policies more difficult to uphold. Fortunately for Eisenhower, the majority of the racist politicians were from the Democratic party, which had less of an effect on him and the republican party, than some of the democratic presidents of the 1900s.
The Space Race:
The space race started on October 4th 1957 when Russia launched Sputnik 1, beating the US’s goal of having a satellite in space by 1958. This victory by the soviets over the US not only proved Soviet superiority, but it was also a wakeup call to Eisenhower and all Americans that the Soviets had the ability to launch nuclear warheads at America from within the Soviet Union. In response to the Soviet success, Eisenhower started several projects such as Project Vanguard and Project Orbiter, which were designed to compete with the Soviet space program. Eventually all US satellite programs were joined together to create the National Aeronautical and Space Administration, better known as NASA. Despite entering the race behind the Soviet Union, Eisenhower was able to advance the US’s space program to the point where the presidents following him were able to win the space race on July 20th 1969, when the US successfully landed two astronauts on the moon. Eisenhower proved to be Essential to this victory over the soviets, with his support of the US space program at the beginning of the space race, making it possible for the US to surpass the Soviets.
Civil Rights:
Eisenhower, like all the presidents of the early and mid 1900s was faced with the challenge of civil rights in America. Some of his earlier actions in regards to civil rights, were to complete the desegregation of the armed forces that Truman had initiated, as well as appointing several African Americans to positions of power within the government. During 1954, the Brown vs. Board of Education trial resulted in segregated schools being considered unconstitutional, but Eisenhower gave no support to the early attempts of desegregation when resistance in the south occurred. In the years preceding 1954, tension between African Americans and white southerners increased, leading to civil rights events, such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Finally events reached a point where Eisenhower was forced to act to prevent further unrest within the nation. This took place in Little Rock Arkansas, where Eisenhower was forced to send in federal troops to escort nine African American students to and from a previously all white school, in order to protect them from mobs of white protesters. These events led to Eisenhower passing the 1957 Civil Rights Act, which ensured African Americans the right to vote. However this wasn’t enough to calm the civil rights activists, who had been asking for the right to vote for over ten years, and had already moved on to bigger goals that Eisenhower didn’t provide for them.
"Today, in 1957, President Dwight Eisenhower deployed the 101st Airborne Division to enforced desegregation in Little Rock, Arkansas.”