EISENHOWER REPUBLICANISM I I [ ·----·--···- -----------·- __ - I - Pursuing the Middle wav Steven Wagner Fffi NORTHERN ILLINOIS UN IVERS ITY PRESS DeKalb Q 2006 by Northern Illinois University Press Published by the Northern Illinois University Press, DeKalb, Illinois 60115 Manufactured in the United States using acid-free paper All Rights Reserved library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Wagner, Steven (Steven T.) Eisenhower Republicanism : pursuing the middle way/ Steven Wagner. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-87580-362-3 (clothbound : alk. paper) ISBN-IO: 0-87580-362-8 (clothbound : alk. paper) 1. Eisenhower, Dwight D. (Dwight David), 1890-1969-Political and social views. 2. United States-Politics and government-1953-1961. 3. Republican Party (U.S.: 1854-)-History-20th century. I. Title. E836.W34 2006 973.921--<lc22 2006001576 Contents Acknowledgments vii Abbreviations ix Introduction 3 1 A Floor over the Pit of Personal Disaster 7 2 Giving Labor an Equal Voice 27 3 A Program for All Farmers and for All America 43 4 Civil Rights, States' Rights, and Federal Responsibilities 64 5 Republican Internationalism 88 6 The Politics of Modern Republicanism 114 1 An Echo or a Choice? 133 Conclusion 145 Notes 149 Works Cited 171 Index 175 l t Acknowledgments The successful completion of this book would not have been possible without the help and support of many individuals and institu tions. The following list includes only a few of those to whom I owe a debt of gratitude. The history department at Purdue University provided financial and professional support for the early stages of this project. Purdue historians Patrick Hearden, Michael Morrison, Randy Roberts, and Donald Parman read early versions of the manuscript and offered valuable suggestions. I am grate ful to the Purdue Research Foundation for two summer research grants Archival research was facilitated by the generous support of the Eisenhowe1 World Affairs Institute in Washington, D.C.-for research at the Eisenhower Presidential Library (DDEL) in Abilene, Kansas, and the Rockefeller Archive Center (RAC) in Sleepy Hollow, New York. The helpful and dedicated archivists there, particularly Thomas Branigar (DDEL) and Harold Oakhill (RAC), made my research more productive. My colleagues in the social sci ence department at Missouri Southern State University, particularly Robert Markman who read a portion of the manuscript, created a supportive envi ronment that made my work on the final stages of this project much easier. The students in my Modem America course at Missouri Southern, by serving as a sounding board for my material on the "middle way," also made a valu able contribution. Melody Herr, my editor at Northern Illinois University Press, was very supportive of this project and offered timely encouragement. Her suggestions, along with those of the anonymous readers she commis sioned, have greatly strengthened this book. A project like this is not possible without the support of friends and family. I especially want to thank my parents, Paul and Donna Wagner, and my friend Matt Loayza for providing that support. Finally, I would like to thank my wife, Angela Firkus. A fellow scholar, her involvement went beyond that of wife and friend; she read every word of the manuscript, discussed it with me at every stage, and offered invaluable suggestions for improvement. All of those men tioned above, arid many others, have made important contributions to this book. Any shortcomings that remain are mine alone. • I Abbreviations ACW Diary Ann C. Whitman Diary Series, DOE Papers as President, DDEL ADA Americans for Democratic Action AFL American Federation of Labor AIA Aid to Impacted Areas AMA American Medical Association CBS Columbia Broadcasting System CIO Congress of Industrial Organizations CUOHROC Columbia University Oral History Research Office Collection DOE Dwight D. Eisenhower DDE Dwight D. Eisenhower Papers as President of the Papers as President United States, 1953-1961 DDE Dwight D. Eisenhower Postpresidential Papers, Postpresidential 1961-1969 Papers DDE Dwight D. Eisenhower Records as President, White Records as President House Central Files, 1953-1961 DDEL Dwight D. Eisenhower Library, Abilene, Kansas DLF Development Loan Fund FSA Federal Security Agency GATI General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade GPO Government Printing Office I I Abbreviations HEW Health, Education, and Welfare (in the notes, HEW refers to the Health, Education, and Welfare, Record Group 4, Nelson A. Rockefeller Personal, Rockefeller Archive Center, North Tarrytown, New York) HUAC House Un-American Activities Committee IDAB International Development Advisory Board IMF International Monetary Fund NAACP National Association for the Advancement of Colored People NAM National Association of Manufacturers NAR Nelson A. Rockefeller NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization NDEA National Defense Education Act NLRB National Labor Relations Board NSF National Science Foundation OAA Old-Age Assistance OASI Old-Age and Survivors Insurance PACGO President's Advisory Committee on Government Organization PL Public Law PPP Public Papers of the Presidents; Containing the Public Messages, Speeches, and Statements of the President (Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1958--1961) RAC Rockefeller Archive Center, North Tarrytown, New York REAC Reorganization Advisory Committee, Washington, D.C., files, RG4, NAR Personal, RAC RG Record Group RRPL Ronald Reagan Presidential Library RTAA Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act of 1934 SAP Special Assistant to the President, Washington, D.C., files, RG4, NAR Personal, RAC SCGO Special Committee on Government Organization UN United Nations World Bank International Bank for Reconstruction and Development EISENHOWER REPUBLICANISM