WI: Ike dies of his stroke in 1957?

[Sirius]

On November 25th 1957 Eisenhower suffered a minor stroke, leaving Richard Nixon in charge until his recovery. But what if the stroke had been severe enough that it caused Ike's death? How would the rest of the 1950's played out under the presidency of Richard Nixon? Does Nixon handle Castro and the Cuban revolution any differently than Eisenhower did?

 

[Sirius]

Here is a brief Presidential list I worked out, with some key events highlighted. Feedback would be appreciated.

List of Presidents since WWII
Harry S. Truman (April 12, 1945 - January 20, 1953)
* 1945: Truman succeeds FDR as President upon the latter's death
* 1948: Truman defeats Thomas Dewey in a close election

Dwight D. Eisenhower (January 20, 1953 - November 20, 1957)
* 1952: Eisenhower defeats Adlai Stevenson in a landslide
* 1956: Eisenhower defeats Adlai Stevenson again
* 1957: Eisenhower suffers a stroke and dies

Richard M. Nixon (November 20, 1957 - January 20, 1965)
* 1957: Nixon succeeds Eisenhower as President upon the latter's death
* 1959: Fidel Castro overthrows Batista. His government is recognized by the Nixon administration
* 1960: Cuba begins nationalizing property, including that of US companies. The US responds by implementing tit-for-tat sanctions. Nixon blocks a CIA plans to assassinate Castro and train Cuba expatriots to invade the island. It is believed he did this less out of sympathy for Castro and more to reign in the CIA, which had operated with very little oversight under Eisenhower.
* 1960: Nixon defeats Kennedy in a close election
* 1961: The Berlin Wall is erected
* 1962: A spat over the placement of Jupiter missiles in Turkey is quietly resolved after a meeting in person between Nixon and Khrushchev before reaching crisis levels. In their meeting, they also agree to support a neutral Laos, which becomes official policy of both countries later that year. This is viewed as the turning point in Cold War tensions, which had been ramping steadily since the end of WWII.
* 1963: President Diem of South Vietnam is overthrown in a coup. In response, Nixon slows down US involvement, which had been slowly ramping up since 1955.
* 1964: Nixon, term limited, cannot run for reelection

John F. Kennedy (January 20, 1965 - November 22, 1967)
* 1964: Kennedy, Rockefeller, and Wallace split the Electoral college, throwing the election to the Democratic-controlled Congress, which selects Kennedy as President and his running mate Hubert Humphrey as Vice President
* 1967: Allegations of Kennedy's affair with starlet Raquel Welch are leaked by the press. At a congressional hearing that fall, Kennedy confirms the allegations are true, and later resigns the presidency.

Hubert Humphrey (November 22, 1967 - January 20, 1969)
* 1967: Humphrey succeeds Kennedy, who resigned after the Welch Affair
* 1968: Humphrey surrogates introduce several of his social reform ideas to congress, all of which are shot down
* 1968: Humphrey runs for reelection, but is beat by a strong George Wallace candidacy

 

[Mark E.]

Most of the above scenario is very possible, but there are other issues that would not go away. The civil rights movement is going to happen, pretty much as in OTL. Its timing was the direct result of suburban expansion, automobile travel (in lieu of trains) and television that made racial inequity painfully obvious on a daily basis.

As for Kennedy, an affair with Raquel would not have forced him to resign; he just would not be in favor for re-election. After all, his brother kept going after Chappaquiddick. There is also the possibility that JFK would not be healthy enough too run in 1964 and his brother Robert might fill the spot.

The most interesting part of this scenario is that America is not involved in Vietnam, changing the peace movement.

 

[ScrewySqrl]

On November 25th 1957 Eisenhower suffered a minor stroke, leaving Richard Nixon in charge until his recovery. But what if the stroke had been severe enough that it caused Ike's death? How would the rest of the 1950's played out under the presidency of Richard Nixon? Does Nixon handle Castro and the Cuban revolution any differently than Eisenhower did?

A Joke from 1969:
A woman fell intoa coma in 1957, and awakened only last month. After the usual pleasantries, she asked, "And how is President Eisenhower?"

"President Eisenhower is dead."

"Oh my God! That means Nixon is President!"