Historian and Montgomery Fellow Michael Beschloss compared how popular Presidents Dwight Eisenhower and John Kennedy used power to opposite effects during his speech in a packed Cook auditorium yesterday.
While the two presidents served within the same decade and dealt with many of the same issues, their sources of political strength and personal ambitions led to different stances on pivotal issues, he said.
Beschloss said Eisenhower came to the presidency in 1952 "in one of the most enviable positions possible," with a commanding landslide victory, Republican majorities in both houses of Congress and an international reputation for character and integrity.
However, Beschloss criticized Eisenhower's failure to use these advantages to advance civil rights.
"It's baffling to me that he didn't understand how important it was to integrate society after World War Two," Beschloss said.
Eisenhower's silence on the issue during the 1950s led to the more bitter and violent struggles for racial equality in the 1960s, he said.
Beschloss also criticized Eisenhower's lack of attack on Senator Joseph McCarthy but in an anecdote that pleased the Dartmouth audience, related that the president's one attack on McCarthy came from a speech he gave at the College.
At the 1953 Commencement address Eisenhower urged Dartmouth alumni to enjoy life, and in two short paragraphs, to fight Communism, Beschloss said.
He called Eisenhower a president who on these two social issues "could have and should have said so much more."
Beschloss praised Eisenhower for consolidating public support for New Deal measures and providing "breathing room" for the country after the hardships of the Great Depression, the New Deal and WWII.
He also ended American support for isolationist foreign policies, Beschloss said.
Because of these accomplishments, Eisenhower maintained high popularity and left office more popular than when he came in, Beschloss said.
This contrasts sharply with the popularity of his successor, Kennedy, Beschloss said.
Kennedy's small margin of victory delayed his proposal of the Civil Rights Act and when he did propose it, the bill caused his popularity to plummet, Beschloss said.
Kennedy was "not a president who thought in terms of a grand vision," Beschloss said.
However, for his introduction of the revolutionary Civil Rights Bill "he paid a big political price and we should honor him for it," Beschloss said.
Kennedy's ability "to crisis manage hour-to-hour" served him well during the Cuban Missile Crisis, he said.
Kennedy's actions in office provide insight into and comparisons to later administrations, Beschloss pointed out.
The president's need to feel secure in his office led to uses of government agencies, like the Internal Revenue Service, that today after Watergate would not be publicly acceptable, Beschloss said.
Kennedy's use of the IRS to audit political enemies led to Nixon's actions in Watergate, Beschloss added.
Current President Bill Clinton's problems with women echo Kennedy's, who had affairs that could have seriously damaged his political career or the country, Beschloss said.
His description of Kennedy as "cavalier" in his social life drew laughs from the audience.
Similarities like these between current and past administrations help people "see how history has value for current events," Beschloss said.
Beschloss' speech was the third of six presidential lectures to be presented at the College as part of this term's Kenneth and Harle Montgomery Endowment.
Also included in the series is Doris Kearns Goodwin who delivered last spring's commencement address and will speak on Franklin Roosevelt.
