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Period: to
Presidencies
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End of Korean War
Foreign Issue; President Eisenhower
Presidential Approval: ~67%
Prior to his presidency, Eisenhower had traveled to Korea to learn what could be done to end the war. Ultimately an agreement was met, ending the war, and in turn boosting support of President Eisenhower. -
Civil Rights Act of 1957
Legislative Issue; Eisenhower
Presidential Approval: 59% The Civil Rights Act of 1957 was the first legislation pertaining to Civil Rights since the Civil War, and was focused on the right to vote of African Americans. Prior to this, violence against those of black skin was rising, with President Eisenhower deploying army men to Little Rock to protect the "Little Rock Nine", whilst also taking control of the Arkansas National Guard. This bill was the start of gov'ts intervention in Civil Rights -
Sherman Adams Scandal
Controversial Issue; President Eisenhower
Presidential Approval: 54% Sherman Adams, the WH Chief of Staff for Pres. Eisenhower, had been pressured to resign in 1958 after accepting what was deemed as "inappropriate" gifts from a businessman under investigation for FTC violations. Said gifts were an expensive fur overcoat and an oriental rug, and despite no judicial findings Sherman Adams had retired. -
Steel Workers' Strike Began
Domestic Issue; President Eisenhower
Presidential Approval: 54%
President Eisenhower created a Board of Inquiry to assess and clarify the issues of the strike, which had caused around 85% of the countries steel production to hault for four months. Ultimately the issue was settled out of court, despite the Board of Inquiry's statement that a settlement would be unachievable. -
Assassination of JFK, Succession of Lyndon Johnson
Controversial Event; Lyndon Johnson
Presidential Approval: 71% Being the succesor to JFK, the question of how the public would react to his presidency was raised. As whitnessed however, the public had highly favoured him winning relection by 61%. He would further be praised for his various "Great Society" legislations before losing popularity over the Vietnam War. -
Medicare and Medicaid
Legislative Issue; Lyndon Johnson
Presidential Approval: 68% Sticking with the "War on poverty" theme, Lyndon Johnson had signed the Medicare Bill to offer more afordable medical care to the elderly. Medicaid, the other part of the bill, was made to offer a government-sponsored medical service to those of lower incomes. Both of these programmes are widely used today. -
Anti-War Protests
Domestic Issue; President Lyndon Jonhson
Presidential Approval:47% Prior to the Tet Offensive, President Johnson had kept the war in Vietnam on the low from the public, to avoid a strong divide between supporters and nonsupporters of the war. Despite this, starting in spring of 1966 his support began to dwindle in polls, of which he watched quite closely. After the Tet Offensive, his presidency would be centered around Vietnam. -
Tet Offensive
Foreign Issue; President Lyndon Johnson
Presidential Approval: 44% President Lyndon Johnson had strongly increased the American presence in Vietnam, with one such example being the Tet Offensive, launched with the element of surprise after the Vietnamese had broken a cease fire. The offensive, whilst proving to be a US victory, had shocked the US public, whom were fooled to believe that the Vietnamese forces were incapable of such a large attack (80k troops attacking 100 towns and cities). -
U.S. Wins Space Race
Domestic Issue; Richard Nixon
Presidential Approval: 58% After about a decade of work, the U.S. had finally landed astronauts on the moon, beating the Soviet Union and winning the Space Race. This proved to be a large political accomplishment for the U.S. on the world stage, and contributed to the President's approval rating. -
Vetoed Clean Water Act of 1972
Legislative Issue; Richard Nixon
Presidential Approval: 58% The Clean Water Act of 1972 was a prime example of the executive branch, in particular the president, utilising his powers to the fullest. Nixon had vetoed the CWA on accounts of excessive money allocation, which ultimately recieved a legislative veto. In response, Nixon had impounded the funding he found excessive. -
Paris Peace Accords
Foreign Issue; Richard Nixon
Presidential Approval: 60% After a highly controversial war that spanned multiple presidencies, the Vietnam War had come to an end. Prior to which, around 300 American troops were dying each week in Vietnam, leading Nixon to personally request peace talks to North Vietnamese leaders, ultimately resulting in the Paris Peace Accords. -
Watergate Scandal
Controversial Issue; Richard Nixon
Presidential Approval: 43% The Watergate Scandal was the attempted cover-up by the Nixon administation of it's involvement regarding a break-in of the Democratic National Committee's HQ. Part of the evidence were tapes recorded in the President's office, of which Nixon had refused to hand over, claiming as president he was above the law. -
9/11; Invasion of Afghanistan
Domestic Issue; Pres. George W. Bush
President Approval: ~86%
Congress Approval: ~67% After the terrorist attacks on the U.S.A that occured on September 11th, President George Bush, with approval from Congress, had launched a war on Afghanistan a month later in October. During this time, the Congress and the President had high approval ratings due to their high goals at the strart of the war, such as overthrowing the Taliban regime and establishing a democratic government in Afghanistan. -
Iraq War Begins
Foreign, Bush
Presidential Approval: ~64%
Congress Approval: ~35% The Iraq War was a result of the U.S.A. and Great Britain's concerns regarding Iraq possessing weapons of mass destruction. This was despite the U.N. finding no evidence of said weapons, causing a shocking blow with France, Germany, Canada, and Russia all opposing war in Iraq. As the war went on for the next 8 years, public opinion would soon lead towards withdrawing the troops stationed in Iraq, influencing a quicker end to it. -
Hurricane Katrina
Controversial Issue; President George W. Bush
Presidential Approval: 43%
Congress Approval: 25% Hurricane Katrina was a category five hurricane that had become the costliest hurricane in American history. However, the following wave of confusion and inefficiency in government response that resulted from uncertainty of who was in charge of the situtation resulted in many being stranded for days whilst government officials debated this, leaving many Americans unsatisfied. -
Democrats Storm Congress
Legislative Issue; President George W. Bush
Presidential Approval: 37%
Congress Approval: 23% As a result of declining popularity of the republican president and Congress, the American people had voted democratically in the midterm elections, causing Democrats to recieve the majority in both House and Senate. -
Unemployment Reaches 10.2%
Domestic Issue; President Obama
Presidential Approval: 53%
Congress Approval: 29% Unemployment reached 10.2%, being above 10% the first time since 1983. This is also a major jump from November of the former years 6.8% unemployment, raising concerns over Washington's economic policies. -
Congress Passes Healthcare Bills
Legislative Issue; President Obama
Presidential Approval: 51%
Congress Approval: 17.4% After a year of endeavor by Democrats to reform healthcare, an extension to health care was passed by the Democrat controled Congress. Despite this, Republicans, as expected, were still heavily opposed to the legislation, going as far as to attempt to undo the passage. -
Troop Withdrawl from Iraq
Foreign Issue: President Obama
Presidential Approval: 45%
Congress Approval: 21.5% After a long fought war with 55% of Americans viewing the war as a mistake and another 51% supporting the withdrawl of troops, all troops (besides "peacekeeping" troops") would be withdrawn from Iraq. Despite this, his presidential rating remained relatively low at 45%. -
Republicans, The Catholic Church, and Contraceptives
Controversial Issue; President Obama
Presidential Approval: 45%
Congress Approval: 12%
More or less, Pres. Obama had intended to issue a mandate that would have the insurers of places such as Catholic Hospitals' provide contraceptives for women. The plan is supported by 57% of Catholic voters, however the men whom the plan clearly applies to, Bishops and Republican GOP hopefuls, all oppose it, claiming it to be a "direct attack on religious liberty".
