EISENHOWER(S) APPROACH
When Dwight Eisenhower suc- ceeded Truman as president, he accepted the basic framework of gov- ernment responsibility established by the New Deal, but sought to hold the line on programs and expendi- tures . He termed his approach “dy- namic conservatism” or “modern Republicanism,” which meant, he ex-
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plained, “conservative when it comes to money, liberal when it comes to human beings .” A critic countered that Eisenhower appeared to argue that he would “strongly recommend the building of a great many schools . . . but not provide the money .”
Eisenhower’s first priority was to balance the budget after years of deficits . He wanted to cut spending and taxes and maintain the value of the dollar . Republicans were willing to risk unemployment to keep infla- tion in check . Reluctant to stimulate the economy too much, they saw the country suffer three economic recessions in the eight years of the Eisenhower presidency, but none was very severe .
In other areas, the administra- tion transferred control of offshore oil lands from the federal govern- ment to the states . It also favored pri- vate development of electrical power rather than the public approach the Democrats had initiated . In general, its orientation was sympathetic to business .
Compared to Truman, Eisen- hower had only a modest domes- tic program . When he was active in promoting a bill, it likely was to trim the New Deal legacy a bit — as in reducing agricultural subsidies or placing mild restrictions on la- bor unions . His disinclination to push fundamental change in either direction was in keeping with the spirit of the generally prosperous Fifties . He was one of the few presi- dents who left office as popular as when he entered it .