The Domestic Scene
In spite of some recessions in business, in 1954, in 1957-58, and in 1960, the United States during the Eisenhower administration enjoyed a prosperity never known before. However, the danger of runaway inflation and the existence of unemployment were problems.
An outstanding event of the Eisenhower era was the unanimous decision by the Supreme Court in 1954 that racial segregation in public schools is illegal. This decision met with bitter opposition in much of the South. In 1957, President Eisenhower sent federal troops to Little Rock, Arkansas, to support the right of black students to attend a formerly all-white high school. Gradual desegregation in the schools of several Southern states was begun, but the Deep South resisted. The emphasis on the civil rights of blacks was further reflected by the passage of federal civil rights bills in 1957 and 1960, the first since Reconstruction (1865-77). In 1960, blacks began to stage "sit-ins" at segregated lunch counters.
A controversy begun in 1950 by Senator Joseph McCarthy, who claimed that the federal government was Communist-influenced, continued into the Eisenhower administration. It died down after McCarthy was censured by a Senate committee in 1954.
The nation was shocked in 1957 when the Soviet Union became the first country to place an artificial satellite in orbit around the earth. This blow to American prestige was softened somewhat when the United States sent up its first satellite in 1958. Many others followed.
The Eisenhower administration stood for moderate conservatism and did not attempt to repeal basic New Deal measures. It proposed legislation extending social security coverage to millions of citizens not previously included; raising minimum wage levels; and providing some federal aid for education. The Labor Reform Act (1959) was designed to protect both union members and employers from corrupt union practices.The U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was created in 1953. Alaska and Hawaii became the 49th and 50th states, respectively, in 1959.
Alaska boundary dispute. The Alaska boundary dispute between Canada and the United States was settled in 1903 by a special commission. The dispute resulted from differing interpretations of an 1825 agreement. The agreement, made by Russia and the United Kingdom, ambiguously defined the border between Russian America (later Alaska) and northwestern Canada.
