BETWEEN GUNS AND BUTTER: COLD WAR PRESIDENTS, AGENDA-SETTING, AND VISIONS OF NATIONAL STRENGTH by JEREMY STRICKLER A DISSERTATION Presented to the Department of Political Science and the Graduate School of the University of Oregon in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy June 2015 DISSERTATION APPROVAL PAGE Student: Jeremy Strickler Title: Between Guns and Butter: Cold War Presidents, Agenda-Setting, and Visions of National Strength This dissertation has been accepted and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in the Department of Political Science by: Daniel Tichenor Chairperson Gerald Berk Core Member Joseph Lowndes Core Member Daniel Pope Institutional Representative and Scott L. Pratt Dean of the Graduate School Original approval signatures are on file with the University of Oregon Graduate School. Degree awarded June 2015 ii © 2015 Jeremy Strickler iii DISSERTATION ABSTRACT Jeremy Strickler Doctor of Philosophy Department of Political Science June 2015 Title: Between Guns and Butter: Cold War Presidents, Agenda-Setting, and Visions of National Strength This project investigates how the emergent ideological, institutional, and political commitments of the national defense and security state shape the domestic programmatic agendas of modern presidents. Applying a historical and developmental analysis, I trace this dynamic from its origin in the twin crises of the Great Depression and World War II to examine how subsequent presidents since Franklin D. Roosevelt have navigated the intersecting politics of this warfare -welfare nexus. I use original, archival research to examine communications between the president and his staff, cabinet members, administration officials, and Congressional leaders to better appreciate how the interaction of these dual political commitments are reflected in the formulation and promotion of the president’s budgetary requests and domestic policy initiatives. More directly, I focus on the relationship between the national security politics of the Cold War and the efforts of Presidents Truman and Eisenhower to support their objectives in either the expansion or retrenchment of the New Deal-liberal welfare state. My research suggests that Cold War concerns occasionally aided the growth of the welfare state in areas such as public health and federal aid to education, while at other times defense and security anxieties provided the backdrop for presidential efforts to iv diminish the political capacity of the welfare state. More specifically, I find that both Truman and Eisenhower constructed visions of national strength which framed their initiatives in national defense and social welfare as interrelated goals. In the end, I argue that the changing institutions, ideologies, and international commitments of the warfare state present both opportunities and challenges for presidents to articulate political visions in service of domestic policy advancement. v CURRICULUM VITAE NAME OF AUTHOR: Jeremy Strickler GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOLS ATTENDED: University of Oregon, Eugene Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff DEGREES AWARDED: Doctor of Philosophy, Political Science, 2015, University of Oregon Master of Science, Political Science, 2012, University of Oregon Bachelor of Science, American Political Studies, 2004, Northern Arizona University Bachelor of Science, Criminal Justice, 2004, Northern Arizona University AREAS OF SPECIAL INTEREST: American Politics The Presidency American Political Development PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Visiting Instructor, Willamette University, 2014-2015 Graduate Teaching Fellow, University of Oregon, 2008-2013 GRANTS, AWARDS, AND HONORS: Dissertation Fellowship, Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics, 2013-2014 Research Grant, Harry S. Truman Library Institute, 2013-2014 William C. Mitchell Graduate Summer Research Award, UO Department of Political Science, 2011, 2012 Clive S. Thomas Graduate Student Travel Award, Pacific Northwest Political Science Association, 2011 vi PUBLICATIONS: Tichenor, Daniel J., and Jeremy Strickler. “Tocqueville’s America: Interest Groups and Lobbying from the Jacksonian Era to the Gilded Age.” In Interest Groups and Lobbying. Eds. Burdett Loomis and Dara Stralovitch. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly, 2012. vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Many people helped shape this dissertation over the years. First, and foremost, I want to thank Dan Tichenor, who served as chair of my committee and has been a true ally throughout this process. Dan has not only greatly informed my approach to studying the presidency but also my approach to teaching, as well. A special thanks to Gerry Berk, who listened to me go on about nationalism, patriotism, and the New Deal for far too long and helped point me in the initial direction of this project. My thanks also go to Joe Lowndes and Daniel Pope for serving as dissertation readers and bringing additional insights into American politics and history to my committee. I am also grateful to all of my friends and colleagues from the UO political science department and the GTFF who helped me weather the ups and downs of graduate school, especially Josh Plencner, Nick Thompson, Sam Bernofsky, Greg Liggett, Dan Andersen, Kathryn Miller, and Jessica Hejny. I received valuable research assistance from the Harry S Truman presidential library, the Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics, and the UO political science department. Together, these funds allowed me to carry out the archival research that made my project inquiry possible. Travelling to presidential libraries and conducting this research was easily my favorite part of the dissertation process. Above all, I wish to thank my family for their unwavering love and support. It means the world to me. And, of course, a final thanks to Lucy Schultz. You made this final year worth it. viii For my Mom ix TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 1 The Modern Presidency, the Welfare State-Warfare State Nexus, and the Politics of Linkage .................................................................................... 6 Developmental Approach and Chapter Overview ................................................. 10 II. PRESIDENTIAL VISIONS BEFORE THE WARFARE STATE: WAR, CRISES, AND THE EMERGENCE OF NATIONAL STRENGTH .............. 12 The Progressive Presidency during the Era of American Ascension: Theodore Roosevelt’s Quest for Glory Abroad and at Home................................ 14 Domestic Ambitions, International Necessities: Woodrow Wilson, the New Freedom, and World War I ....................................... 18 The Great Depression-as-War: The Nation in Crisis and the Contrasting Visions of Herbert Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt ...................... 26 Hoover, the War for Confidence, and the Shift from Voluntarism to Government Intervention ......................................... 26 FDR, National Purpose, and the “Analogue of War” ................................ 30 FDR’s Linked Program: The New Deal, World War II, and the Institutionalization of National Strength as a Political Vision ............................... 32 The Gathering Storm in Europe and FDR’s Linkage of the New Deal-as-Preparedness on the National Agenda ................................. 34 National Strength, Politicizing Defense, and Building the Arsenal of Democracy ............................................................................... 37 Dr. New Deal, Dr. Win the War, and Setting the Postwar Agenda ................................................................................... 42 Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 47 x Chapter Page III. THE NECESSITY OF “INTERNAL STRENGTH”: A BALANCED AGENDA, COLD WAR IDEOLOGY, AND TRUMAN’S VISION FROM RECONVERSION TO THE FAIR DEAL .................................................................. 50 The Cold War Necessity of “Internal Strength”: President Truman’s Post-War Vision and the Linkage of Peace, Prosperity, and American Leadership ...................................................................................... 53 The Fair Deal as Internal Strength: New Deal Liberalism, the Specter of Communism, and the Politics of Truman’s Domestic Agenda ......................... 61 The Value of Balanced Strength: Truman’s Commitment to Balancing Social and Defense Spending during the Emerging Politics of the Warfare State .................................................................................. 67 Demobilization and International Crises, 1945-1948 ................................ 68 The Defense Program, Congressional Conservatives, and Budgeting for Permanent Preparedness, 1949-1950 .................................. 72 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 76 IV. BUILDING STRENGTH AT HOME: REASSERTING TRUMAN’S PRESIDENTIAL VISION THROUGH THE LINKAGE OF SOCIAL WELFARE AND THE KOREAN WAR DEFENSE EFFORT .................................. 79 Reimagining the Nation’s Internal Strength: The Truman Administration’s Vision of Social Welfare-as-Defense Preparedness during the Korean War .................................................................... 83 “Building Strength at Home” ..................................................................... 83 Social Welfare, Liberals,