With the end of World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union emerged as two superpowers with antithetical ideologies. One focused on strengthening democracy, while the other intended to expand communism. The Cold War was never an official war, but rather a race to see which country would dominate geopolitically, ideologically, and economically. Nine presidents witnessed the scale of the war and crafted policies they believed best suited American standards and the campaign against communism. Many policies exceeded expectations, while others failed to pass. A favorable foreign policy embodies qualities such as tact and sensitive diplomatic skills. A favorable domestic policy incorporates the desire for a high standard of living, public welfare and freedom of rights. Policies conceived by Cold War presidents have proven to be success or failure in terms of achieving sound policy. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original Essay Eisenhower easily has the best foreign and domestic policies as they are both notable in the holistic pursuit of America's desires. Eisenhower's domestic policy was influenced by his observations as commanding officer in 1918. His expedition across transcontinental America led him to realize the desperate need for a highway system. Eisenhower recognized a national dilemma, and the Korean War presented him with the opportunity to create the largest public works project ever attempted and still in use today. The Interstate Highway System spans 46,876 miles and contains 55,512 bridges and 14,756 interchanges. The interstate highway system spurred job growth and unified the West and East Coasts. Eisenhower's domestic policies substantially raised living standards by stimulating suburbanization. Middle-class families flocked to less congested areas because they saw the suburbs as a safe living environment and an excellent place to raise children. The highway system goes hand in hand with the requirements for successful domestic policy because it has helped raise the standard of living of the majority of Americans and improve the well-being of the working class. His foreign policy is easily called the best of all foreign policies as it specifically aimed at containing communism. Through his cautious political common sense, Eisenhower intended U.S. forces to “secure and protect the territorial integrity and political independence of such nations, requesting such aid against open armed aggression by any nation controlled by the international communism”. The doctrine basically stated that any country could request economic assistance and/or aid from U.S. military forces if another country threatened it with armed aggression. The first practical use of the doctrine was to maintain stability in Lebanon when the president, Chamile Chamoun, feared an attack by his political rivals. Although it was not used to directly fight communism, Eisenhower conveyed the doctrine as a primary defense: America would act to protect its interests in the Middle East. Truman ranked second as his foreign and domestic policies also demonstrated America's interests in containing communism and communism. settle internal issues. Truman's Fair Deal was similar to Roosevelt's New Deal and focused on repaying the welfare of the American majority. It has implemented programspublic housing, raised the minimum wage, and expanded Social Security benefits. Truman's Fair Deal included many other workable proposals: economic controls to stop inflation, a more progressive tax structure, raising the minimum wage, repealing the Taft-Hartley Labor Act (regulated labor relations of businesses engaged in interstate commerce), agricultural reform, resource development and public power, national medical insurance, expansion of Social Security benefits, federal housing programs, educational aid, and civil rights protections. Despite these numerous public welfare reforms, most were rejected by powerful interest groups such as the Farm Bureau Federation and the American Medical Association. Nonetheless, Truman kept the public interest in mind as he vied for these reforms. However, Truman's foreign involvement brought more problems than successes. He had achieved America's goal of defending any country that fought communism. Truman had been antagonized since he fired his general. General MacArthur had publicly challenged Truman's military strategy. As a result, the American public, which held MacArthur in such high esteem, came to despise Truman. Truman's political position was eroded and many of his Fair Deal legislations were defeated. Despite his downfall, Truman certainly had America's best interests in mind during his presidency; however his opinions did not necessarily mix with those of the public. Kennedy's presidency ranks third, despite its ephemerality. Its internal politics are the result of James Meredith's march. Meredith was a black man who decided to challenge Mississippi's racist education system. He became the first black man to attend the University of Mississippi in June 1966. Meredith began a protest he called the "March Against Fear." The march began from Memphis, Tennessee to Jackson, Mississippi and its mission was to encourage blacks to register to vote. As a result of the march, 4,000 black Mississippians registered to vote, which had a positive impact on JFK's election. JFK supported the civil rights movement and saw the march as beneficial to the movement's progress. As for JFK's foreign policy, his newly implemented Peace Corps was undoubtedly beneficial to America's stance against communism. The Peace Corps did not go so far as to fight communism directly, but it prevented communism from spreading beyond its borders. Kennedy inspired students at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor to petition to live and work in developing countries. These young men and women were sent abroad to help people in third world countries so that they would not fall under the influence of the communist authorities. Kennedy's Peace Corps methodically prevented the domino effect from occurring, which predicted that if a country fell to communism, other nations surrounding that country would follow suit. The Peace Corps was transformed into an independent nation and still exists today to help nations in need. The Ford presidency ranks fourth as his administration redeemed itself in the eyes of the public through its heroic valor. The American public has denounced many of Ford's predecessors and Ford struggles to forgive and forget. As the first unelected president, Ford decided it was time to move past the Nixon scandal and focus on a better future. He claimed that the accusation was harmful to Nixon's health, but had made no official commitment that he would resign. Many wanted Nixon to be punished for hisactions, but Ford's statement regarding the pledge [Nixon's pardon] put the matter to rest. Furthermore, Ford's leadership in American foreign affairs portrayed him as a hero in the eyes of the public. His leadership throughout the affair served as a remedy for America's recovery from the Nixon scandal. Known as the Mayaguez Affair, a Cambodian patrol boat seized the Mayaguez, a U.S. merchant ship, and its 38 crew members. The White House did not want a repeat of the USS Pueblo incident, an American ship seized by North Korea for eleven months in 1968. As a result, Ford sent a full-scale military rescue unit to rescue the crew members . The members returned home safely and Ford emerged as an American hero. He was praised by New York Times columnist Cyrus L. Sulzberger, who said that thanks to Ford's "steadfast and skillful leadership" in the crisis, "a polluting American image of weariness, uncertainty and pessimism" disappeared. Ford does not fight communism, but it is still vital as it reclaims America's cynical image. Ford quelled the American negativity of Nixon's presidency through his heroic actions that channeled positivity towards the American people. The Carter administration ranks fifth because, like Ford, it did not contain communism. He holistically protected America's interests. At the time the Carter administration had to deal with an unconventional Supreme Court case. Alan Bakke, a 37-year-old white male, applied for admission to medical school at the University of California at Davis. He filed a lawsuit against the University alleging that his rights had been violated because the school had accepted several less-qualified minority applicants. The California Supreme Court agreed and found that the quota system explicitly discriminated against racial groups and held that "no applicant shall be rejected because of his or her race, in favor of another less qualified, measured by standards applied without regard to race". The medical school, which was ordered to end its quota system, appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which reviewed the case in 1978. The Supreme Court ruled that the medical school racially discriminated against whites because it excluded them from 16 places out of 100 exclusively for reasons of racial discrimination. virtue of their race. The fact that blacks have historically been discriminated against more than whites was irrelevant in this case, because racial quota systems, whether applied against whites or against blacks, are always "odious to a free people whose institutions are founded on doctrine of equality." Under the Carter administration, this Supreme Court case demonstrated that no race should suffer racial discrimination and serves to ensure that all races can be discriminated against. As for Carter's foreign policy, it was considered the administration's greatest achievement. His Camp David Agreement led to the establishment of diplomatic relations between Israel and Egypt. Carter was concerned about the possibilities of Soviet-American conflicts and an embargo on Middle Eastern oil. Israel and Egypt never quite got along, but thanks to his strategic sense, flexibility and sensitivity, Carter managed to convince Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin to sign the peace framework in the Middle East and the framework for the conclusion of the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. It was the first step towards a comprehensive peace agreement between Egypt and Israel that is still ongoing today. Lyndon B. Johnson, Reagan and Bush are equally in sixth place as none of them have stepped downas low as Nixon did. LBJ's domestic policy considered first-hand knowledge of Jim Crow and aspired to a "Great Society," which would "end poverty and racial injustice." His Voting Rights Act of 1965 was a response to the attack by black protesters in Selma, Alabama, marching for the right to vote. It required suspending literacy rates in counties where voting rates were below a certain threshold and required federal clerks and marshals to register black voters. The effects of this policy were seen immediately: black voter turnout tripled in four years. On the other hand, LBJ's involvement in the Vietnam War caused his popularity to plummet. The United States saw the conflict as the result of Soviet expansion and the Communists' desire for conquest and expansion. US involvement in Vietnam increased exponentially; by the end of LBJ's presidency, there were approximately 535,000 Americans deployed to Vietnam. LBJ didn't want the Vietnam War to turn into another "Korean War," with an indecisive outcome, but he also didn't want to be known as the president who lost a country to communism. America's position in Vietnam has been hotly debated by many. People who were in favor of the war were known as Hawks and people who denounced the war were known as Doves. Most people were against the war as the Vietnam War was the first televised war. People saw firsthand how many atrocities were committed and how many pointless battles America had fought. One such battle that led the American public to condemn LBJ was the TET crime. The North Vietnamese dealt a crushing blow to the Americans, killing nearly 100,000 people. The TET crime served as a catalyst for the American public and led to a credibility gap. The credibility gap was a term widely used by skeptics to question the integrity of the Johnson administration's policies and statements made about the Vietnam War. The entire war severely discouraged America and led to the demise of LBJ as an unpleasant president. Reagan was highly regarded for his charismatic charm, but it did little to help America's economic condition. Reagan firmly believed in a free market in which “growth, prosperity, and, ultimately, human fulfillment, are created bottom-up, not government-down.” As a result of his beliefs, he pressured Congress to implement numerous tax cuts and dramatically reduce government spending. This meant cutting federal funding for many social services, increasing already severe restrictions on Medicaid, reducing federal subsidies for low-income housing, cutting spending on food stamps, and reducing federal aid to education. Furthermore, the tax cuts also reduced spending on the government itself. Reagan promised not only to reduce taxes and cut spending, but to balance the federal budget. He never did any of these things during his presidency. What he managed to do was contribute to the largest budget deficit in American history and triple the national debt during his eight years in office. As a result of its trickle-down economics, a greater disparity between rich and poor has emerged as the nation's private wealth has increased by 31%. On the other hand, Reagan's foreign policy was quite successful. Reagan's INF Treaty was the first US-Soviet agreement of any kind to provide for the destruction of nuclear weapons and was the first to provide for on-site monitoring of this action by.