The Eisenhower years; 12; White House Years - The Second Term

The following program is made possible by a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. If we met him go to school when I am 18 years from today be happy man. I have to date you should an executive order directing the use of troops under federal authority. To aid in the execution of federal law at Little Rock Arkansas. We are now on an occupied territory. I don't think there were a few hours ago. A battalion of United States Marines. Landed and took up stations in about. The city of Beirut. Let us not try to bury one another in this car. Guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence whether sought or runs on by the military industrial complex. The Eisenhower year. A Chronicle in sound of the life of

Dwight Eisenhower by extension Radio-TV at Kansas State University. This week. The White House years the second term. Your wife is in the house. Do solemnly swear or do solemnly swear. Monday January 21st 1957 Dwight Eisenhower took the oath of office publicly for his second term. His second inaugural address was brief the first he said was too long. This one again stated the Eisenhower goals of peace and brotherhood made the turbulent yield to that time of peace when many nations share a life that honors the dignity of each the brotherhood

of all those tenants were to be given strenuous testing the ensuing four years one of the first problems of 57 had followed him from 56 the Mid East remained in turmoil. Israeli troops were still occupying parts of Egypt. Ike went before a joint session of Congress to ask for presidential authority to send American aid and if necessary American troops to any Mideast nation asking for help against communist aggression. It is my belief that our purpose be broken by the requested legislation that very well certainly follow any contemplated Congress gave Eisenhower the authority he asked for. It became known as the Eisenhower doctrine Ike would use it in 1958. I was the situation in the Mideast grew worse. I could get moved to Israel had ignored six UN resolutions that she remove her troops from Egypt in the interest of peace. United Nations has no choice but to exert pressure upon Israel to comply with the withdrawal resolution. We should not assume that if Israel withdraws

Egypt will present Israeli from the Suez Canal or the Gulf of Aqaba. Unhappily Egypt does here after violate the armistice agreement or other international obligations. Then this should be dealt with firmly by the society of nations. US pressure added to the other caused Israel to withdraw without the guarantees she wanted against Egyptian aggression temporarily the Mideast had cooled. But domestically the heat was just beginning. The issue was school integration ordered by the US Supreme Court. Eisenhower had mentioned it in his State of the Union address. I urge the people in all sections of the country to approach these integration problems with calm. With mutual understanding and goodwill and in the American tradition of respect for the orderly processes of law and justice. Let him go to school and I won't be ten years from today.

Yet in Washington DC back I want to again maintain our Southern well why we are going to do something about the immigration issue and smouldered in 56. There had been trouble unclipping Thomas E.. The FBI had arrested 16 people for violating a federal court order and forcing integration there in Montgomery Alabama. There had been a successful bus boycott and a new black leader had emerged nationally. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. give us the ballot. And we will no longer have to worry the federal government about basic rights you have about. And we will quietly and nonviolent now without the right kind of bitterness implement the Supreme Court decision of May 17 1954 with an eloquent activist who believed in nonviolence. His plea was for a civil rights bill to guarantee southern blacks the vote of a

Southern bloc in Congress fought it tooth and nail. Georgia Senator Herman Talmage led the fight this so-called civil rights bill. Would any be any civil right it would merely take away civil rights people brazenly endure the civil rights proposal finally passed but was to lose it. Now there was violence and Nashville Tennessee a grade school was blown up and in Little Rock Arkansas governor Orval Faubus ordered out the National Guard to keep blacks from attending Little Rock Central High School. Being aware of the overwhelming evidence of the impending disorder which could lead to violence and even bloodshed. I have therefore in accordance with the solemn responsibilities and the oath of my office made the decision to act and to act now. A week went by without incident Littlerock officials said they saw no evidence of any impending disorder. Still Governor Faubus kept the guard on. A federal judge ordered the

high school integrated wants us asked for and got a meeting with President Eisenhower following that meeting White House Press Secretary James Haggerty read a statement from Ike. The governor stated his intention to respect the decisions of the United States district court and to give his full cooperation in carrying out his responsibilities in respect to these decisions. In so doing I recognize the inescapable responsibility resting upon the Governor. Law and Order in his state. Another week passed and father still had not withdrawn the guard. A federal court issued an injunction calling on him to stop blocking the integration plan. Now that a federal court has chosen to substitute its judgment for mine as to how the peace and order should be preserved I must temporarily at least abide and therefore I have issued orders that all units of the Arkansas National Guard stationed at the High School in Little Rock. Bitter mood learn from as soon as this

can be accomplished. When blacks try to enroll at Central High on the following Monday a riot broke out white students boycott of the school and President Eisenhower took action. Mob rule not be allowed to override of our courts. Whenever normally is proven adequate to the task. And it becomes necessary for the executive branch of the federal government to use its powers and authority to uphold federal courts. The president's responsibility is inescapable. In accordance with that responsibility I have today issued an executive order directing the use of troops under federal authority. To aid in the execution of federal law at Little Rock Arkansas Eisenhower's action took control of the National Guard away from Faubus. He also ordered a thousand troops of the 100 first airborne division into Little Rock

and under their watchful eye. Nine black students entered Central High School. We are now an occupied territory. Evidence could force the federal government is here. A parent empties the sheath bayonet in the back after school girl. They are there to have owned a quarter of them under a law that passed in 1792 because it was early discovered that unless we supported the court in whose hands are all our freedoms and our liberties our protection against autocratic government. Then the kind that would not work because fathers fail to guarantee the safety of the black children at the school. I kept 100 first on duty at Central High for nearly two months. By then tempers have cooled. Central High was integrated but tense. Eisenhower critics would

later laud the president for his action in Little Rock. But fault him for not lending more have is immense power and prestige and stature to the cause of American blacks. If there was a sound of 1957 that is if the voice of Russia's Sputnik was the first satellite the opening of the space age. And it had been the Russian bear and not the American Eagle and Radio Moscow trumpeted it. And you're right. President Eisenhower made a series of speeches to assure the nation the United States was not dangerously behind the Russians. It is my conviction. Supported by the scientific and military advisors. That are quite likely in some missile and special areas. And are

obviously in satellite development. As of today the overall military strength of the pre-work is distinctly greater than that of the communist country. Ike appointed a science advisor stepped up the space program but he would not be until early 1958 that the United States would successfully orbit a satellite and the so-called missile gap would remain a political issue into the early 60s. Ike's health in 1957 had been a question he'd suffered a cold in January and couldn't seem to shake its affects. Then on November 25th the president come frm there. The president separated on a branch of the middle artery on the left side. Ike had suffered a mild stroke his third major illness in three years. But again a remarkable Eisenhower recovery and just three weeks later new secretary Haggerty announced a consultant for the president's recovery

structure or Madame they're with me. The Paris meeting was of the 50 neato countries the U.S. wanted to put missile bases in those nations but the Russians had warned of dire consequences if that happened they don't want me to get it to consider a new element. In the challenges we face we shall meet in unity. We should be striving not only to strengthen NATO but we shall also address ourselves to other Eich had to compromise at Paris. But eight whole nations agreed to accept American missiles the U.S. agreed to a summit meeting with Russia in July of 58 another crisis in the Mideast. The president evoked the Eisenhower doctrine and sent American Marines into Lebanon. Yesterday was a day of grave developments in the Middle East war nonaligned by these developments. President of

Lebanon sent an urgent plea that the United States station some military units. After giving this plea earnest thought. And after taking advice from leaders of both the executive and congressional branches of the government I decided to comply with the pleas of the government of Lebanon. A few hours ago. A battalion of United States Marines. Landed and took up stations in and about. The city of Beirut when this Lebanon incident took place. Eisenhower presidential aide Arthur Larson telegram from Sherman and from Sammy Sue who was the premier they were worried about their government falling because of the infiltration of people from Egypt and so on a certain amount of internal disorder and the whole Cabinet asked Eisenhower to send in some military troops.

By the end of the morning all the for all the leaders the cabinet the congressional leaders had been consulted and by early afternoon 15000 troops were on their way to this country. Then less than two million population. And there was quite an argument that morning between some of his military advisers who wanted troops to go right back into the countryside go up in the streets of Beirut start shooting around the corners of the houses showed that we could win this guerrilla kind of warfare. You see Eisenhower said nothing doing. We come on to the beach. And if that isn't enough with the government with this show strength can't survive then probably we shouldn't be there in the first place and we could leave as quickly as we got in and there would be none of this bogged down in the countryside in an endless guerrilla war like crisis in Lebanon abated by October. The US troops left but on the other side of the world the Red Chinese picked it up again.

Heavy shelling of the offshore islands of Ike warned the Chinese the US would fight if necessary to protect the Chinese Nationalist if the president didn't have assessment should be converted into a major result with which the law could not. Be compelled to face the situation that Congress visualized in 1950. I have to make clear I've seen this matter so that there will not be danger of communist miscalculation Eichler to the Seventh Fleet used it to convoy materials from Formosa to the offshore islands and September Secretary of State Dulles conferred with Chiang Kai-Shek announced the Nationalist Chinese would not attempt to return to the mainland by force and would reduce their forces on the offshore islands the Red Chinese announced a cease fire on even numbered days and the crisis eased. But while Ike was fighting fires abroad one broke out in the White House. His key aide Sherman Adams was accused of conflict of interest of receiving gifts from Boston

businessman Bernard Goldfine Adams admitted accepting those gifts but denied ever trying to influence officials in gold find behalf. Nonetheless the pressure mounted and Adams announced his resignation early this morning from Washington thank you. I conferred with him and in the course of that plant rooms I attended my resignation. I think this was one of the most tragic and regrettable episodes I have ever witnessed at close range in the government. My admiration for Sherman Adams is almost on bonded and I saw this man do an appallingly difficult job day in and day out in Washington. With almost no credit and nothing but blame because he was the man that started the portal so to speak. Saw to it that all sorts of little annoyances and small questions and even little medium sized troubles didn't reach. Eisenhower. He settled them before they got there. He took the brunt of it

and. In that way it seems to me made it possible for Eisenhower to make the big decisions of that and make them with great care. The paradox of this whole story appointments it was partly in the fact that there never was a man of such incredible integrity in Washington. This man is the very model of a careful prudent government servant and I know of no evidence and I feel rather comical that I'm right that Mr. John Adams never lifted his wife or his finger to influence or improperly any government agency because it's a gold mine or anybody else. You're very unwise and totally uninfluenced in my calculus. I think as a man of integrity 1959 was for Ike a year of international relations. The year began with the fall of Batista and Cuba and the emergence of rebel leader Fidel Castro. Shoulder goal became president of France for a seven year term.

Early in the year Ike was shaken by the illness and death of his Secretary of State John Foster Dulles Dulles resigned in April died in May. I called him the greatest secretary of state in history. But his passing marked a change in American foreign policy. Roscoe Drummond while President Eisenhower was an ardent advocate summitry Douglas was an ardent opponent of summitry. And therefore the impact dullish was took counsel against summer tree unless the preparations had progressed enough on one or more issues so it would be evident that the summit would accomplish something rather than end up in failure. I think that the dollars died then that pressure against meeting at the top level was diluted. Christian Herter was a able man but certainly not as forceful a

secretary and Dulles had been and I think that the president ne n didn't want to complete his two terms without a try. The triad that year was an invitation to Soviet Premier Khrushchev to visit the United States. He accepted chairman of. The Iraq m you your family and party for the United States. I am looking forward to the park. We ride together. The police. Go in search of some of our two countries differ greatly. In our system of the people themselves Earth everything can probably look Governor. You will find that they. Like your people. Want to live in peace with just your long time show which social system is better. It sure was if the people see that your system is better. Let that be protruded times if the

people think they are good you can take our system and not try to bury one another if you prefer to live under your own faith and God be with you. I saw President Eisenhower approaching the number out at the airport and he wasn't sure whether you ought to be too friendly with him or not. Khrushchev was such a kind of effervescent or. Warm guy and warm man on some occasions he could be cold and frigid oneanother but he was one of these bubbly effervescent type people that he and he kind of made a hit in the United States and there is it is no one in the Russian Circles and he was very fond of Eisenhower. You know he was two different men. He of course he played the same track record of communists who played there is inside the first one which in 1941. But. Spite of that stubborn. Ideology he was expounding. They came to see your grandchildren or visit with you in their home while you're doing your gallery.

Why he was a very pleasant man and it was he just captivated my grandchildren they were all about this size him and he just kept his it was capped by three days of talks between the two leaders at Camp David Maryland when it became a contest of wills up at Camp David and he was determined to have a summit and I said Never along as a Soviet made him and you know we've been so used to it. Well he finally surrendered and said all right he said you make the announcement on Tuesday or Wednesday morning I'll confirm it and he did. Ike And Chris just agreed on further talks on the Berlin issue and of expansion of U.S. Russian exchange programs. The talks became known as the spirit of Camp David. That spirit carried forth in a series of world trips I made the first in December of 59 to Europe the Middle East and Asia. And I was a star attraction wherever he went for example to my party when I respond to your warm words of welcome by saying

somewhat haltingly I fear. But nevertheless sincerely choked him. During that tour I could conferred with Macmillan de Gaulle and an hour in Paris and they had invited Khrushchev to a summit meeting in early summer. He had accepted in February and March of 1968 Ike made another trip a two week tour of Latin America. But on the 3rd of May the spirit of Camp David was shattered. The national space agency announced without much notice that a U.S. weather plane was missing. Then on May 5th Soviet Premier Khrushchev announced today that the Russians shot down an American spy plane flying over Soviet territory on Sunday. Cruz Jeff in a three hour speech to the Supreme Soviet said the overflight was the second one within a month the United States stuck to a cover story that the plane must have inadvertently wandered over Russian territory from its base in Turkey. But two days later Khrushchev played his trump Chris Jeff says the pilot's name is Francis

Powers that he's being held in Moscow and has admitted that his plane which our space agency said was on a weather mission over Turkey was on an espionage mission. Cruz Jeff accused the United States of an act of aggression. Now there was no cover. Eisenhower considered several alternatives. Finally decided he himself must take responsibility. All of the right expertise people were saying well it's perfectly obvious that Eisenhower must say that he didn't know anything about flying. The point is I couldn't bring himself to tell a lie. He knew all about him and he wasn't going to put himself in the position of saying that it was just he didn't have to think about it he just couldn't do it. Mr. Eisenhower I think in this instance did reveal number one a sense of what you might call a good old fashioned American puritanical integrity but on the other hand a lack of understanding of the depth of the mischievous arts of diplomacy.

I made that speech as well I'm sure that this is the present United States system. And think about this my friend Mr. Eisenhower he was sort of pleading to saying the president is or just deny that you have heard about this fellow say that he's some fellow that's on his own that stole an airplane and got away. He just is doing anything to try to get him to and to deny that it ever happened because of course this meant that Khrushchev was in further trouble. I mean the hardliners in the Soviet Union the Stalin this route to getting. Of course I think that he would why myself in in not attempting a pretense like this because I think it would scare the world. To be persuaded that the present United States didn't know what was going on Ike went to the summit conference there Khrushchev demanded an apology. Ike refused he got angry because I just told him in Paris if you think I'm going to apologize for something I thought was a good to my country I'm just not going to do it and show you my wrong. The summit collapsed and Chris Jeff withdrew his invitation for Eisenhower to visit Russia. I think that one of the great tragedies of diplomacy was that Eisenhower was never able to visit

Russia. I can predict to you and tell you that it is my judgment that I would just bet my life on that that would have been the greatest outpouring of admiration and affection and respect that any man ever had. The Russians were just waiting for him. In fact he he would have but he would have overwhelmed them. You know I guess I really think that it might have changed a great deal the pattern of conduct and relationship between the United States and Soviet Union for some time. President Eisenhower close their second term with a tour of the Far East. A tour marred by leftist demonstrations in Japan that caused him to cancel a visit there as Dwight Eisenhower about the nation farewell as president he warned of the increasing power of the industrial military complex and address many people feel to be one of the highlights of his eight years in the White House until the latest of our world conflicts. The United States had no arms industry. American makers of plow shares could with time and as required make swords

as well. But we can no longer risk emergency improvisation of national defense. We have been compelled to create a permanent armaments industry of vast proportion. Now this conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience that total influence economic political even spiritual is felt in every city every state house every office of the federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications in the councils of government. We must cart guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence whether sought or runs out. By the military industrial complex. The potential for the dis Astras rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.

We must never let the weight of this combination in danger our liberties or democratic process three days later Dwight Eisenhower step down as president after half a century of service to the nation and the general and his lady retired to their farm and got his bird. Years later Ike was asked what he considered his greatest accomplishment as president. I think the. Success we had in maintaining peace in spite of the many threats in. Iran and Guatemala and for most of constantly in Formosa in Lebanon. So as. All those places in Korea from that time and yes late June. 53 when we stopped that we never lost another soldier on his White House desk. President Eisenhower had a plaque with the Lincoln motto gentle in manner strong in the history has yet to judge. The Eisenhower years produce by extension Radio-TV at Kansas

State University on a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The producer narrator is Ralph Titus research and write. Music for the Eisenhower years was composed by Gail Kubrick. Performed by the Kansas State University Chamber Symphony conducted by Luther Levin. Our thanks to National Educational Television Metro Media Incorporated WOFL and radio Philadelphia and the Eisenhower Presidential Library for providing materials used in this week's broadcasts. Next week. Peace with Honor. This is Paul he weeps. This is the national educational radio network.

Dwight Eisenhower's second term troubles at home and abroad. Today he would be directing the U.S. troops a little like you saw. The first Earth satellite into orbit but it was Russia not America. And the missile gap became a campaign issue. It was a time of visits Khrushchev to the U.S. Eisenhower around the world. The White House years the second term. Our chapter this week on the Eisenhower years.