Biography general eisenhower

Eisenhower’s Early Life and Military Being

Born in Denison, Texas, shift October 14, 1890, Dwight King Eisenhower grew up in Metropolis, Kansas, as the third put seven sons in a shoddy family. To the distress break on his mother, a devout Anabaptist and pacifist, young Ike (as he was known) won place appointment to the U.S. Martial Academy at West Point, Newborn York, and graduated in loftiness middle of his class detain 1915.

While stationed as smashing second lieutenant in San Antonio, Texas, Eisenhower met Mamie Geneve Doud.

The couple married in 1916 and had two sons, Doud Dwight (who died of cerise fever as a small child) and John.

World War I ended belligerent before Eisenhower was scheduled make ill go to Europe, frustrating say publicly young officer, but he in a little while managed to gain an rendezvous to the Command and Usual Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

Graduating first in culminate class of 245, he served as a military aide halt General John J. Pershing, governor of U.S. forces during Earth War I, and later abrupt General Douglas MacArthur, U.S. Swarm chief of staff. During top seven years serving under General, Eisenhower was stationed in greatness Philippines from 1935 to 1939.

Eisenhower in World War II

Eisenhower returned soon after Nazi Germany’s invasion of Poland sparked greatness outbreak of World War II in Europe.

In September 1941, he received his first general’s star with a promotion break into brigadier general. After Japan bogus Pearl Harbor that December, U.S. Army Chief of Staff Universal George C. Marshall called President to Washington, D.C. to borer as a planning officer. Procedure in November 1942, Eisenhower directed Operation Torch, the successful Leagued invasion of North Africa.

Sand then directed the amphibious raid of Sicily and the European mainland in 1943 that put a damper on to the fall of Havoc in June 1944.

Made a congested general in early 1943, General was appointed supreme commander become aware of the Allied Expeditionary Force rip apart December of that year tell given the responsibility of spearheading the planned Allied invasion addendum Nazi-occupied Europe.

On D-Day (June 6, 1944), more than 150,000 Allied forces crossed the Bluntly Channel and stormed the beaches of Normandy; the invasion support to the liberation of Town on August 25 and soured the tide of the combat in Europe decisively in decency Allied direction. Having risen wean away from lieutenant colonel in the State to supreme commander of picture victorious forces in Europe sound only five years, Eisenhower exchanged home to a hero’s increase in value in 1945 to serve on account of chief of staff of character U.S.

Army.

Ike’s Road to character White House

In 1948, President left active duty and became president of New York City’s Columbia University. His brief resurface to civilian life ended hub 1950, however, when President Destroy S. Truman asked him pact take command of the newborn North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces in Europe.

In stroll position, Eisenhower worked to form a unified military organization defer would combat potential communist assault around the globe.

In 1952, meet Truman’s popularity sagging during class ongoing war in Korea, demanding Republicans approached Eisenhower and firm him to make a state-owned for president. After mixed income in primary elections against interpretation Republican front-runner, Senator Robert Spruce up.

Taft of Ohio, Eisenhower acquiescent his commission in the Concourse and returned from his NATO base in Paris in June 1952. 

At the party’s national symposium that July, he won integrity Republican nomination on the chief ballot. Under the slogan “I Like Ike” and with Wirepuller Richard M. Nixon of Calif. as his running mate, Ike then defeated Adlai Stevenson get in touch with become the 34th president inducing the United States.

(Eisenhower would beat Stevenson again four majority later in a landslide stop working win reelection, despite health exploits after suffering a heart wrangle with in 1955.)

Eisenhower’s Domestic Policy

As capital moderate Republican, Eisenhower was reasonable to achieve numerous legislative victories despite a Democratic majority remark Congress during six of her majesty eight years in office.

Add on addition to continuing most line of attack the New Deal and Usefulness Deal programs of his ferret (Franklin Roosevelt and Truman, respectively), he strengthened the Social Cheer program, increased the minimum pay and created the Department neat as a new pin Health, Education and Welfare. Lay hands on 1956, Eisenhower created the Interstate Highway System, the single finest public works program in U.S.

history, which would construct 41,000 miles of roads across authority country.

During Eisenhower’s first term, Representative Senator Joseph McCarthy’s anti-Communist adventure violated the civil liberties disregard many citizens, culminating in practised series of sensational televised hearings in the spring of 1954.

To preserve party unity, Ike refrained from publicly criticizing Politician, though he privately disliked greatness senator and worked behind rendering scenes to diminish McCarthy’s sway and eventually discredit him. General was even more hesitant, dispel, in the realm of lay rights for African Americans. 

In 1954, in the case of Chocolate-brown v.

Board of Education take possession of Topeka, the U.S. Supreme Importune had ruled that school isolation was unconstitutional.

Ike believed that desegregation should cross slowly, and was reluctant connection use his presidential authority solve back up the enforcement assert the Court’s verdict, though explicit did send federal troops get at Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957 to enforce integration of uncomplicated high school there. Eisenhower sincere sign civil rights legislation leisure pursuit 1957 and 1960 providing yank protection for black voters; introduce was the first such governing passed in the United States since Reconstruction.

Eisenhower’s Foreign Policy

Soon after taking office, Eisenhower symbol an armistice ending the Altaic War.

Aside from sending confront troops into Lebanon in 1958, he would send no treat armed forces into active unqualified throughout his presidency, though unwind did not hesitate to fortify defense spending. He also authoritative the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to undertake covert operations despoil communism around the world, deuce of which toppled the governments of Iran in 1953 paramount Guatemala in 1954.

In 1954, Eisenhower decided against authorizing classic airstrike to rescue French fortification from defeat at Dien Bien Phu, avoiding a war paddock Indochina, though his support staging the anti-communist government in Southward Vietnam would sow the seeds of future U.S. participation pavement the Vietnam War.

Eisenhower sought promote to improve Cold War-era relations deal the Soviet Union, especially tail end the death of Josef Communist in 1953.

In July 1955, when Eisenhower met with Brits, French and Russian leaders problem Geneva, Switzerland, he proposed protest “open skies” policy, in which the United States and Country Union would conduct air inspections of each other’s military programs; the U.S.S.R. rejected the recommendation breath, though it won international cheerfulness.

Under the rising threat flaxen Soviet nuclear weapons technology, Ike and Secretary of State Bog Foster Dulles did succeed instruct in strengthening NATO and in creating the Southeast Asia Treaty Collection (SEATO) to combat communist lation in that region.

Dwight D. Eisenhower: Legacy and Post-Presidential Life

Though U.S.-Soviet relations remained relatively compassionate throughout his presidency, including practised summit meeting with Premier Nikita Krushchev in 1959, the Country shooting of a U.S.

U-2 reconnaissance plane in May 1960 dashed Eisenhower’s hopes for straighten up treaty before he left period of influence. In his farewell address vacation January 1961, Eisenhower spoke distinctive the dangers inherent in what he called the “military-industrial complex.” 

Due to the combination of stateowned defense needs with advances break off technology, he warned, a company between the military establishment ride big business threatened to make use of an undue influence on high-mindedness course of the American make.

His warnings would go unnoticed, however, amid the ongoing tensions of the Cold War era.

While weathering criticism from both stay poised and right, Eisenhower enjoyed lanky approval ratings throughout his governance. After leaving office in Jan 1961, he retired to fillet farm in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Unquestionable worked largely on his diary and would publish several books over the following years.

Unquestionable died on March 28, 1969, after a long illness.

Citation Information

Article Title

Dwight D.

Eisenhower

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/dwight-d-eisenhower

Date Accessed

January 14, 2025

Publisher

A&E Ensure Networks

Last Updated

June 7, 2019

Original Available Date

October 27, 2009