NSC-68, Election of 1948, Election of 1952, Military-Industrial Complex, etc.

1. Impact of Cold War

2. National Security Act (1947)
Created a new Dept. of Defense
 Combined War & Navy Depts.
 Headed by a civilian
Created a National Security Council
Created the CIA
Gave President/White House expanded powers

3. Election of 1948
Thomas Dewey, Governor of NY
 Had lost election of ‘44 to FDR
Surprise victory for Truman
Polls had written him off in fall of ‘48
He continued to campaign vigorously
 Traveled 30K+ miles
 “Victory Special”
“Give ‘em hell Harry”

4. NSC-68
National security report from 1950
U.S. could not expect other countries to stop
communism
U.S. must est. itself as active leader in
noncommunist world
Called for an expansion of the military
power/defense budget

5. McCarthyism
Republican Senator from Wisconsin, 1947-1957
Burst into national spotlight in 1950
Claimed to have a list of 205 known communists in State
Dept.
Repeated & expanded accusations
In 1952 he was appointed chairman of a special
subcommittee that investigated subversion w/in gov’t
Went after Army & General George Marshall in 1954;
televised hearings showed his tasteless tactics; damaged
reputation

6. Election of 1952
Eisenhower defeats Stevenson in a
landslide
55% of popular vote, 442 to 89 in
EC
“I Like Ike” & “K1C2”
Stevenson=Governor of Illinois
Eisenhower’s VP=Nixon
Checkers Speech

7. Economically
Military spending increased:
Between 1900-1930, military spending was less than
1% of GDP
By 1961, that number was 10% (chart, p. 807)

8. Industrial
Arms Race!
Affected all Americans with a climate of fear and
uncertainty
Bomb shelters, civil defense drills, atomic research
testing
Concern over radioactivity of above ground tests,
later found to be a health issue
Very expensive which bothered Ike who wanted a
balanced budget

9. Industrial
1960: Ike tried to negotiate an arms limitation
agreement with the Soviets
May 5, 1960: Soviets shot down an American U-2
spy plane over their territory and captured and
imprisoned its pilot
Ike later admitted he authorized the mission and
others like it, and therefore his chance to negotiate
an arms agreement was gone

10. Pentagon
1960: became its own democracy
Federal funds overwrote 90% of the cost of research
on aviation and space
Subsidized the scientific, auto, and electronics
industries
This allowed for rapid creation of products

11. Pentagon
Created a strong defense industry
Boeing, Lockheed were examples of companies that
did its work almost exclusively with the Pentagon
People owed their jobs to this buildup, and many
areas of the US received a lot of money (especially in
the south and west)

12. Final thoughts
Drawback: little money was spent on domestic needs
due to amount going to military
Ike’s last speech: warned of a “military-industrial
complex”

13. Quotes
Its influence “is felt in every city, every statehouse,
every office of the federal government”
“guard against the acquisition of unwarranted
influence, whether sought or unsought, by the
military-industrial complex”
“never let the weight of this combination endanger
our liberties or democratic processes”