Dr. Colman reminds us that Eisenhower ran on the slogan of ““Peace, Progress, and Prosperity.”
It appears that Donald Trump is also running on the same Platform.
Just as Eisenhower ended the control of the Party by “traditional” Republicans, Trump is ending the reign of the Establishment Republicans of the Party. In its place he is creating a “Populist GOP. The new Trump GOP is for the working people, blue collar folks, private sector union folks (government sector unions are socialists), parents and minorities.
We are watching, just like 72 years ago a transformation of a political Party. We are living history.
A REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION TO REMEMBER
By Richard Colman, Exclusive to the California Political News and Views, 7/18/24 www.capoliticalnewsandviews.com
Bitterness and acrimony flowed. Speakers were roundly booed. And it all happened at a Republican National Convention.
The duel at the 1952 Republican National Convention — between Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, a hero of World War II, and Sen. Robert Taft (R-Ohio) — was highly emotional and intense. Each man sought the Republican Party’s nomination for president. (Eisenhower was often called “Ike.”)
The contest between Eisenhower and Taft pitted two men — with different views — against each other. The competition for the Republican presidential nomination was close.
In presidential contests, the Republicans had lost the presidency in 1932, 1936, 1940, 1944, and 1948. The prospect of a sixth consecutive loss loomed.
In 1950, Eisenhower was named Supreme Allied Commander Europe. Eisenhower’s appointment took place in the early days of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) a defense alliance that included nations in Western Europe, Canada, and the United States. NATO was formed in 1949.
According to historians, NATO was designed to bring peace to Europe and to prevent the Soviet Union from taking control of Western Europe.
There was no certainty about the 1952 election. To many Republicans, Eisenhower was a man of centrist views, enormous good will, and an engaging personality. Eisenhower seemed like a sure winner. Taft was a traditional old-line Republican and had a dour personality. Taft was also an isolationist as were many Republicans prior to World War II. Republicans were sharply divided over the two candidates.
In 1952, Eisenhower was not active in politics. But, in mid-1952, a group of Republicans influential in the media circles in and near New York City organized a pro-Eisenhower rally in Madison Square Garden. Individuals at the rally were very enthusiastic about an Eisenhower presidency.
Taking a huge part in the rally were Tex McCrary and Jinx Falkenburg, a married couple who hosted a highly popular radio program in the New York City area. The rally, called Citizens for Eisenhower, was a recruitment effort to motivate then-General Eisenhower to seek the 1952 Republican nomination for president.
One of the organizers of the New York rally was William Safire, who later became a speech writer for President Richard Nixon. In 1973, Safire became a columnist for the New York Times.
Films of the rally were flown to Paris, France, where Eisenhower was stationed. After reviewing the films, Eisenhower became motivated to run for president.
The 1952 convention was a battle between traditional Republicanism (from Taft) and what was called “modern Republicanism” (from Eisenhower).
Eisenhower wanted America to be engaged in Europe. After all, he had been one of the chief architects of America’s World War II European victory, a victory which had help from such other nations as Great Britain.
Eisenhower did not want to see another war in Europe and wanted the United States to help in the reconstruction and defense of Europe. (The reconstruction and defense began during the administration of Harry Truman, who was president from 1945 to 1953. In Europe, World War II ended on May 8, 1945.)
Initially, at the 1952 convention, neither Eisenhower nor Taft had a lock on the nomination. Earl Warren, California’s highly popular Republican governor, gave important help to Eisenhower by offering Eisenhower support from California’s convention delegation. If Eisenhower won the 1952 election, Warren, in exchange, wanted the next opening on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Eisenhower received enough delegates to win the nomination and went on to win the presidency. Shortly after the election, Chief Justice Fred Vinson of the Supreme Court died, and Eisenhower nominated Warren to be the next chief justice. Warren was confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
During his 1952 campaign, Eisenhower supporters had popular campaign buttons saying “I like Ike.”
When Eisenhower was elected in November 1952, the U.S. was at war in Korea.
Six months after being inaugurated in January 1953, an armistice in Korea was reached. American troops were no longer fighting combat missions on the Korean peninsula.
During Eisenhower’s remaining years as president, America, after the Korean settlement, was at peace.
In 1956, Eisenhower was easily re-nominated and won re-election in a landslide. In his 1956 campaign, Eisenhower’s backers had a slogan: “Peace, Progress, and Prosperity.”
The Eisenhower years were marked by low inflation, job creation, and an overall optimism about America’s role at home and abroad. New homes and new schools were built. Eisenhower supported the Interstate Highway System, which built a network of new, controlled-access highways throughout the nation.
Republican national conventions after 1956 were marked by either chaos or a basic tranquility.
From the Eisenhower era up until the Donald Trump presidential era (2017 to 2021 and perhaps beyond), America vigorously supported its alliances in Europe and Asia. While the Cold War between the Soviet Union (on one side) and America and its allies (on the other side), there were tensions but no actual war.
For most Americans, the Eisenhower presidency was a period of good times for the nation. Many Americans would be happy to see another era like the Eisenhower period, which went from 1953 to 1961.
