Nowadays, the United States of America sets an example of the loyalty towards homosexuality to the rest of the world, but it was not the same at the second part of the twentieth century. During the Presidency of Eisenhower, the country advocated the “American dream” and actively led the Cold War. American government considered everything strange and non-understandable including homosexuality to be a reflection of communism and a threat to traditional American values that needed to be abolished. This paper aims to discuss the reasons for Eisenhower’s hatred towards homosexuals and the ways he waged a fight with them, and his attitude to the sexual immorality in whole.
After the end of the Second World War, the United States of America experienced economic lift that resulted in the increase of the social standards of living and family incomes. A lot of middle- and working-class families became able to get their own homes and left rented apartments in the cities moving to the suburbs. Furthermore, the post-war days marked the idea of “family togetherness,” the decrease of divorces, and the flourish of traditional family values. At the same time, the Cold War and the threat of communists made Americans fear unknown issues and groups of people that were different from others. Those days, homosexuality was illegal and announced to be a “security risk.” Eisenhower and his administration did not have strong evidence but thought that homosexuals were susceptible to blackmail and could give away secrets of state. Such threat was especially crucial among governmental employees, and Eisenhower started to hunt those of them who were suspected of having homosexual relations.
Soon after his election, Eisenhower took specific measures that were aimed to reveal sexual preferences of the governmental staff. He issued the Executive Order 10450 that “signaled a change in emphasis from issues of political loyalty to broader notions of general character and suitability” (Johnson 169). The new order proclaimed that every employee could be legally fired after being suspected of untrustworthiness and non-reliability. Furthermore, Eisenhower and his administration popularized the ideas of national protection and patriotism and made some employees let on the others. Thus, any deviations in appearance and behavior could become the reasons for examination. Eisenhower’s approach to security was rather cruel and was led by the head of the State Department’s Bureau of Security and Consular Affairs Scott McLeod. As Haines says, McLeod suspected and checked everything he did not understand (Johnson 171). McLeod and his investigative branch “Miscellaneous M Unit” used polygraph tests and interviews as the main techniques to detect homosexuals. Moreover, Eisenhower and his administration actively advocated the idea of firing employees with non-traditional sexual orientation among American allies and the United Nations.
However, Eisenhower’s concerns did not relate only to homosexuals. As Johnson writes, the “Miscellaneous M Unit” also detected sexually immoral people, and their immorality was equal to homosexuality (Johnson 172). During the Cold War, sexual immorality, which included premarital sex and having children out of wedlock, was considered to be a threat to family life. American government strongly supported traditional families and traditional roles of husband and wife, as they were a part of the “American dream” and perfect American society. Sexual immorality denounced traditions, and, what was more important, sexually immoral people could have sexual relations with the enemies and were suspected of blackmailing and could reveal state secrets to communists.
During his Presidency, Eisenhower fired a lot of employees suspecting them in homosexuality, sexual immorality, and possible treason. However, the parallel he drew between those features had no strong evidence and was based just on his opinion. Eisenhower and his administration used cruel methods and were dedicated to their goal, but their concerns about the connection between homosexuals and communists rested mostly on the lack of knowledge and understanding.
Works Cited
Johnson, David K. “The Federal Government Campaign against Homosexuals and Other “Sex Offenders” during the McCarthy Era.” The Title of Textbook, editor, Publisher, Year, pp. 164-176.
