The Machine
a study in modern american
politics
david mowers
The Presidents of the United
States
“being president is like being a jackass in a hailstorm.
there’s nothing to do but stand there and take it.” –
lyndon b. johnson
(1945-1953)
Truman, Harry S.
Democrat from Missouri •Ushered in the atomic era by
dropping “the bomb” on Japan.
•The Truman administration’s
Marshall Plan helped rebuild a
devastated Europe after WWII.
•NSC-68, a foreign policy memo
written by George F. Kennan, first
suggested the “containment”
doctrine, the basis of US foreign
policy for the duration of the Cold
War.
“if you want a friend in washington, get a dog.” – harry s. truman
Should we have dropped the bomb?
Yes: No:
• We should use any • We are unsure of the
available weapon to spare damage this weapon may
further American lives. cause.
• Japan should surrender •Japan wants to surrender
totally and completely anyway; we should let
without any conditions. them keep their emperor.
•We should drop a
“demonstration bomb” in a
large, uninhabited area to
deter Japan.
Should we have dropped the bomb?
“It is my opinion that the use of the barbarous weapon at
Hiroshima and Nagasaki was of no material assistance in our war
against Japan. The Japanese were already defeated and ready to
surrender.... Bomb is the wrong word to use for this new weapon.
It is not a bomb. It is not an explosive. It is a poisonous thing that
kills people by its deadly radioactive reaction, more than by the
explosive force it develops.
My own feeling is that in being the first to use it, we had adopted
an ethical standard common to barbarians of the Dark Ages. I was
not taught to make war in that fashion, and wars cannot be won
by destroying women and children.”
Admiral William D. Leahy, Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff (WWII)
Conflict: The Koreas
• War begins on June 25, 1950 when North
Korea invades South Korea.
• United Nations sends troops to aid South
Korea; United States provides 90%
• Over two million casualties
• First UN involvement in any conflict
• War ends on July 27, 1953 when North signs
armistice with UN
(1953-1961)
Eisenhower, Dwight D.
Republican from Kansas
•Negotiated an end to the war in
Korea early in 1953.
•Period of unprecedented
economic prosperity
•Brown vs. Board outlaws
segregation in the public schools
in 1954, beginning modern civil
rights movement
“an intellectual is a man who takes more words than necessary to
tell more than he knows."
(1961-1963)
Kennedy, John F.
•Kennedy administration trained
Democrat from Massachusetts
Cuban rebels to attempt to
overthrow Castro; this attempt
failed in what became known as
the “Bay of Pigs” invasion.
•The Cuban Missile Crisis, in
October of 1962, was probably
the nearest the world has ever
been to nuclear war.
• Other important events: Civil
Rights movement, Peace Corps,
Berlin Wall built, first American
advisors in Vietnam.
Who killed John Kennedy?
•Lee Harvey Oswald
•The Mafia
•The Government
Maybe it was them Bears fans…
“ladies and gentlemen, i was warned to be out of here in plenty of
time to permit those who are going to the green bay packers
game to leave. i don't mind running against mr. nixon but i have
the good sense not to run against the green bay packers.“ – john
f. kennedy
Conflict: Vietnam
• US enters war (which had been more or less
continual since end of WWII) in 1964 after the
Gulf of Tonkin incident
• Committed nearly $150B and 2.7 million troops
between 64-73
• War ended two years after US withdrawal
(1963-1969)
Johnson, Lyndon B.
Democrat from Texas
•Civil Rights Act passed in ’64
• Vietnam War continues and
more than 500k troops were
committed through 1968
•Racial tension and high
unemployment at home
•Medicare was instituted, and the
Voting Rights Act was also
enacted during the Johnson
administration.
“if one morning i walked on top of the water across the potomac
river, the headline that
(1969-1974)
Nixon, Richard M.
Republican from California •American involvement in the
Vietnam War ends January ’73
•Relations with China and USSR
dramatically improve
•Watergate scandal forces Nixon
to resign on August 9, 1974.
Watergate impacted every area of
American government, including
presidential power and the
relationship between government
and the press.
“i wouldn’t bet the farm on it, but i’d bet the main house. i wouldn’t
even bet the outhouse on mondale.” – richard m. nixon on his re-
(1974-1977)
Ford, Gerald R.
Republican from Michigan
•Faced with a loss of
confidence in government
•Introduced the WIN (Whip
Inflation Now) program to curb
uncontrollable inflation
•Widely criticized for pardoning
Richard Nixon for his
involvement in the Watergate
scandal.
“richard nixon was just offered $2 million by schick to do a
commercial--for gillette.”
(1977-1981)
Carter, Jimmy
Democrat from Georgia
•Signed two treaties
establishing timetables for
passing of the Panama Canal
Zone.
•Signed SALT II treaty with
USSR, but backed out in 1980
after Soviets invade
Afghanistan.
•Iran Hostage Crisis--rescue
attempt fails miserably.
“i have often wanted to drown my troubles, but i can’t get my wife
to go swimming.” -- jimmy carter
(1981-1989)
Reagan, Ronald W.
Republican from California
•Accepted a deep recession to
curb inflation which had
plagued the US since the early
70’s.
•Reduced income taxes for the
rich so they would have more
money to invest in the
economy.
•Intervened in the Lebanese
civil war, invaded Grenada and
bombed Libya.
“facts are stupid things.” -- ronald reagan
Conflict: Grenada
Conflict: Lebanon
Conflict: Libya
(1989-1993)
Bush, George H. W.
Republican from Texas •Invaded Panama to remove
Gen. Manuel Noriega to stand
trial in the US
•Drove Iraqi forces out of
Kuwait in Operation Desert
Shield/Desert Storm
•Problems with a stagnant
economy and high
unemployment rates forced
him out of office in 1993.
i do not like broccoli. and i haven't liked it since i was a little kid
and my mother made me eat it. and i'm president of the united
states and i'm not going to eat any more broccoli.
Conflict: Panama
Conflict: Desert Shield/Desert
Storm
(1993-2001)
Clinton, Bill
Democrat from Arkansas
•Pressed for sweeping health-
care reforms but failed to pass
many of them
•Passed the first balanced
federal budget in three
decades in 1997
•Impeached over Lewinsky
scandal in 2000.
•Sent troops for humanitarian
relief to Somalia, bombed
Kosovo in 1995 and Iraq in
“i tried marijuana once. i did
2000
not inhale.” --bill clinton
Conflict: Kosovo
• Kosovo became an autonomous province of
Serbia after WWII, but their autonomy was
taken by Serbia in 1989-90.
• The Kosovo Liberation Army began attacking
Serbian police stations in 1997, and NATO
proposed a cease fire. Albanians accepted;
Serbians did not so NATO conducted airstrikes
in March-May 1999 to force Serbia to accept
peace plan
• Genocide of Albanians in Kosovo was
widespread
(2001-)
Bush, George W.
Republican from Texas
•Struggled with economic woes
including corporate corruption
and unemployment.
•Overthrew the Taliban
government in Afghanistan in
an attempt to capture Osama
bin Laden
•Overthrew Saddam Hussein
in Iraq after he refused to give
up weapons of mass “in my sentences, i go where no
destruction man has gone before.” --
george w. bush
Conflict: War on Terror
The Power Brokers
the single most exciting thing you encounter in
government is competence, because it's so rare. – the
late senator daniel patrick moynihan
Senate Majority Leader
Frist, Bill
Republican from Tennessee •Licensed to practice medicine
in DC, CA, TN and MA; MD
from Harvard
•Elected to Senate in 1994
What Makes Him Tick
•Health Care
•AIDS in Africa
•Civil War in Sudan