Eisenhower

Eisenhower’s term as President began with a booming economy and shifted into a two year long recession. During this time Americans found themselves going from enjoying new luxuries to not having jobs. There were some people who did not follow the general consensus of buying into new luxurious items just because it was suggested that they do so. Some found the idea of “If it’s good enough for America, it’s good enough me” to be too stifling and didn’t allow for personal individuality (Axia, 2011). In addition to the new found spending of Americans, the rise in middle class neighborhoods caused a population surge which created congestion amongst the roadways. This led to the formation of the Interstate Highway Act. This plan was 90% paid for by federal money which was garnered by the government through special taxes on cars, fuel and auto parts (Axia, 2011). Though expensive and timely to complete it did provide the benefit of allowing Americans the freedom of the open road and linked consumers to previous out of reach markets.

When the recession hit, Eisenhower wanted to limit the government’s involvement while New Deal Democrats were more apt to want to stimulate the economy through tax cuts and deficit spending (Axia, 2011). By the end of his term, Eisenhower’s attempts at sustaining the economy through special plans such as the Interstate Highway Act, St. Lawrence Seaway Act and his views on Farming policies had had mixed results and were not well supported by fellow Republicans. Though he did not continue to serve in the Republican majority in Congress he did eventually gain support from the public and is still considered a top ten favorite President (Axia, 2011).

References

Axia College. (2011) Week Two supplement: Reading Ch. 28 in the test nations of nations. Retrieved from HIS/135 – The American Experience Since 1945 course website.