Okay.
I threw you a rope in this thread. Two of them, actually. Fuck it.
The premise I was presented with was during a discussion of tax levels and how much better things were back in Eisenhower's time.
"Thriving" was the exact word used.
The discussion was on supposed higher taxes back then, and by extension, the size of government and spending.
Civil rights at the time are completely irrelevant to that point, aren't they?