The Federal-Aid Highway Act:
The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 was passed in June, and was strongly supported by Eisenhower, since it would have both short term and long term benefits. This law authorized the construction of 41,000 miles of interstate highways, and allocated $26 billion to pay for the project. Some of the short term benefits of passing this law were that it would improve the transportation routes across the country, which with an increasing number of cars and trucks in the US was needed to decrease traffic. Another benefit of the new roads constructed was that they were safer to drive on than the previously existing road most of the time, and that they usually consisted of four lanes, providing plenty of driving room. Even more important at the time, the new highways would allow for faster evacuation of US cities, in case of nuclear attacks by the Soviet Union on major US cities. The long term benefits of this law are that it made cross country transportation much easier, and helped to create the highway system that America has today, with over 46,000 miles of interstate highway. Overall, this was a very successful law for Eisenhower, because it provided many short term, as well as long term benefits for America, and created an increase in the number of jobs available, which were in high demand at the time.
The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 was passed in June, and was strongly supported by Eisenhower, since it would have both short term and long term benefits. This law authorized the construction of 41,000 miles of interstate highways, and allocated $26 billion to pay for the project. Some of the short term benefits of passing this law were that it would improve the transportation routes across the country, which with an increasing number of cars and trucks in the US was needed to decrease traffic. Another benefit of the new roads constructed was that they were safer to drive on than the previously existing road most of the time, and that they usually consisted of four lanes, providing plenty of driving room. Even more important at the time, the new highways would allow for faster evacuation of US cities, in case of nuclear attacks by the Soviet Union on major US cities. The long term benefits of this law are that it made cross country transportation much easier, and helped to create the highway system that America has today, with over 46,000 miles of interstate highway. Overall, this was a very successful law for Eisenhower, because it provided many short term, as well as long term benefits for America, and created an increase in the number of jobs available, which were in high demand at the time.
Keeping the US at peace:
Throughout Eisenhower’s two terms as president, his greatest accomplishment is arguably that he managed to keep America at peace, despite the conflict and foreign tension in the world at the time. The main sources of foreign tension at the time were the Soviet Union, and the conflict within Korean. With the conflict in Korea, Eisenhower managed to maintain peace by hinting at his ability, and supposed willingness to use nuclear weapons against China if they got involved to help the communist northern government. This in turn forced the Soviets to step in and help bring an end to the conflict for fear of nuclear war. With the Soviet Union, Eisenhower was faced with a constant struggle that lasted his entire presidency. He did manage to keep the relationship between the US and the USSR fairly steady for the majority of the time, but there were several strenuous moments, such as the U-2 incident, when a US spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union. Even despite setbacks towards achieving peace such as this, Eisenhower managed to maintain peaceful relations between the USSR and the US, making this a successful part of his presidency.
Throughout Eisenhower’s two terms as president, his greatest accomplishment is arguably that he managed to keep America at peace, despite the conflict and foreign tension in the world at the time. The main sources of foreign tension at the time were the Soviet Union, and the conflict within Korean. With the conflict in Korea, Eisenhower managed to maintain peace by hinting at his ability, and supposed willingness to use nuclear weapons against China if they got involved to help the communist northern government. This in turn forced the Soviets to step in and help bring an end to the conflict for fear of nuclear war. With the Soviet Union, Eisenhower was faced with a constant struggle that lasted his entire presidency. He did manage to keep the relationship between the US and the USSR fairly steady for the majority of the time, but there were several strenuous moments, such as the U-2 incident, when a US spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union. Even despite setbacks towards achieving peace such as this, Eisenhower managed to maintain peaceful relations between the USSR and the US, making this a successful part of his presidency.
National Defense Education Act:
Among the most important laws that Eisenhower created was the National Defense Education Act (NDEA) which became a law on September 2, 1958. Eisenhower established the NDEA in response to the USSR’s successful launch of Sputnik into space. The purpose of the NDEA was to prepare and aid the future students of America to help the US beat the Soviets in the space race. To do this, the law created improvements to science, mathematics, and foreign language fields in grades K-12 all across America, and it established support for loans to college students. These advancements in the education of Americans helped to provide the highly trained individuals in the scientific and technical fields, that the US would need to arise victorious over the USSR in the space race. The establishment of the NDEA by Eisenhower helped to improve the educations of Americans from a young age, which in turn led to future advancements in technology and industry, contributing to create the America that exists today.
Among the most important laws that Eisenhower created was the National Defense Education Act (NDEA) which became a law on September 2, 1958. Eisenhower established the NDEA in response to the USSR’s successful launch of Sputnik into space. The purpose of the NDEA was to prepare and aid the future students of America to help the US beat the Soviets in the space race. To do this, the law created improvements to science, mathematics, and foreign language fields in grades K-12 all across America, and it established support for loans to college students. These advancements in the education of Americans helped to provide the highly trained individuals in the scientific and technical fields, that the US would need to arise victorious over the USSR in the space race. The establishment of the NDEA by Eisenhower helped to improve the educations of Americans from a young age, which in turn led to future advancements in technology and industry, contributing to create the America that exists today.