Eisenhower was born inDenison, Texas, and raised inAbilene, Kansas. His family had a strong religious background, and his mother became aJehovah's Witness. Eisenhower, however, belonged to no organized church until 1952. He graduated fromWest Point in 1915 and later marriedMamie Doud, with whom he had two sons. DuringWorld War I, he was denied a request to serve in Europe and instead commanded a unit that trainedtank crews. Between the wars he served in staff positions in the US and the Philippines, reaching the rank ofbrigadier general shortly before the entry of the US into World War II in 1941. After further promotion Eisenhower oversaw the Allied invasions of North Africa andSicily before supervising the invasions ofFrance andGermany. After the war ended in Europe, he served asmilitary governor of theAmerican-occupied zone of Germany (1945),Army Chief of Staff (1945–1948),president of Columbia University (1948–1953), and as the firstsupreme commander of NATO (1951–1952).
The Eisenhauer (German for "iron hewer" or "iron miner") family migrated from the German village ofKarlsbrunn to theProvince of Pennsylvania in 1741.[4] Accounts vary as to how and when the German name Eisenhauer wasanglicized.[5]
David Jacob Eisenhower, Eisenhower's father, was a college-educated engineer, despite his own father's urging to stay on the family farm. Eisenhower's mother,Ida Elizabeth (Stover) Eisenhower, of predominantly German Protestant ancestry, moved to Kansas from Virginia. She married David on September 23, 1885, inLecompton, Kansas, on the campus of their alma mater,Lane University.[6] David owned a general store inHope, Kansas, but the business failed due to economic conditions and the family became impoverished. The Eisenhowers lived in Texas from 1889 until 1892, and later returned to Kansas, with $24 (equivalent to $840 in 2024) to their name. David worked as a railroad mechanic and then at a creamery.[6] By 1898, the parents made a decent living and provided a suitable home for their large family.[7]
Early life and education
The Eisenhower family home in Abilene, Kansas
Eisenhower was born David Dwight Eisenhower inDenison, Texas, on October 14, 1890, the third of seven sons born to Ida and David.[8] His mother soon reversed his two forenames after his birth to avoid the confusion of having two Davids in the family.[9] He was named Dwight after the evangelistDwight L. Moody.[10] All of the boys were nicknamed "Ike", such as "Big Ike" (Edgar) and "Little Ike" (Dwight); the nickname was intended as an abbreviation of their last name.[11] By World War II, only Dwight was still called "Ike".[4]
In 1892, the family moved toAbilene, Kansas, which Eisenhower considered his hometown.[4] As a child, he was involved in an accident that cost his younger brotherEarl an eye, for which he was remorseful for the remainder of his life.[12] Eisenhower developed a keen and enduring interest in exploring the outdoors. He learned about hunting and fishing, cooking, and card playing from a man named Bob Davis who camped on theSmoky Hill River.[13][14][15] While his mother was against war, it was her collection of history books that first sparked Eisenhower's interest in military history; he became a voracious reader on the subject. Other favorite subjects early in his education were arithmetic and spelling.[16]
Eisenhower's parents set aside specific times at breakfast and at dinner for daily family Bible reading. Chores were regularly assigned and rotated among all the children, and misbehavior was met with unequivocal discipline, usually from David.[17] His mother, previously a member (with David) of theRiver Brethren (Brethren in Christ Church) sect of theMennonites,[18] joined theInternational Bible Students Association, later known asJehovah's Witnesses. The Eisenhower home served as the local meeting hall from 1896 to 1915, though Dwight never joined.[19] His later decision to attend West Point saddened his mother, who felt that warfare was "rather wicked", but she did not overrule his decision.[20] Speaking of himself in 1948, Eisenhower said he was "one of the most deeply religious men I know" though unattached to any "sect or organization". He was baptized in thePresbyterian Church in 1953.[18]
Eisenhower attendedAbilene High School and graduated in 1909.[21] As a freshman, he injured his knee and developed a leg infection that extended into his groin, which his doctor diagnosed as life-threatening. The doctor insisted that the leg be amputated but Dwight refused to allow it, and surprisingly recovered, though he had to repeat his freshman year.[22] He and brotherEdgar both wanted to attend college, though they lacked the funds. They made a pact to take alternate years at college while the other worked to earn the tuitions.[23]
Edgar took the first turn at school, and Dwight was employed as a night supervisor at the Belle Springs Creamery.[24] When Edgar asked for a second year, Dwight consented. At that time a friend,Edward "Swede" Hazlett, was applying to theNaval Academy and urged Dwight to apply, since no tuition was required. Eisenhower requested consideration for either Annapolis or West Point with his Senator,Joseph L. Bristow. Though Eisenhower was among the winners of the entrance-exam competition, he was beyond the age limit for the Naval Academy.[25] He accepted an appointment to West Point in 1911.[25]
At West Point, Eisenhower relished the emphasis on traditions and on sports, but was less enthusiastic about the hazing, though he willingly accepted it as a plebe. He was also a regular violator of the more detailed regulations and finished school with a less than stellar discipline rating. Academically, Eisenhower's best subject by far was English. Otherwise, his performance was average, though he thoroughly enjoyed the typical emphasis of engineering on science and mathematics.[26]
In athletics, Eisenhower later said that "not making the baseball team at West Point was one of the greatest disappointments of my life, maybe my greatest".[27] He made thevarsity football team[28][29] and was a starter athalfback in 1912, when he tried to tackle the legendaryJim Thorpe of theCarlisle Indians.[30] Eisenhower suffered a torn knee while being tackled in the next game, which was the last he played; he reinjured his knee on horseback and in the boxing ring,[4][13][31] so he turned to fencing and gymnastics.[4]
West Point yearbook photo, 1915
Eisenhower later served as junior varsity football coach and cheerleader, which caught the attention of GeneralFrederick Funston.[32] He graduated from West Point in the middle of the class of 1915,[33] which became known as "the class the stars fell on", because 59 members eventually becamegeneral officers. After graduation in 1915, Second Lieutenant Eisenhower requested an assignment in the Philippines, which was denied; because of the ongoingMexican Revolution, he was posted toFort Sam Houston inSan Antonio, Texas, under the command of General Funston. In 1916, while stationed at Fort Sam Houston, Funston convinced him to become the football coach forPeacock Military Academy;[32] he later became the coach at St. Louis College, nowSt. Mary's University,[34] and was an honorary member of the Sigma Beta Chi fraternity there.[35]
While Eisenhower was stationed in Texas, he met Mamie Doud ofBoone, Iowa.[4] They were immediately taken with each other. He proposed to her onValentine's Day in 1916.[36] A November wedding date inDenver, Colorado, was moved up to July 1 due to the impendingAmerican entry into World War I; Funston approved 10 days of leave for their wedding.[37] The Eisenhowers moved many times during their first 35 years of marriage.[38]
Mamie Eisenhower, painted in 1953 by Thomas E. Stephens
Eisenhower was a golf enthusiast later in life, and he joined theAugusta National Golf Club in 1948.[42] He played golf frequently during and after his presidency and was unreserved in his passion for the game, to the point of golfing during winter; he ordered his golf balls painted black so he could see them better against snow. He had a basic golf facility installed at Camp David, and he became close friends with the Augusta National ChairmanClifford Roberts, inviting Roberts to stay at theWhite House on numerous occasions.[43] Roberts, an investment broker, also handled the Eisenhower family's investments.[44]
He beganoil painting while at Columbia University, after watchingThomas E. Stephens paint Mamie's portrait. Eisenhower painted about 260 oils during the last 20 years of his life. The images were mostly landscapes but also portraits of subjects such as Mamie, their grandchildren, Field MarshalBernard Montgomery,George Washington, andAbraham Lincoln.[45]Wendy Beckett stated that Eisenhower's paintings, "simple and earnest", caused her to "wonder at the hidden depths of this reticent president". A conservative in both art and politics, Eisenhower in a 1962 speech denounced modern art as "a piece of canvas that looks like a broken-downTin Lizzie, loaded with paint, has been driven over it".[40]
Angels in the Outfield was Eisenhower's favorite movie.[46] His favorite reading material for relaxation were the Western novels ofZane Grey.[47] With his excellent memory and ability to focus, Eisenhower was skilled at cards. He learned poker, which he called his "favorite indoor sport", in Abilene. Eisenhower recorded West Point classmates' poker losses for payment after graduation and later stopped playing because his opponents resented having to pay him. A friend reported that after learning to playcontract bridge at West Point, Eisenhower played the game six nights a week for five months.[48] Eisenhower continued to play bridge throughout his military career. While stationed in the Philippines, he played regularly with PresidentManuel Quezon, earning him the nickname the "Bridge Wizard of Manila".[49] An unwritten qualification for an officer's appointment to Eisenhower's staff during World War II was the ability to play bridge. He played even during the stressful weeks leading up to the D-Day landings. His favorite partner was GeneralAlfred Gruenther, considered the best player in the US Army; he appointed Gruenther his second-in-command at NATO partly because of his skill at bridge. Saturday night bridge games at the White House were a feature of his presidency. He was a strong player, though not an expert by modern standards. The great bridge player and popularizerEly Culbertson described his game as classic and sound with "flashes of brilliance" and said that "you can always judge a man's character by the way he plays cards. Eisenhower is a calm and collected player and never whines at his losses. He is brilliant in victory but never commits the bridge player's worst crime of gloating when he wins." Bridge expertOswald Jacoby frequently participated in the White House games and said, "The President plays better bridge than golf. He tries to break 90 at golf. At bridge, you would say he plays in the 70s."[50]
Eisenhower served initially in logistics and then theinfantry at various camps in Texas andGeorgia until 1918. When the US enteredWorld War I, he immediately requested an overseas assignment but was denied and assigned toFt. Leavenworth, Kansas.[51] In February 1918, he was transferred toCamp Meade inMaryland with the65th Engineers. His unit was later ordered to France, but, to his chagrin, he received orders for the newtank corps, where he was promoted tobrevetlieutenant colonel in theNational Army.[52] He commanded a unit that trained tank crews atCamp Colt – his first command. Though Eisenhower and his tank crews never saw combat, he displayed excellent organizational skills as well as an ability to accurately assess junior officers' strengths and make optimal placements of personnel.[53]
His spirits were raised when the unit under his command received orders overseas to France. This time his wishes were thwarted when thearmistice was signed a week before his departure date.[54] Completely missing out on the warfront left him depressed and bitter for a time, despite receiving theDistinguished Service Medal for his work at home.[55] In World War II, rivals who had combat service in the Great War (led by Gen.Bernard Montgomery) sought to denigrate Eisenhower for his previous lack of combat duty, despite his stateside experience establishing a camp for thousands of troops and developing a full combat training schedule.[56]
Between the Wars (1918–1939)
In service of generals
Eisenhower (far right) with friends William Stuhler, Major Brett, and Paul V. Robinson in 1919, four years after graduating from theUnited States Military Academy atWest Point
After the war, Eisenhower reverted to his regular rank ofcaptain and a few days later was promoted tomajor, a rank he held for 16 years.[57] The major was assigned in 1919 to atranscontinental Army convoy to test vehicles and dramatize the need for improved roads. Indeed, the convoy averaged only 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h) from Washington, D.C. to San Francisco; later the improvement of highways became a signature issue for Eisenhower as president.[58]
He assumed duties again atCamp Meade, Maryland, commanding a battalion of tanks, where he remained until 1922. His schooling continued, focused on the nature of the next war and the role of the tank. His new expertise intank warfare was strengthened by a close collaboration withGeorge S. Patton,Sereno E. Brett, and other senior tank leaders. Their leading-edge ideas of speed-oriented offensive tank warfare were strongly discouraged by superiors, who considered the new approach too radical and preferred to continue using tanks in a strictly supportive role for the infantry. Eisenhower was even threatened withcourt-martial for continued publication of these proposed methods of tank deployment, and he relented.[59][60]
From 1920, Eisenhower served under a succession of talented generals –Fox Conner,John J. Pershing,Douglas MacArthur andGeorge Marshall. He first became executive officer to General Conner in thePanama Canal Zone, where, joined by Mamie, he served until 1924. Under Conner's tutelage, he studied military history and theory (includingCarl von Clausewitz'sOn War), and later cited Conner's enormous influence on his military thinking, saying in 1962 that "Fox Conner was the ablest man I ever knew." Conner's comment on Eisenhower was, "[He] is one of the most capable, efficient and loyal officers I have ever met."[61] On Conner's recommendation, in 1925–1926 he attended theCommand and General Staff College atFort Leavenworth, Kansas, where he graduated first in a class of 245 officers.[62][63]
During the late 1920s and early 1930s, Eisenhower's career stalled somewhat, as military priorities diminished; many of his friends resigned for high-paying business jobs. He was assigned to theAmerican Battle Monuments Commission directed by General Pershing, and with the help of his brotherMilton Eisenhower, then a journalist at theAgriculture Department, he produced a guide to American battlefields in Europe.[64] He then was assigned to theArmy War College and graduated in 1928. After a one-year assignment in France, Eisenhower served as executive officer to GeneralGeorge V. Moseley,Assistant Secretary of War, from 1929 to February 1933.[65] Major Eisenhower graduated from theArmy Industrial College in 1933 and later served on the faculty (it was later expanded to become the Industrial College of the Armed Services and is now known as the Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy).[66][67]
His primary duty was planning for the next war, which proved most difficult in the midst of theGreat Depression.[68] He then was posted as chief military aide to General Douglas MacArthur, Army Chief of Staff. In 1932, he participated in the clearing of theBonus March encampment in Washington, D.C. Although he was against the actions taken against the veterans and strongly advised MacArthur against taking a public role in it, he later wrote the Army's official incident report, endorsing MacArthur's conduct.[69][70]
Philippine tenure (1935–1939)
In 1935, Eisenhower accompanied MacArthur to the Philippines, where he served as assistant military adviser to thePhilippine government in developing their army. MacArthur allowed Eisenhower to handpick an officer whom he thought would contribute to the mission. Hence he choseJames Ord, a classmate of his at West Point. Having been brought up in Mexico, which inculcated into him the Spanish culture which influenced both Mexico and the Philippines, Ord was deemed the right pick for the job. Eisenhower had strong philosophical disagreements with MacArthur regarding the role of thePhilippine Army and the leadership qualities that an American army officer should exhibit and develop in his subordinates. The antipathy between Eisenhower and MacArthur lasted the rest of their lives.[71]
Historians have concluded that this assignment provided valuable preparation for handling the challenging personalities ofWinston Churchill, George S. Patton, George Marshall, and Bernard Montgomery during World War II. Eisenhower later emphasized that too much had been made of the disagreements with MacArthur and that a positive relationship endured.[72] While in Manila, Mamie suffered a life-threatening stomach ailment but recovered fully. Eisenhower was promoted to the rank of permanent lieutenant colonel in 1936. He also learned to fly with thePhilippine Army Air Corps at the Zablan Airfield inCamp Murphy under Capt.Jesus Villamor, making a solo flight over the Philippines in 1937, and obtained his private pilot's license in 1939 atFort Lewis.[73][74][75] Also around this time, he was offered a post by thePhilippine Commonwealth Government, namely by then Philippine PresidentManuel L. Quezon on recommendations by MacArthur, to become the chief of police of a new capital being planned, now namedQuezon City, but he declined the offer.[76]
World War II (1939–1945)
The meeting of War Plans Division, War Department General Staff in 1942
Eisenhower returned to the United States in December 1939 and was assigned ascommanding officer of the 1st Battalion,15th Infantry Regiment atFort Lewis, Washington, later becoming the regimental executive officer. In March 1941 he was promoted to colonel and assigned as chief of staff of the newly activatedIX Corps under Major GeneralKenyon Joyce. In June 1941, he was appointed chief of staff to GeneralWalter Krueger, Commander of theThird Army, at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. After successfully participating in theLouisiana Maneuvers, he was promoted to brigadier general on October 3, 1941.[77][78]
After theJapanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Eisenhower was assigned to the General Staff inWashington, where he served until June 1942 with responsibility for creating the major war plans to defeat Japan and Germany. He was appointed Deputy Chief in charge of Pacific Defenses under the Chief of War Plans Division (WPD), GeneralLeonard T. Gerow, and then succeeded Gerow as Chief of the War Plans Division. Next, he was appointed Assistant Chief of Staff in charge of the new Operations Division (which replaced WPD) under Chief of Staff General George C. Marshall, who spotted talent and promoted accordingly.[79]
At the end of May 1942, Eisenhower accompanied Lt. Gen.Henry H. Arnold, commanding general of theArmy Air Forces, to London to assess the effectiveness of the theater commander in England, Maj. Gen.James E. Chaney.[80] He returned to Washington on June 3 with a pessimistic assessment, stating he had an "uneasy feeling" about Chaney and his staff. On June 23, 1942, he returned to London as Commanding General,European Theater of Operations (ETOUSA), based in London and with a house inCoombe, Kingston upon Thames,[81] and took over command of ETOUSA from Chaney.[82] He was promoted to lieutenant general on July 7.[citation needed]
French cooperation was deemed necessary to the campaign and Eisenhower encountered a "preposterous situation"[according to whom?] with the multiple rival factions in France. His primary objective was to move forces successfully intoTunisia and intending to facilitate that objective, he gave his support toFrançois Darlan as High Commissioner in North Africa, despite Darlan's previous high offices inVichy France and his continued role as commander-in-chief of theFrench armed forces. TheAllied leaders were "thunderstruck"[according to whom?] by this from a political standpoint, though none had offered Eisenhower guidance with the problem in planning the operation. Eisenhower was severely criticized[by whom?] for the move. Darlan was assassinated on December 24 byFernand Bonnier de La Chapelle, a French antifascist monarchist.[84] Eisenhower later appointed as High Commissioner GeneralHenri Giraud, who had been installed by the Allies as Darlan's commander-in-chief.[85]
After the capitulation ofAxis forces in North Africa, Eisenhower oversaw theinvasion of Sicily. OnceMussolini, theItalian leader, had fallen in Italy, the Allies switched their attention to the mainland withOperation Avalanche. But while Eisenhower argued with President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Churchill, who both insisted on unconditional surrender in exchange for helping the Italians, the Germans pursued an aggressive buildup of forces in the country. The Germans made the already tough battle more difficult by adding 19divisions and initially outnumbering theAllied forces 2 to 1.[87]
Supreme Allied commander and Operation Overlord
General Eisenhower reads his order of the day for June 5, 1944, the day before D-Day.
In December 1943, President Roosevelt decided that Eisenhower – not Marshall – would be Supreme Allied Commander in Europe. The following month, he resumed command ofETOUSA and the following month was officially designated as theSupreme Allied Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF), serving in a dual role until the end of hostilities in Europe in May 1945.[88] He was charged in these positions with planning and carrying out the Alliedassault on the coast of Normandy in June 1944 under the code name Operation Overlord, the liberation of Western Europe and the invasion of Germany.[89]
Eisenhower, as well as the officers and troops under him, had learned valuable lessons in their previous operations, and their skills had all strengthened in preparation for the next most difficult campaign against the Germans—a beach landing assault. His first struggles, however, were with Allied leaders and officers on matters vital to the success of the Normandy invasion; he argued with Roosevelt over an essential agreement withDe Gaulle to useFrench resistance forces in covert operations against the Germans in advance of Operation Overlord.[90] AdmiralErnest J. King fought with Eisenhower over King's refusal to provide additional landing craft from the Pacific.[91] Eisenhower also insisted that the British give him exclusive command over all strategicair forces to facilitate Overlord, to the point of threatening to resign unless Churchill relented, which he did.[92] Eisenhower then designed a bombing plan in France in advance of Overlord and argued with Churchill over the latter's concern with civilian casualties; de Gaulle interjected that the casualties were justified, and Eisenhower prevailed.[93] He also had to skillfully manage to retain the services of the often unruly George S. Patton, by severely reprimanding him when Patton earlier hadslapped a subordinate, and then when Patton gave a speech in which he made improper comments about postwar policy.[94]
The D-Day Normandy landings on June 6, 1944, were costly but successful. Two months later (August 15), theinvasion of Southern France took place, and control of forces in the southern invasion passed from the AFHQ to the SHAEF. Many thought that victory in Europe would come by summer's end, but the Germans did not capitulate for almost a year. From then until theend of the war in Europe on May 8, 1945, Eisenhower, through SHAEF, commanded all Allied forces, and through his command of ETOUSA had administrative command of all US forces on theWestern Front north of theAlps. He was ever mindful of the inevitable loss of life and suffering that would be experienced by the troops under his command and their families. This prompted him to make a point of visiting every division involved in the invasion.[95] Eisenhower's sense of responsibility was underscored by his draft of a statement to be issued if the invasion failed. It has been called one of the great speeches of history:
Our landings in the Cherbourg-Havre area have failed to gain a satisfactory foothold and I have withdrawn the troops. My decision to attack at this time and place was based on the best information available. The troops, the air and the Navy did all that bravery and devotion to duty could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt, it is mine alone.[96]
Every ground commander seeks the battle of annihilation; so far as conditions permit, he tries to duplicate in modern war the classic example ofCannae.
Once the coastal assault had succeeded, Eisenhower insisted on retaining personal control over the land battle strategy and was immersed in the command and supply of multiple assaults through France on Germany. Field Marshal Montgomery insisted priority be given to his21st Army Group's attack being made in the north, while GeneralsBradley (12th US Army Group) andDevers (Sixth US Army Group) insisted they be given priority in the center and south of the front (respectively). Eisenhower worked tirelessly to address the demands of the rival commanders to optimize Allied forces, often by giving them tactical latitude; many historians conclude this delayed the Allied victory in Europe. However, due to Eisenhower's persistence, the pivotal supply port atAntwerp was successfully, albeit belatedly,opened in late 1944.[98]
In recognition of his senior position in the Allied command, on December 20, 1944, he was promoted toGeneral of the Army, equivalent to the rank ofField Marshal in most European armies. In this and the previous high commands he held, Eisenhower showed his great talents for leadership and diplomacy. Although he had never seen action himself, he won the respect of front-line commanders. He interacted adeptly with allies such asWinston Churchill, Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery and GeneralCharles de Gaulle. He had serious disagreements with Churchill and Montgomery over questions of strategy, but these rarely upset his relationships with them. He dealt with SovietMarshal Zhukov, his Russian counterpart, and they became good friends.[99]
In December 1944, the Germans launched a surprise counteroffensive, theBattle of the Bulge, which the Allies successfully repelled in early 1945 after Eisenhower repositioned his armies and improved weather allowed theArmy Air Force to engage.[100] German defenses continued to deteriorate on both theEastern Front with theRed Army and theWestern Front with the Western Allies. The British wanted to capture Berlin, but Eisenhower decided it would be a military mistake for him to attack Berlin and said orders to that effect would have to be explicit. The British backed down but then wanted Eisenhower to move intoCzechoslovakia for political reasons. Washington refused to support Churchill's plan to use Eisenhower's army for political maneuvers againstMoscow. The actual division of Germany followed the lines that Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin had previously agreed upon. The Soviet Red Army captured Berlin in avery bloody large-scale battle, and the Germans finally surrendered on May 7, 1945.[101]
Throughout 1945, the allied armies liberated numerousNazi concentration camps throughout Europe. As the allies learned the full extent ofthe Holocaust, Eisenhower anticipated that, in the future, attempts to recharacterizeNazi crimes as propaganda (Holocaust denial) would be made, and took steps against it by demanding extensive photo and film documentation of Naziextermination camps.[102]
After World War II (1945–1953)
Military Governor of the American-occupied zone of Germany
General Eisenhower served as military governor of the American zone (highlighted) inAllied-occupied Germany from May through November 1945.Eisenhower sharing a toast withZhukov,Montgomery and other Allied officials, June 1945
Following the German unconditional surrender, Eisenhower was appointed military governor of the American-occupied zone of Germany, located primarily inSouthern Germany, andheadquartered inFrankfurt am Main. Upon discovery of theNazi concentration camps, he ordered camera crews to document evidence for use in theNuremberg Trials. He reclassified Germanprisoners of war (POWs) in US custody asDisarmed Enemy Forces (DEFs), who were no longer subject to theGeneva Convention. Eisenhower followed the orders laid down by theJoint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) in directiveJCS 1067 but softened them by bringing in 400,000 tons of food for civilians and allowing morefraternization.[103][104][105] In response to the devastation in Germany, including food shortages and an influx of refugees, he arranged distribution of American food and medical equipment.[106] His actions reflected the new American attitudes of the German people as Nazi victims not villains, while aggressively purging the ex-Nazis.[107][108]
Army Chief of Staff
In November 1945, Eisenhower returned to Washington to replace Marshall asChief of Staff of the Army. His main role was the rapid demobilization of millions of soldiers, which was delayed by lack of shipping. Eisenhower was convinced in 1946 that the Soviet Union did not want war and that friendly relations could be maintained; he strongly supported the new United Nations and favored its involvement in the control of atomic bombs. However, in formulating policies regarding theatomic bomb and relations with the Soviets, Truman was guided by the State Department and ignored Eisenhower and thePentagon. Indeed, Eisenhower had opposed the use of the atomic bomb against the Japanese, writing, "First, the Japanese were ready to surrender and it wasn't necessary to hit them with that awful thing. Second, I hated to see our country be the first to use such a weapon."[109] Initially, Eisenhower hoped for cooperation with the Soviets.[110] He even visitedWarsaw in 1945. Invited byBolesław Bierut and decorated with thehighest military decoration, he was shocked by the scale of destruction in the city.[111] However, by mid-1947, as east–west tensions over economic recovery in Germany and theGreek Civil War escalated, Eisenhower agreed with acontainment policy to stop Soviet expansion.[110]
1948 presidential election
In June 1943, a visiting politician had suggested to Eisenhower that he might become president after the war. Believing that a general should not participate in politics,Merlo J. Pusey wrote that "figuratively speaking, [Eisenhower] kicked his political-minded visitor out of his office". As others asked him about his political future, Eisenhower told one that he could not imagine wanting to be considered for any political job "from dogcatcher to Grand High Supreme King of the Universe", and another that he could not serve as Army Chief of Staff if others believed he had political ambitions. In 1945, Truman told Eisenhower during thePotsdam Conference that if desired, the president would help the general win the1948 election,[112] and in 1947 he offered to run as Eisenhower's running mate on the Democratic ticket if MacArthur won the Republican nomination.[113]
As the election approached, other prominent citizens and politicians from both parties urged Eisenhower to run. In January 1948, after learning of plans inNew Hampshire to elect delegates supporting him for the forthcomingRepublican National Convention, Eisenhower stated through the Army that he was "not available for and could not accept nomination to high political office"; "life-long professional soldiers", he wrote, "in the absence of some obvious and overriding reason, [should] abstain from seeking high political office".[112] Eisenhower maintained no political party affiliation during this time. Many believed he was forgoing his only opportunity to be president as RepublicanThomas E. Dewey was considered the probable winner and would presumably serve two terms, meaning that Eisenhower, at age 66 in 1956, would be too old to run.[114]
President at Columbia University and NATO Supreme Commander
Eisenhower lighting the Columbia University Yule Log, 1949
Eisenhower posing in front ofAlma Mater at Columbia in 1953
In 1948, Eisenhower became President ofColumbia University, anIvy League university in New York City, where he was inducted intoPhi Beta Kappa.[115] The choice was subsequently characterized as not having been a good fit for either party.[116] During that year, Eisenhower's memoir,Crusade in Europe, was published.[117] It was a major financial success.[118] Eisenhower sought the advice of Augusta National's Roberts about the tax implications of this,[118] and in due course Eisenhower's profit on the book was substantially aided by what authorDavid Pietrusza calls "a ruling without precedent" by theDepartment of the Treasury. It held that Eisenhower was not a professional writer, but rather, marketing the lifetime asset of his experiences, and thus he had to pay only capital gains tax on his $635,000 advance instead of the much higher personal tax rate. This ruling saved Eisenhower about $400,000.[119]
Eisenhower's stint as the president of Columbia was punctuated by his activity within theCouncil on Foreign Relations, a study group he led concerning the political and military implications of theMarshall Plan andThe American Assembly, Eisenhower's "vision of a great cultural center where business, professional and governmental leaders could meet from time to time to discuss and reach conclusions concerning problems of a social and political nature".[120] His biographerBlanche Wiesen Cook suggested that this period served his "political education", since he had to prioritize wide-ranging educational, administrative, and financial demands for the university.[121] Through his involvement in the Council on Foreign Relations, he also gained exposure to economic analysis, which became the bedrock of his understanding in economic policy. "Whatever General Eisenhower knows about economics, he has learned at the study group meetings", one Aid to Europe member claimed.[122]
Eisenhower accepted the presidency of the university to expand his ability to promote "the American form of democracy" through education.[123] He was clear on this point to the trustees on the search committee. He informed them that his main purpose was "to promote the basic concepts of education in a democracy".[123] As a result, he was "almost incessantly" devoted to the idea of the American Assembly, a concept he developed into an institution by the end of 1950.[120]
Within months of becoming university president, Eisenhower was requested to advise Secretary of DefenseJames Forrestal on the unification of the armed services.[124] About six months after his appointment, he became the informalChairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Washington.[125] Two months later he fell ill with what was diagnosed as acute gastroenteritis, and he spent over a month in recovery at theAugusta National Golf Club.[126] He returned to his post in New York in mid-May, and in July 1949 took a two-month vacation out-of-state.[127] Because the American Assembly had begun to take shape, he traveled around the country during summer and fall 1950, building financial support for it, including fromColumbia Associates, a recently created alumni and benefactor organization for which he had helped recruit members.[128]Eisenhower was unknowingly building resentment and a reputation among the Columbia University faculty and staff as an absentee president who was using the university for his own interests. As a career military man, he naturally had little in common with the academics.[129] The contacts gained through university and American Assembly fundraising activities would later become important supporters in Eisenhower's bid for the Republican party nomination and the presidency. Meanwhile, Columbia University's liberal faculty members became disenchanted with the university president's ties to oilmen and businessmen.[citation needed]
He did have some successes at Columbia. Puzzled as to why no American university had undertaken the "continuous study of the causes, conduct and consequences of war",[130] Eisenhower undertook the creation of theInstitute of War and Peace Studies, a research facility to "study war as a tragic social phenomenon".[131] Eisenhower was able to use his network of wealthy friends and acquaintances to secure initial funding for it.[132] Under its founding director, international relations scholarWilliam T. R. Fox, the institute began in 1951 and became a pioneer ininternational security studies, one that would be emulated by other institutes in the United States and Britain later in the decade.[130] The Institute of War and Peace Studies thus became one of the projects which Eisenhower considered his "unique contribution" to Columbia.[131] As the president of Columbia, Eisenhower gave voice to his opinions about the supremacy and difficulties of American democracy. His tenure marked his transformation from military to civilian leadership. His biographer Travis Beal Jacobs also suggested that the alienation of the Columbia faculty contributed to sharp intellectual criticism of him for many years.[133]
The trustees of Columbia University declined to accept Eisenhower's offer to resign in December 1950, when he took an extended leave from the university to become the Supreme Commander of theNorth Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and he was given operational command of NATO forces in Europe.[134] Eisenhower retired from active service as an army general on June 3, 1952,[135] and he resumed his presidency of Columbia. Meanwhile, Eisenhower had become the Republican Party nominee for president of the United States, a contest that he won on November 4. Eisenhower tendered his resignation as university president on November 15, 1952, effective January 19, 1953, the day before his inauguration.[136]
At home, Eisenhower was more effective in making the case for NATO in Congress than the Truman administration had been. By the middle of 1951, with American and European support, NATO was a genuine military power. Nevertheless, Eisenhower thought that NATO would become a truly European alliance, with the American and Canadian commitments ending after about ten years.[137]
President Truman sensed a broad-based desire for an Eisenhower candidacy for president, and he again pressed him to run for the office as a Democrat in 1951. But Eisenhower voiced his disagreements with theDemocrats and declared himself to be a Republican.[138] A "Draft Eisenhower" movement in the Republican Party persuaded him to declare his candidacy in the 1952 presidential election to counter the candidacy of non-interventionist SenatorRobert A. Taft. The effort was a long struggle; Eisenhower had to be convinced that political circumstances had created a genuine duty to offer himself as a candidate and that there was a mandate from the public for him to be their president.Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. and others succeeded in convincing him, and he resigned his command at NATO in June 1952 to campaign full-time.[139]
"I Like Ike" televised campaign ad, 1952
Eisenhower defeated Taft for the nomination, having won critical delegate votes from Texas. His campaign was noted for the simple slogan "I Like Ike". It was essential to his success that Eisenhower express opposition to Roosevelt's policy at theYalta Conference and to Truman's policies in Korea and China—matters in which he had once participated.[140][141] In defeating Taft for the nomination, it became necessary for Eisenhower to appease the right-wing Old Guard of the Republican Party; his selection of Richard Nixon as the vice-president on the ticket was designed in part for that purpose. Nixon also provided a stronganti-communist reputation, as well as youth to counter Eisenhower's more advanced age.[142]
1952 electoral vote results
Eisenhower insisted on campaigning in theSouth in the general election, against the advice of his campaign team, refusing to surrender the region to the Democrats. The campaign strategy was dubbed "K1C2" and was intended to focus on attacking the Truman administration on three failures: the Korean War,Communism, andcorruption.[143]
Two controversies tested him and his staff, but they did not damage the campaign. One involved a report that Nixon had improperly received funds from a secret trust. Nixonspoke out adroitly to avoid potential damage, but the matter permanently alienated the two candidates. The second issue centered on Eisenhower's relented decision to confront the controversial methods of Joseph McCarthy on his home turf in a Wisconsin appearance.[144] Eisenhower condemned "wickedness in government", an allusion to gay government employees who wereconflated with communism during McCarthyism.[145]
Eisenhower defeated Democratic candidateAdlai Stevenson II in a landslide, with an electoral margin of 442 to 89, marking the first Republican return to the White House in 20 years.[141] He also brought a Republican majority in the House, by eight votes, and in the Senate, evenly divided with Vice President Nixon providing Republicans the majority.[146]
Eisenhower was the last president born in the 19th century, and he was the oldest president-elect at age 62 sinceJames Buchanan in 1856.[147] He was the third commanding general of the Army to serve as president, afterGeorge Washington andUlysses S. Grant, and the last not to have held political office prior to becoming president untilDonald Trump entered office in January 2017.[148]
In the United States presidential election of 1956, Eisenhower, the popular incumbent, was re-elected. The election was a re-match of 1952, as his opponent in 1956 was Stevenson, a former Illinois governor, whom Eisenhower had defeated four years earlier. Compared to the 1952 election, Eisenhower gainedKentucky,Louisiana, andWest Virginia from Stevenson, while losingMissouri. His voters were less likely to bring up his leadership record. Instead what stood out this time "was the response to personal qualities — to his sincerity, his integrity and sense of duty, his virtue as a family man, his religious devotion, and his sheer likeableness."[149]
Truman and Eisenhower had minimal discussions about the transition of administrations due to a complete estrangement between them as a result of campaigning.[150] Eisenhower selectedJoseph M. Dodge as his budget director, then askedHerbert Brownell Jr. andLucius D. Clay to make recommendations for his cabinet appointments. He accepted their recommendations without exception; they includedJohn Foster Dulles andGeorge M. Humphrey with whom he developed his closest relationships, as well asOveta Culp Hobby. His cabinet consisted of several corporate executives and one labor leader, and one journalist dubbed it "eight millionaires and a plumber".[151] The cabinet was known for its lack of personal friends, office seekers, or experienced government administrators. He also upgraded the role of theNational Security Council in planning all phases of the Cold War.[152]
Before his inauguration, Eisenhower led a meeting of advisors atPearl Harbor where they set goals for his first term: balance the budget, end the Korean War, defend vital interests at lower cost through nuclear deterrent, and end price and wage controls.[153] He also conducted the first pre-inaugural cabinet meeting in history in late 1952; he used this meeting to articulate his anti-communist Russia policy. His inaugural address was exclusively devoted to foreign policy and included this same philosophy as well as a commitment to foreign trade and the United Nations.[154]
February 1959 White House portrait
Eisenhower made greater use of press conferences than any previous president, holding almost 200 over his two terms. He saw the benefit of maintaining a good relationship with the press, and he saw value in them as a means of direct communication with the American people.[155]
Throughout his presidency, Eisenhower adhered to a political philosophy of dynamic conservatism.[156] He described himself as a "progressive conservative",[157] and used terms such as "progressive moderate" and "dynamic conservatism" to describe his approach.[158] He continued all the majorNew Deal programs still in operation, especiallySocial Security. He expanded its programs and rolled them into the new Cabinet-level agency of theDepartment of Health, Education and Welfare, while extending benefits to an additional ten million workers. He implementedracial integration in the Armed Services in two years, which had not been completed under Truman.[159]
In a private letter, Eisenhower wrote:
Should any party attempt to abolish social security and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group of course, that believes you can do these things [...] Their number is negligible and they are stupid.[160]
When the1954 Congressional elections approached, it became evident that the Republicans were in danger of losing their thin majority in both houses. Eisenhower was among those who blamed the Old Guard for the losses, and he took up the charge to stop suspected efforts by the right wing to take control of the GOP. He then articulated his position as a moderate, progressive Republican: "I have just one purpose ... and that is to build up a strong progressive Republican Party in this country. If the right wing wants a fight, they are going to get it ... before I end up, either this Republican Party will reflect progressivism or I won't be with them anymore."[161]
Eisenhower initially planned on serving only one term, but he remained flexible in case leading Republicans wanted him to run again. He was recovering from a heart attack late in September 1955 when he met with his closest advisors to evaluate the GOP's potential candidates; the group concluded that a second term was well advised, and he announced that he would run again in February 1956.[162][163] Eisenhower was publicly noncommittal about having Nixon as the Vice President on his ticket; the question was an especially important one in light of his heart condition. He personally favoredRobert B. Anderson, a Democrat who rejected his offer, so Eisenhower resolved to leave the matter in the hands of the party, which chose Nixon nearly unanimously.[164] In 1956, Eisenhower faced Adlai Stevenson again and won by an even larger landslide, with 457 of 531 electoral votes and 57.6 percent of the popular vote. His campaigning was curtailed by health considerations.[165]
Eisenhower made full use of his valet, chauffeur, and secretarial support; he rarely drove or even dialed a phone number. He was an avid fisherman, golfer, painter, and bridge player.[166] On August 26, 1959, he was aboard the maiden flight ofAir Force One, which replaced theColumbine as the presidential aircraft.[167]
President Eisenhower delivered remarks about the need for a new highway program at Cadillac Square in Detroit on October 29, 1954 Text of speech excerpt
Eisenhower's goal to create improved highways was influenced by his involvement in the Army's 1919Transcontinental Motor Convoy. He was assigned as an observer for the mission, which involved sending a convoy of Army vehicles coast to coast.[171][172] His subsequent experience with the Germanautobahn convinced him of the benefits of an Interstate Highway System. The system could also be used as a runway for airplanes, which would be beneficial to war efforts. Franklin D. Roosevelt put this system into place with theFederal-Aid Highway Act of 1944. He thought that an interstate highway system would be beneficial for military operations and would support continued economic growth.[173] The legislation initially stalled in Congress over the issuance of bonds to finance the project, but the legislative effort was renewed and Eisenhower signed the law in June 1956.[174]
Eisenhower with Egyptian PresidentGamal Abdel Nasser during Nasser's visit to the United Nations in New York, September 1960Eisenhower with Indian Prime MinisterJawaharlal NehruEisenhower visits the Republic of China and its PresidentChiang Kai-shek in Taipei.
TheUnited States foreign policy of theDwight D. Eisenhower administration, from 1953 to 1961, focused on theCold War with theSoviet Union and its satellites. The United States built up a stockpile ofnuclear weapons andnuclear delivery systems to deter military threats and save money while cutting back on expensive Army combat units. Amajor uprising broke out inHungary in 1956; the Eisenhower administration did not become directly involved, but condemned the military invasion by the Soviet Union. Eisenhower sought to reach a nuclear test ban treaty with the Soviet Union, but following the1960 U-2 incident the Kremlin canceled a scheduled summit in Paris.
As he promised, Eisenhower quickly ended the fighting inKorea, leaving it divided North and South. The U.S. has kept major forces there ever since to deter North Korea. In 1954, he played a key role in the Senate's defeat of theBricker Amendment, which would have limited the president's treaty making power and ability to enter into executive agreements with foreign leaders. The Eisenhower administration used propaganda and covert action extensively, and theCentral Intelligence Agency (CIA) supported two military coups: the1953 Iranian coup d'état and the1954 Guatemalan coup d'état. The administration did not approve the partition ofVietnam at the1954 Geneva Conference, and directed economic and military aid and advice toSouth Vietnam. Washington led the establishment of theSoutheast Asia Treaty Organization as an alliance of anti-Communist states inSoutheast Asia. It ended two crises withChina overTaiwan.
In 1956, Egyptian PresidentGamal Abdel Nasser nationalized theSuez Canal, sparking theSuez Crisis, in which a coalition of France, Britain, and Israel attacked Egypt. Concerned about the economic and political impacts of the invasion, Eisenhower had warned the three against any such action. When they invaded anyway he used heavy financial and diplomatic pressures to force a withdrawal. In the aftermath of the crisis, Eisenhower announced theEisenhower Doctrine, under which any country in the Middle East could request American economic assistance or aid from American military forces.
TheCuban Revolution broke out during Eisenhower's second term, resulting in the replacement of pro-U.S. military dictatorFulgencio Batista withFidel Castro. In response to the revolution, the Eisenhower administration broke ties with Cuba and Eisenhower approved a CIA operation to carry out a campaign ofterrorist attacks andsabotage, kill civilians, and cause economic damage. The CIA also trained and commanded pilots to bomb civilian airfields. The CIA began preparations for an invasion of Cuba by Cuban expatriates, ultimately resulting in the failedBay of Pigs Invasion after Eisenhower left office.
In the 1970s, the reverse of theEisenhower dollar celebrated America's Moon landings, which began 11 years after NASA was created during Eisenhower's presidency.
Eisenhower and the CIA had known since at least January 1957, nine months beforeSputnik, that Russia had the capability to launch a small payload into orbit and was likely to do so within a year.[177]
Eisenhower's support of the nation's fledglingspace program was officially modest until the Soviet launch ofSputnik in 1957, gaining the Cold War enemy enormous prestige. He then launched a national campaign that funded not just space exploration but a major strengthening of science and higher education. The Eisenhower administration determined to adopt a non-aggressive policy that would allow "space-crafts of any state to overfly all states, a region free of military posturing and launch Earth satellites to explore space".[178] HisOpen Skies Policy attempted to legitimize illegalLockheed U-2 flyovers andProject Genetrix while paving the way for spy satellite technology to orbit over sovereign territory,[179] butNikolai Bulganin andNikita Khrushchev declined Eisenhower's proposal at the Geneva conference in July 1955.[180] In response to Sputnik being launched in October 1957, Eisenhower createdNASA as a civilian space agency in October 1958, signed a landmark science education law, and improved relations with American scientists.[181]
NASA planners projected thathuman spaceflight would pull the United States ahead in the Space Race; however, in 1960, an Ad Hoc Panel on Man-in-Space concluded that "man-in-space can not be justified" and was too costly.[183] Eisenhower later resented the space program and its gargantuan price tag—he was quoted as saying, "Anyone who would spend $40 billion in a race to the moon for national prestige is nuts."[184]
Korean War, Free China and Red China
In late 1952, Eisenhower went to Korea and discovered a military and political stalemate. Once in office, when the ChinesePeople's Volunteer Army began a buildup in theKaesong sanctuary, he considered using nuclear weapons if an armistice was not reached. Whether China was informed of the potential for nuclear force is unknown.[185] His earlier military reputation in Europe was effective with the Chinese communists.[186] The National Security Council, theJoint Chiefs of Staff, and theStrategic Air Command (SAC) devised detailed plans fornuclear war against Red China.[187] With the death of Stalin in March 1953, Russian support for a Chinese communist hard-line weakened and China decided to compromise on the prisoner issue.[188]
In July 1953, an armistice took effect with Korea divided alongapproximately the same boundary as in 1950. The armistice and boundary remain in effect today. The armistice, which concluded despite opposition from Secretary Dulles, South Korean PresidentSyngman Rhee, and also within Eisenhower's party, has been described by biographerStephen E. Ambrose as the greatest achievement of the administration. Eisenhower had the insight to realize that unlimited war in the nuclear age was unthinkable, and limited war unwinnable.[188]
A point of emphasis in Eisenhower's campaign had been his endorsement of a policy of liberation from communism as opposed to a policy of containment. This remained his preference despite the armistice with Korea.[189] Throughout his terms Eisenhower took a hard-line attitude toward China, as demanded by conservative Republicans, with the goal of driving a wedge between China and the Soviet Union.[190]Eisenhower continued Truman's policy of recognizing theRepublic of China (Taiwan) as the legitimate government of China, not the Peking (Beijing) regime. There were localized flare-ups when the People's Liberation Army began shelling the islands ofQuemoy andMatsu in September 1954. Eisenhower received recommendations embracing every variation of response; he thought it essential to have every possible option available to him as the crisis unfolded.[191]
TheSino-American Mutual Defense Treaty with the Republic of China was signed in December 1954. He requested and secured from Congress their "Free China Resolution" in January 1955, which gave Eisenhower unprecedented power in advance to use military force at any level in defense of Free China and the Pescadores. The Resolution bolstered the morale of the Chinese nationalists and signaled to Beijing that the US was committed to holding the line.[191]
During theFirst Taiwan Strait crisis, Eisenhower threatened to use nuclear weapons against PRC military targets inFujian.[192]: 89 These threats prompted Mao Zedong to launchChina's nuclear weapons program.[192]: 89–90 He authorized a series of bomb tests labeledOperation Teapot. Nevertheless, he left the Chinese communists guessing as to the exact nature of his nuclear response. This allowed Eisenhower to accomplish all of his objectives—the end of this communist encroachment, the retention of the Islands by the Chinese nationalists and continued peace.[193] Defense of the Republic of China from an invasion remains a core American policy.[194]
China invited some American reporters to China in 1956, having previously ousted American reporters after the PRC's founding.[195]: 115–116 Eisenhower upheld the US ban on travel to China.[195]: 116 US newspapers, includingTheNew York Times andTheWashington Post criticized the Eisenhower's administration decision as antithetical to the free press.[195]: 116
Early in 1953, the French asked Eisenhower for help inFrench Indochina against the Communists, supplied from China, who were fighting theFirst Indochina War. Eisenhower sent Lt. GeneralJohn W. O'Daniel to Vietnam to assess the French forces there.[196] Chief of StaffMatthew Ridgway dissuaded the President from intervening by presenting a comprehensive estimate of the massive military deployment that would be necessary. Eisenhower stated prophetically that "this war would absorb our troops by divisions."[197]
Eisenhower did provide France with bombers and non-combat personnel. After a few months with no success by the French, he added other aircraft to dropnapalm for clearing purposes. Further requests for assistance from the French were agreed to but only on conditions Eisenhower knew were impossible to meet – allied participation and congressional approval.[198] When the French fortress ofDien Bien Phu fell to the Vietnamese Communists in May 1954, Eisenhower refused to intervene despite urging from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, the Vice President and the head of NCS.[199]
Eisenhower responded to the French defeat with the formation of theSEATO (Southeast Asia Treaty Organization) Alliance with the UK, France, New Zealand and Australia in defense of Vietnam against communism. At that time the French and Chinese reconvened the Geneva peace talks; Eisenhower agreed the US would participate only as an observer. After France and the Communists agreed to a partition of Vietnam, Eisenhower rejected the agreement, offering military and economic aid to southern Vietnam.[200] Ambrose argues that Eisenhower, by not participating in the Geneva agreement, had kept the US out of Vietnam; nevertheless, with the formation of SEATO, he had put the US back into the conflict.[201]
In late 1954,Gen. J. Lawton Collins was made ambassador to "Free Vietnam", effectively elevating the country to sovereign status. Collins' instructions were to support the leaderNgo Dinh Diem in subverting communism, by helping him to build an army and wage a military campaign.[202] In February 1955, Eisenhower dispatched the first American soldiers to Vietnam as military advisors to Diem's army. After Diem announced the formation of the Republic of Vietnam (commonly known asSouth Vietnam) in October, Eisenhower immediately recognized the new state and offered military, economic, and technical assistance.[203]
In the years that followed, Eisenhower increased the number of US military advisors in South Vietnam to 900.[204] This was due toNorth Vietnam's support of "uprisings" in the south and concern the nation would fall.[200] In May 1957 Diem, thenPresident of South Vietnam,made a state visit to the United States. Eisenhower pledged his continued support, and a parade was held in Diem's honor in New York City. Although Diem was publicly praised, in private Secretary of State John Foster Dulles conceded that Diem had been selected because there were no better alternatives.[205]
After the election of November 1960, Eisenhower, in a briefing with John F. Kennedy, pointed out the communist threat in Southeast Asia as requiring prioritization in the next administration. Eisenhower told Kennedy he considered Laos "the cork in the bottle" with regard to the regional threat.[206]
The Pact of Madrid, signed on September 23, 1953, byFrancoist Spain and the United States, was a significant effort to breakinternational isolation of Spain, together with theConcordat of 1953. This development came at a time when other victorious Allies and much of the rest of the world remained hostile[b] to afascist regime sympathetic to the cause of the formerAxis powers andestablished with Nazi assistance. This accord took the form of three separate executive agreements that pledged the United States to furnisheconomic andmilitary aid to Spain.
Even before he was inaugurated Eisenhower accepted a request from the British government to restore the Shah of Iran (Mohammad Reza Pahlavi) to power. He thereforeauthorized the CIA to overthrow Prime MinisterMohammad Mosaddegh.[208] This resulted in increased strategic control over Iranian oil byAmerican and British companies.[209]
In November 1956, Eisenhower forced an end to the combined British, French and Israeli invasion of Egypt in response to theSuez Crisis, receiving praise from Egyptian presidentGamal Abdel Nasser. Simultaneously he condemned the brutal Soviet invasion ofHungary in response to theHungarian Revolution of 1956. He publicly disavowed his allies at the United Nations and used financial and diplomatic pressure to make them withdraw from Egypt.[210] Eisenhower explicitly defended his strong position against Britain and France in his memoirs, published in 1965.[211]
After the Suez Crisis, the United States became the protector of unstable friendly governments in the Middle East via the "Eisenhower Doctrine".[212] Designed by Secretary of State Dulles, it held the US would be "prepared to use armed force ... [to counter] aggression from any country controlled by international communism". Further, the US would provide economic and military aid and, if necessary, use military force to stop the spread of communism in the Middle East.[213]
Eisenhower applied the doctrine in 1957–1958 by dispensing economic aid to Jordan, and by encouraging Syria's neighbors to consider military operations against it. More dramatically, in July 1958, he sent 15,000Marines and soldiers toLebanon as part ofOperation Blue Bat, a non-combat peacekeeping mission to stabilize the pro-Western government and to prevent a radical revolution.[214] The Marines departed three months later. Washington considered the military intervention successful since it brought about regional stability, weakened Soviet influence, and intimidated the Egyptian and Syrian governments, whose anti-West political position had hardened after the Suez Crisis.[214]
Most Arab countries were skeptical about the "Eisenhower doctrine" because they considered "Zionist imperialism" the real danger. However, they did take the opportunity to obtain free money and weapons. Egypt and Syria, supported by the Soviet Union, openly opposed the initiative. However, Egypt received American aid until theSix-Day War in 1967.[215]
As the Cold War deepened, Dulles sought to isolate the Soviet Union by building regional alliances against it. Critics sometimes called it "pacto-mania".[216]
Initially, American authorities claimed the incident involved the loss of a civilian weather research aircraft operated byNASA, but were forced to admit the mission's true purpose a few days later after theSoviet government produced the captured pilot and parts of the U-2'ssurveillance equipment, including photographs of Soviet military bases.
The incident occurred during the tenures of American president Dwight D. Eisenhower and Soviet leaderNikita Khrushchev, around two weeks before the scheduled opening of an east–west summit inParis, France. Khrushchev and Eisenhower had met face-to-face atCamp David in Maryland in September 1959, and the seeming thaw inU.S.-Soviet relations had raised hopes globally for a peaceful resolution to theCold War. The U-2 incident shattered the amiable "Spirit of Camp David" that had prevailed for eight months, prompting the cancellation of the summit in Paris and embarrassing the U.S. on the international stage. ThePakistani government issued a formal apology to the Soviet Union for its role in the mission.
After his capture, Powers was convicted ofespionage and sentenced to three years of imprisonment plus seven years ofhard labour; he was released two years later, in February 1962, in aprisoner exchange for Soviet intelligence officerRudolf Abel.
Civil rights
While President Truman's 1948Executive Order 9981 had begun the process ofdesegregating the Armed Forces, actual implementation had been slow. Eisenhower made clear his stance in his firstState of the Union address in February 1953, saying "I propose to use whatever authority exists in the office of the President to end segregation in the District of Columbia, including theFederal Government, and any segregation in the Armed Forces".[217] When he encountered opposition from the services, he used government control of military spending to force the change through, stating "Wherever Federal Funds are expended ..., I do not see how any American can justify ... a discrimination in the expenditure of those funds".[218] WhenRobert B. Anderson, Eisenhower's firstSecretary of the Navy, argued that theUS Navy must recognize the "customs and usages prevailing in certain geographic areas of our country which the Navy had no part in creating," Eisenhower overruled him: "We have not taken and we shall not take a single backward step. There must be no second class citizens in this country."[219]
The administration declaredracial discrimination anational security issue, as Communists around the world used the racial discrimination and history of violence in the US as a point of propaganda attack.[220]
Eisenhower toldWashington, D.C. officials to make the city a model for the rest of the country in integrating black and white public-school children.[221][222] He proposed to Congress theCivil Rights Acts of 1957 and1960 and signed those acts into law. The 1957 act for the first time established a permanent civil rights office inside theJustice Department and aCivil Rights Commission to hear testimony about abuses of voting rights. Although both acts were much weaker than subsequent civil rights legislation, they constituted the first significant civil rights actssince 1875.[223]
In 1957,Arkansas refused to honor a federal court order to integrate their public school system stemming from theBrown decision. Eisenhower demanded that Arkansas governorOrval Faubus obey the court order. When Faubus balked, the president placed theArkansas National Guard under federal control and sent in the101st Airborne Division. They protectednine black students' entry toLittle Rock Central High School, an all-white public school, marking the first time since theReconstruction Era the federal government had used federal troops in the South to enforce the Constitution.[224]: 191 Martin Luther King Jr. wrote to Eisenhower to thank him for his actions, writing "The overwhelming majority of southerners, Negro and white, stand firmly behind your resolute action to restore law and order inLittle Rock".[224]: 206
Eisenhower's administration contributed to theanti-gay McCarthyistLavender Scare[225][226] with Eisenhower issuingExecutive Order 10450 in his first year in office in 1953.[227] The order subjected all federal employees to invasive in-depth investigations and interviews of their friends and family in a witch hunt to fire (in large part)lesbian, gay, and bisexual federal employees. The indifference of Eisenhower to the extreme application of his order allowed for mass persecution ofqueer people within federal agencies, resulting in thousands of job losses, publicouting ofsexual orientation, and somesuicides.[225] During Eisenhower's two presidential terms, thousands of applicants were barred from federal employment and over 5,000 to 10,000 federal employees were fired under suspicions of being homosexual.[228][229][225] From 1947 to 1961 the number of firings based on sexual orientation were far greater than those for membership in theCommunist Party,[228] and government officials intentionally campaigned to make "homosexual" synonymous with "Communist traitor" such that non-heterosexual people were treated as a national security threat.[230]
Relations with Congress
Official White House portrait of Eisenhower,c. 1960
Eisenhower had a Republican Congress for only his first two years in office; in the Senate, Republicans held the majority by a one-vote margin. Despite being Eisenhower's political opponent for the 1952 Republican presidential nomination, Senator Majority Leader Robert A. Taft assisted Eisenhower a great deal by promoting the President's proposals among the "Old Guard" Republican Senators. Taft's death in July 1953—six months into Eisenhower's presidency—affected Eisenhower both personally and professionally. The President noted he had lost "a dear friend" with Taft's passing. Eisenhower disliked Taft's successor as Majority Leader, SenatorWilliam Knowland, and the relationship between the two men led to tension between the Senate and the White House.[231]
This prevented Eisenhower from openly condemning Joseph McCarthy's highly criticized methods against communism. To facilitate relations with Congress, Eisenhower decided to ignore McCarthy's controversies and thereby deprive them of more energy from the involvement of the White House. This position drew criticism from a number of corners.[232] In late 1953, McCarthy declared on national television that the employment of communists within the government was a menace and would be a pivotal issue in the1954 Senate elections. Eisenhower was urged to respond directly and specify the various measures he had taken to purge the government of communists.[233]
Among Eisenhower's objectives in not directly confronting McCarthy was to prevent McCarthy from dragging theAtomic Energy Commission (AEC) into McCarthy's witchhunt, which might interfere with the AEC's work onhydrogen bombs and other weapons programs.[234][235] In December 1953, Eisenhower learned that nuclear scientistJ. Robert Oppenheimer had been accused of being a spy for theSoviet Union.[236] Although Eisenhower never really believed these allegations,[237] in January 1954 he ordered that "a blank wall" be placed between Oppenheimer and all defense-related activities.[238] TheOppenheimer security hearing later that year resulted in the physicist losing his security clearance.[239] The matter was controversial at the time and remained so in later years, with Oppenheimer achieving a certain martyrdom.[235] The case would reflect poorly on Eisenhower, but the president had never examined it in any detail and had instead relied excessively upon the advice of his subordinates, especially that of AEC chairmanLewis Strauss.[240] Eisenhower later suffered a major political defeat when his nomination of Strauss to be Secretary of Commerce was defeated in the Senate in 1959, in part due to Strauss's role in the Oppenheimer matter.[241]
In May 1954, McCarthy threatened to issue subpoenas to White House personnel. Eisenhower was furious, and issued an order as follows: "It is essential to efficient and effective administration that employees of the Executive Branch be in a position to be completely candid in advising with each other on official matters ... it is not in the public interest that any of their conversations or communications, or any documents or reproductions, concerning such advice be disclosed." This was an unprecedented step by Eisenhower to protect communication beyond the confines of a cabinet meeting, and soon became a tradition known asexecutive privilege. Eisenhower's denial of McCarthy's access to his staff reduced McCarthy's hearings to rants about trivial matters and contributed to his ultimate downfall.[242]
In early 1954, the Old Guard put forward a constitutional amendment, called theBricker Amendment, which would curtail international agreements by the Chief Executive, such as theYalta Agreements. Eisenhower opposed the measure.[243] The Old Guard agreed with Eisenhower on the development and ownership of nuclear reactors by private enterprises, which the Democrats opposed. The President succeeded in getting legislation creating a system of licensure for nuclear plants by the AEC.[244]
The Democrats gained a majority in both houses in the 1954 election.[245] Eisenhower had to work with the Democratic Majority LeaderLyndon B. Johnson (later US president) in the Senate and SpeakerSam Rayburn in the House.Joe Martin, the Republican Speaker from 1947 to 1949 and again from 1953 to 1955, wrote that Eisenhower "never surrounded himself with assistants who could solve political problems with professional skill. There were exceptions,Leonard W. Hall, for example, who as chairman of theRepublican National Committee tried to open the administration's eyes to the political facts of life, with occasional success. However, these exceptions were not enough to right the balance."[246]
Speaker Martin concluded that Eisenhower worked too much through subordinates in dealing with Congress, with results, "often the reverse of what he has desired" because Members of Congress, "resent having some young fellow who was picked up by the White House without ever having been elected to office himself coming around and telling them 'The Chief wants this'. The administration never made use of many Republicans of consequence whose services in one form or another would have been available for the asking."[246]
Eisenhower was relatively active withlegislative vetoes, with 181 vetoes of which only two were overridden.[247]
Whittaker was unsuited for the role and retired in 1962, after Eisenhower's presidency had ended. Stewart and Harlan were conservative Republicans, while Brennan was a Democrat who became a leading voice for liberalism.[248] In selecting a Chief Justice, Eisenhower looked for an experienced jurist who could appeal to liberals in the party as well as law-and-order conservatives, noting privately that Warren "represents the kind of political, economic, and social thinking that I believe we need on the Supreme Court ... He has a national name for integrity, uprightness, and courage that, again, I believe we need on the Court".[249]
Eisenhower beganchain smoking cigarettes at West Point, often three or four packs a day. He joked that he "gave [himself] an order" to stopcold turkey in 1949. However,Evan Thomas says the true story was more complex. At first, he removed cigarettes andashtrays, but that did not work. He told a friend:
I decided to make a game of the whole business and try to achieve a feeling of some superiority ... So I stuffed cigarettes in every pocket, put them around my office on the desk ... [and] made it a practice to offer a cigarette to anyone who came in ... while mentally reminding myself as I sat down, "I do not have to do what that poor fellow is doing."[250]
He was the first president to release information about his health and medical records while in office, but people around him deliberately misled the public about his health. On September 24, 1955, while vacationing inColorado, he had a seriousheart attack. While Eisenhowerconvalesced atFitzsimons Army Medical Center,[251]Howard McCrum Snyder, his personal physician, misdiagnosed the symptoms asindigestion, and failed to call in help that was urgently needed. Snyder later falsified his own records to cover his blunder and to allow Eisenhower to imply that he was healthy enough to do his job.[252][253][254]
The heart attack required six weeks' hospitalization, during which time Nixon, Dulles, andWhite House Chief of StaffSherman Adams assumed administrative duties and provided communication with the president.[255] He was treated byPaul Dudley White, acardiologist with a national reputation, who regularly informed the press of the president's progress. Snyder recommended a second presidential term as essential to his recovery.[256]
As a consequence of his heart attack, Eisenhower developed a left ventricularaneurysm, which caused a mild stroke during a cabinet meeting on November 25, 1957, when Eisenhower suddenly found himself unable to move his right hand or to speak. The president also suffered fromCrohn's disease,[257][258] which necessitated surgery for a bowel obstruction on June 9, 1956.[259] To treat the intestinal block, surgeons bypassed about ten inches of hissmall intestine.[260] His scheduled meeting with Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was postponed so he could recover at his farm.[261] He was still recovering from this operation during the Suez Crisis. Eisenhower's health issues forced him to give up smoking and make some changes to his diet, but he still drank alcohol. During a visit to England on August 29, 1959, he complained of dizziness and had to have his blood pressure checked; however, his physician, Snyder, recalled that before dinner at the prime minister's manor houseChequers the next day, Eisenhower "drank severalgin-and-tonics, and one or two gins on the rocks ... three or four wines with the dinner".[262]
Eisenhower's health during the last three years of his second term in office was relatively good. After leaving the White House, he suffered several additional and ultimately crippling heart attacks.[263] A severe heart attack in August 1965 largely ended his participation in public affairs.[3] On December 12, 1966, hisgallbladder was removed, containing 16gallstones.[263] After Eisenhower's death in 1969, an autopsy revealed an undiagnosed adrenalpheochromocytoma,[264] abenign adrenalin-secreting tumor that may have made him more vulnerable toheart disease. Eisenhower had seven heart attacks from 1955 until his death.[263]
Eisenhower was also the first outgoing president to come under the protection of theFormer Presidents Act. Under the act, Eisenhower was entitled to a lifetime pension, state-provided staff and aSecret Service security detail.[265]
In the1960 election to choose his successor, Eisenhower endorsed Nixon over Democrat John F. Kennedy. He told friends, "I will do almost anything to avoid turning my chair and country over to Kennedy."[141] He actively campaigned for Nixon in the final days, although he may have done Nixon some harm. When asked by reporters at the end of a televised press conference to list one of Nixon's policy ideas he had adopted, Eisenhower joked, "If you give me a week, I might think of one. I don't remember." Kennedy's campaign used the quote in one of its campaign commercials. Nixon narrowly lost to Kennedy. Eisenhower, who was, at 70, the oldest president to date, was succeeded by 43-year-old Kennedy, the youngest elected president.[141]
It was originally intended for Eisenhower to have a more active role in the campaign as he wanted to respond to attacks Kennedy made on his administration. However, First Lady Mamie Eisenhower expressed concern to Second LadyPat Nixon about the strain campaigning would put on his heart, and wanted the president to withdraw, without letting him know of her intervention. Vice President Nixon himself was informed by Major General Howard Snyder, the White House physician, that he could not approve a heavy campaign schedule for the president, whose health problems had been exacerbated by Kennedy's attacks. Nixon then convinced Eisenhower not to go ahead with the expanded campaign schedule and limit himself to the original schedule. Nixon reflected that if Eisenhower had carried out his expanded campaign schedule, he might have had a decisive impact on the outcome of the election, especially in states that Kennedy won with razor-thin margins. Mamie did not tell Dwight why Nixon changed his mind on Dwight's campaigning until years later.[266]
Eisenhower sharing a light moment with President-electJohn F. Kennedy during their meeting in the Oval Office at White HouseEisenhower's farewell address, January 17, 1961
On January 17, 1961, Eisenhower gave his final televised Address to the Nation from theOval Office.[267] In hisfarewell speech, Eisenhower raised the issue of the Cold War and role of the armed forces. He described the Cold War: "We face a hostile ideology global in scope, atheistic in character, ruthless in purpose and insidious in method ..." and warned about what he saw as unjustified government spending proposals. He continued with a warning that "we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military–industrial complex."[267] Eisenhower elaborated, "we recognize the imperative need for this development ... the potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist ... Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together."[267]
Because of legal issues related to holding a military rank while in a civilian office, Eisenhower had resigned his permanent commission asGeneral of the Army before assuming the presidency. Upon completion of his presidential term, his commission was reactivated by Congress.[3][268]
Post-presidency (1961–1969)
President Lyndon Johnson with Eisenhower aboardAir Force One in October 1965Eisenhower's funeral serviceGraves of Dwight D. Eisenhower, Doud Dwight "Icky" Eisenhower and Mamie Eisenhower in Abilene, Kansas
After leaving office, Eisenhower did not completely retreat from political life. He flew to San Antonio, where he had been stationed years earlier, to supportJohn W. Goode, the unsuccessful Republican candidate against the DemocratHenry B. Gonzalez forTexas's 20th congressional district seat.[272] He addressed the1964 Republican National Convention, in San Francisco, and appeared with party nomineeBarry Goldwater in a campaign commercial.[273] That endorsement came somewhat reluctantly, because Goldwater had in the late 1950s criticized Eisenhower's administration as "a dime-store New Deal".[274] On January 20, 1969,the day Nixon was inaugurated as President, Eisenhower issued a statement praising his former vice president and calling it a "day for rejoicing".[275]
Death
At 12:25 p.m. on March 28, 1969, Eisenhower died fromcongestive heart failure atWalter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., at age 78. His last words were: "I've always loved my wife, my children, and my grandchildren, and I've always loved my country. I want to go. God, take me."[276] The following day, his body was moved to theWashington National Cathedral's Bethlehem Chapel, where he lay in repose for 28 hours.[277] He was then transported to theUnited States Capitol, where helay in state in theCapitol Rotunda on March 30 and 31.[278] Astate funeral was conducted at the Washington National Cathedral on March 31.[279] The president and first lady, Richard and Pat Nixon, attended, as did former president Lyndon B. Johnson. Former President Harry S. Truman was unable to attend due to a vacation.[clarification needed] Also among the 2,000 guests invited were UN Secretary-GeneralU Thant and 191 foreign delegates from 78 countries, including 10 foreignheads of state and government—among them PresidentCharles de Gaulle of France, who was in the United States for the first time since thestate funeral of John F. Kennedy,[280] ChancellorKurt-Georg Kiesinger of West Germany,King Baudouin of Belgium and Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran.[279]
The service included the singing ofFaure's "The Palms", and the playing of the hymn "Onward, Christian Soldiers".[281] That evening, Eisenhower's body was placed on a specialfuneral train for its journey from the capital to his hometown ofAbilene, Kansas. First incorporated into PresidentAbraham Lincoln's funeral in 1865, a funeral train would not be part of a US state funeral again until2018.[282] On April 2, 1969, Eisenhower was buried inside the Place of Meditation, the chapel on the grounds of theEisenhower Presidential Center in Abilene. As requested, he was buried in aGovernment Issue casket, wearing hisWorld War II uniform, decorated with Army Distinguished Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters, Navy Distinguished Service Medal, and the Legion of Merit. Buried alongside Eisenhower are his son Doud, who died at age 3 in 1921, and wife Mamie, who died in 1979.[277]
President Richard Nixon eulogized Eisenhower in 1969, saying:
Some men are considered great because they lead great armies or they lead powerful nations. For eight years now, Dwight Eisenhower has neither commanded an army nor led a nation; and yet he remained through his final days the world's most admired and respected man, truly the first citizen of the world.[283]
During his two terms as president, Eisenhower'sapproval ratings were consistently high, only briefly falling below 50 percent in 1958 and again in 1960.[284] His overall average of 63 percent in theGallup poll remains the second highest in history.[285] With the popularity of his successor, John F. Kennedy, Eisenhower's reputation declined in the years after he left office. He was widely seen by critics as an inactive, uninspiring, golf-playing president, which was in stark contrast to Kennedy, who was 26 years his junior. Critics also compared Eisenhower with the likes ofCalvin Coolidge as a "do nothing president".[286] Despite his unprecedented use of Army troops to enforce a federal desegregation order atCentral High School in Little Rock, Eisenhower was criticized for his reluctance to support thecivil rights movement to the degree that activists wanted. Eisenhower also attracted criticism for his handling of the1960 U-2 incident and the associated international embarrassment,[287][288] for the Soviet Union's perceived leadership in thenuclear arms race and theSpace Race, and for his failure to publicly opposeMcCarthyism.[289] In particular, Eisenhower was criticized for failing to defendGeorge C. Marshall from attacks byJoseph McCarthy, though he privately deplored McCarthy's tactics.[290]
Following the access of Eisenhower's private papers, his reputation changed amongst presidential historians.[291][292][293] HistorianJohn Lewis Gaddis has summarized a more recent turnaround in evaluations by historians:
Historians long ago abandoned the view that Eisenhower's was a failed presidency. He did, after all, end the Korean War without getting into any others. He stabilized, and did not escalate, the Soviet–American rivalry. He strengthened European alliances while withdrawing support from European colonialism. He rescued the Republican Party from isolationism and McCarthyism. He maintained prosperity, balanced the budget, promoted technological innovation, facilitated (if reluctantly) the civil rights movement and warned, in the most memorable farewell address since Washington's, of a "military–industrial complex" that could endanger the nation's liberties. Not until Reagan would another president leave office with so strong a sense of having accomplished what he set out to do.[294]
Since 1982, scholars and historians have typically ranked Eisenhower among the ten best US presidents.[295]Rexford Tugwell, a top aide to Franklin Roosevelt, referred to Eisenhower as "the least partisan president sinceGeorge Washington." HistorianGarry Wills called Eisenhower "a political genius" for making difficult foreign policy goals "look easy" to the general public to prevent further stress.[285]
President John F. Kennedy meets with General Eisenhower atCamp David, April 22, 1961, three days after the failedBay of Pigs Invasion.
Political practice
Although conservatism in politics was strong during the 1950s, and Eisenhower generally espoused conservative sentiments, his administration concerned itself mostly with foreign affairs and pursued a hands-off domestic policy. He looked to moderation and cooperation as a means of governance, which he dubbed "The Middle Way". American historian and policy advisorBruce Bartlett has described Eisenhower as a "truecentrist who really belonged to neither party".[296][297][298]
Although he sought to slow or contain theNew Deal and other federal programs, he did not attempt to repeal them outright. In doing so, Eisenhower was popular among the liberal wing of the Republican Party.[296] Conservative critics of his administration thought that he did not do enough to advance the goals of the right; according toHans Morgenthau, "Eisenhower's victories were but accidents without consequence in the history of the Republican party."[299]
Since the 19th century, many if not all presidents were assisted by a central figure or "gatekeeper", sometimes described as the president's private secretary, sometimes with no official title.[300] Eisenhower formalized this role, introducing the office ofWhite House Chief of Staff – an idea he borrowed from the United States Army. Every president afterLyndon Johnson has appointed staff to this position.[citation needed]
As president, Eisenhower also initiated the "up or out" policy that still prevails in the US military. Officers who are passed over for promotion twice are then usually honorably but quickly discharged to make way for younger and more able officers.[citation needed]
On December 20, 1944, Eisenhower was appointed to the rank ofGeneral of the Army, placing him in the company of George Marshall,Henry "Hap" Arnold, andDouglas MacArthur, the only four men to achieve the rank in World War II. Along with Omar Bradley, they were the only five men to achieve the rank since the August 5, 1888, death ofPhilip Sheridan, and the only five men to hold the rank offive-star general. The rank was created by anAct of Congress on a temporary basis, whenPublic Law78-482 was passed on December 14, 1944,[301] as a temporary rank, subject to reversion to permanent rank six months after the end of the war. The temporary rank was declared permanent on March 23, 1946, by Public Law 333 of the79th Congress, which also awarded full pay and allowances in the grade to those on the retired list.[302][303] It was created to give the most senior American commanders parity of rank with their British counterparts holding the ranks offield marshal andadmiral of the fleet.[citation needed]
Frank Gasparro's obverse design (left) and reverse design (right) of the Presidential Medal of Appreciation award during Eisenhower's official visit to the State of Hawaii from June 20 to 25, 1960
During his second term as president, Eisenhower awarded a series of specially designed US Mint presidential appreciation medals. Eisenhower presented the medal to individuals as an expression of his appreciation.[305] The development of the appreciation medals was initiated by the White House and executed by theUnited States Mint, through thePhiladelphia Mint. The medals were struck from September 1958 through October 1960. A total of twenty designs are cataloged with a total mintage of 9,858. Prior to the end of his second term as president, 1,451 medals were turned in to the Bureau of the Mint and destroyed.[305] The Eisenhower appreciation medals are part of the Presidential Medal of Appreciation Award Medal Series.[305]
The Eisenhower dollar was the official dollar coin from 1971 to 1978.
The Interstate Highway System is officially known as the "Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways". It was inspired in part by Eisenhower's experiences in World War II, where he recognized the advantages of theautobahn system in Germany.[173] Commemorative signs reading "Eisenhower Interstate System" and bearing Eisenhower's permanent5-star rank insignia were introduced in 1993 and now are displayed throughout the Interstate System. Several highways are also named for him, including theEisenhower Expressway (Interstate 290) near Chicago, theEisenhower Tunnel onInterstate 70 west ofDenver, andInterstate 80 in California.[306]
The star of the SovietOrder of Victory awarded to Eisenhower[321]Thecoat of arms granted to Eisenhower upon his incorporation as a knight of the DanishOrder of the Elephant in 1950.[322] The anvil represents the fact that his name is derived from the German for "iron hewer", making these an example ofcanting arms.
^abEisenhower, Dwight D. (1967).At Ease: Stories I Tell to Friends, Garden City, New York, Doubleday & Company, Inc.
^D'Este, Carlo (2002).Eisenhower: A Soldier's Life, p. 25.
^"Getting on the Right TRRACC"(PDF).Lesson Plans: The Molding of a Leader. Eisenhower National Historic Site. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on March 26, 2014. RetrievedApril 27, 2013.... Ike spent his weekends at Davis's camp on the Smoky Hill River.
^Bender, Mark C. (1990)."Watershed at Leavenworth". U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. Archived fromthe original on October 29, 2008. RetrievedSeptember 6, 2008.
^American President: An Online Reference Resource,Dwight David Eisenhower (1890–1969),"Life Before the Presidency",Archived June 5, 2011, at theWayback Machine Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia.
^Trout, Steven (2010).On the Battlefield of Memory: The First World War and American Remembrance, 1919–1941. pp. xv–xxxii.
^Irish, Kerry. "Dwight Eisenhower and Douglas MacArthur in the Philippines: There Must Be a Day of Reckoning",Journal of Military History, April 2010, Vol. 74, Issue 2, pp. 439–473.
^"Major General James E. Chaney".Air Force. U.S. Air Force.Archived from the original on June 13, 2018. RetrievedAugust 16, 2017.From January 1942 to June 1942, he was the commanding general, U.S. Army Forces in the British Isles.
^Eisenhower lived in 'Telegraph Cottage', Warren Road, Coombe, from 1942 to 1944. In 1995, a plaque commemorating this was placed there by the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames. It can be seen at the north end of Warren Road.
^Zink, Harold (1947).American Military Government in Germany, pp. 39–86
^Goedde, Petra. "From Villains to Victims: Fraternization and the Feminization of Germany, 1945–1947",Diplomatic History, Winter 1999, Vol. 23, Issue 1, pp. 1–19
^Tent, James F. (1982),Mission on the Rhine: Reeducation and Denazification in American-Occupied Germany
^Zink, Harold (1957).The United States in Germany, 1944–1955
^Campbell, Angus; Converse, Philip L.; Miller, Warren E.; Stokes, Donald E. (1960).The American Voter. University of Chicago Press. p. 56.ISBN978-0226092546.{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
^abCrean, Jeffrey (2024).The Fear of Chinese Power: an International History. New Approaches to International History series. London, UK:Bloomsbury Academic.ISBN978-1-350-23394-2.
^Accinelli, Robert (1990). "Eisenhower, Congress, and the 1954–55 offshore island crisis".Presidential Studies Quarterly.20 (2):329–348.JSTOR27550618.
^abcMinami, Kazushi (2024).People's Diplomacy: How Americans and Chinese Transformed US-China Relations during the Cold War. Ithaca, NY:Cornell University Press.ISBN9781501774157.
^Dunnigan, James andNofi, Albert (1999),Dirty Little Secrets of the Vietnam War. St. Martins Press, p. 85.
^Eisenhower gave verbal approval to Secretary of StateJohn Foster Dulles and to Director of Central IntelligenceAllen Dulles to proceed with the coup; Ambrose,Eisenhower, Vol. 2: The President p. 111; Ambrose (1990),Eisenhower: Soldier and President, New York: Simon and Schuster, p. 333.
^Isaac Alteras,Eisenhower and Israel: U.S.–Israeli Relations, 1953–1960 (1993), p. 296.
^abLittle, Douglas (1996). "His finest hour? Eisenhower, Lebanon, and the 1958 Middle East Crisis".Diplomatic History.20 (1):27–54.doi:10.1111/j.1467-7709.1996.tb00251.x.
^Hahn, Peter L. (2006). "Securing the Middle East: The Eisenhower Doctrine of 1957".Presidential Studies Quarterly.36 (1):38–47.doi:10.1111/j.1741-5705.2006.00285.x.
^Navari, Cornelia (2000).Internationalism and the State in the Twentieth Century. Routledge. p. 316.ISBN978-0415097475.
^Mayer, Michael S. (1989). "The Eisenhower Administration and the Civil Rights Act of 1957".Congress & the Presidency.16 (2).Taylor & Francis:137–154.doi:10.1080/07343468909507929.
^Adkins, Judith (August 15, 2016)."'These People Are Frightened to Death' Congressional Investigations and the Lavender Scare".Prologue. Vol. 48, no. 2. USNational Archives and Records Administration.Archived from the original on January 16, 2018. RetrievedJanuary 15, 2018.Most significantly, the 1950 congressional investigations and the Hoey committee's final report helped institutionalize discrimination by laying the groundwork for President Dwight D. Eisenhower's 1953 Executive Order #10450, 'Security Requirements for Government Employment.' That order explicitly added sexuality to the criteria used to determine suitability for federal employment.
^abSears, Brad; Hunter, Nan D.; Mallory, Christy (September 2009)."Chapter 5: The Legacy of Discriminatory State Laws, Policies, and Practices, 1945-Present"(PDF).Documenting Discrimination on the Basis of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in State Employment. Los Angeles:Williams Institute atUCLA School of Law. p. 3.From 1947 to 1961, more than 5,000 allegedly homosexual federal civil servants lost their jobs in the purges for no reason other than sexual orientation, and thousands of applicants were also rejected for federal employment for the same reason. During this period, more than 1,000 men and women were fired for suspected homosexuality from the State Department alone—a far greater number than were dismissed for their membership in the Communist party.
^Sears, Brad; Hunter, Nan D.; Mallory, Christy (September 2009)."Chapter 5: The Legacy of Discriminatory State Laws, Policies, and Practices, 1945-Present"(PDF).Documenting Discrimination on the Basis of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in State Employment. Los Angeles:Williams Institute atUCLA School of Law. p. 3.Johnson has demonstrated that during this era government officials intentionally engaged in campaigns to associate homosexuality with Communism: 'homosexual' and 'pervert' became synonyms for 'Communist' and 'traitor.'
^Clarence G. Lasby,Eisenhower's Heart Attack: How Ike Beat Heart Disease and Held on to the Presidency (1997) pp. 57–113.
^Robert P. Hudson, "Eisenhower's Heart Attack: How Ike Beat Heart Disease and Held on to the Presidency (review)"Bulletin of the History of Medicine 72#1 (1998) pp. 161–162onlineArchived April 29, 2017, at theWayback Machine.
^R.H. Ferrell,Ill-Advised: Presidential Health & Public Trust (1992), pp. 53–150
^Johnston, Richard J. H. (June 13, 1956)."Butler Criticizes Illness Reports: Says News Has Been Handled in Terms of Propaganda—Hagerty Denies It".The New York Times. p. 32A.ProQuest113576174. RetrievedDecember 22, 2016.Paul M. Butler, the Democratic National Chairman, ... declared that the physicians who operated on and attended the President in his most recent illness 'have done a terrific job of trying to convince the American people that a man who has had a heart attack and then was afflicted with Crohn's disease is a better man physically.' He added: 'Whether the American people will buy that, I don't know.'
^Leviero, Anthony (June 9, 1956)."President Undergoes Surgery on Intestine Block at 2:59 A.M.: Doctors Pronounce It Success : Condition Is Good: Operation Lasts Hour and 53 Minutes–13 Attend Him".The New York Times. p. 1.ProQuest113808030. RetrievedDecember 22, 2016.President Eisenhower was operated on at 2:59 A.M. today for relief of an intestinal obstruction. At 4:55 A.M., the operation was pronounced a success by the surgeons. ... The President's condition was diagnosed as ileitis. This is an inflamation of the ileum—the lowest portion of the small intestine, where it joins the large intestine. ... The President first felt ill shortly after midnight yesterday. He had attended a dinner of the White House News Photographers Association Thursday night and had returned to the White House at 11. Mrs. Eisenhower called Maj. Gen. Howard McC. Snyder, the President's personal physician, at 12:45 A.M. yesterday, telling him the President had some discomfort in his stomach. He recommended a slight dose of milk of magnesia. At 1:20 Mrs. Eisenhower called again, saying the President was still complaining of not feeling well. This time she asked Dr. Snyder to come to the White House from his home about a mile away on Connecticut Avenue. He arrived at 2 A.M. and has not left the President's side since.
^"A Chronology fromThe New York Times, March 1961".John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum. March 23, 1961. Archived fromthe original on May 3, 2006. RetrievedMay 30, 2009.Mr. Kennedy signed into law the act of Congress restoring the five-star rank of General of the Army to his predecessor, Dwight D. Eisenhower. (15:5)
^Gasbarro, Norman (November 29, 2010)."Eisenhower Family Civil War Veterans".Civil War Blog.Archived from the original on February 25, 2016. RetrievedJanuary 4, 2016.a stately old home, identified as the ancestral home of President Dwight D. Eisenhower
^Historical Society of Palm Desert; Rover, Hal; Kousken, Kim; Romer, Brett (2009).Palm Desert. Arcadia Publishing. p. 103.ISBN978-0738559643.
^Belair, Felix Jr. (March 29, 1969). "Eisenhower Dead at 78 as Ailing Heart Fails; Rites Will Start Today".The New York Times. p. 1.
^ab"Dwight D. Eisenhower – Final Post". Presidential Libraries System, National Archives and Records Administration.Archived from the original on March 8, 2019. RetrievedMay 19, 2019.
^abBelair, Felix Jr. (April 1, 1969). "World's Leaders Join in Services for Eisenhower".The New York Times. p. 1.
^Grose, Peter (March 31, 1969). "Nixon will Meet with De Gaulle Today".The New York Times. p. 1.President de Gaulle arrived by plane from Paris, on his first visit to the United States since the funeral of President Kennedy in 1963.
^abGriffith, Robert (January 1, 1982). "Dwight D. Eisenhower and the Corporate Commonwealth".The American Historical Review.87 (1):87–122.doi:10.2307/1863309.JSTOR1863309.
^"Public Law 482".Archived from the original on October 13, 2007. RetrievedApril 29, 2008. This law allowed only 75% of pay and allowances to the grade for those on the retired list.
^admin (June 5, 2009)."1990 Eisenhower Centennial Silver Dollar Commemorative Coin".Modern Commemoratives. RetrievedJuly 25, 2025.The 1990 Eisenhower Silver Dollar [...] was issued to mark the centennial of the birth of Dwight D. Eisenhower on October 14, 1890. He is honored as both a five-star General and the 34th President of the United States.
^"Questions to the Chancellor"(PDF). Austrian Parliament. 2012. p. 194.Archived(PDF) from the original on October 22, 2012. RetrievedSeptember 30, 2012.
^abEmpric, Bruce E. (2024),Uncommon Allies: U.S. Army Recipients of Soviet Military Decorations in World War II, Teufelsberg Press, pp. 35, 45,ISBN979-8-3444-6807-5
Irish, Kerry E. "Apt Pupil: Dwight Eisenhower and the 1930 Industrial Mobilization Plan",The Journal of Military History 70.1 (2006) 31–61 online in Project Muse.
Harris, Douglas B. "Dwight Eisenhower and the New Deal: The Politics of Preemption",Presidential Studies Quarterly, Vol. 27, 1997.
Harris, Seymour E. (1962).The Economics of the Political Parties, with Special Attention to Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy.OCLC174566
Jacobs, Travis Beal (1993). "Eisenhower, the American Assembly, and the 1952 Elections". In Warshaw, Shirley Anne (ed.).Reexamining the Eisenhower presidency. Greenwood Press. pp. 17–32.ISBN0313287929.
Jacobs, Travis Beal (2001).Eisenhower at Columbia. Transaction Publishers.ISBN0-7658-0036-5.
Mason, Robert. "War Hero in the White House: Dwight Eisenhower and the Politics of Peace, Prosperity, and Party." inProfiles in Power (Brill, 2020) pp. 112–128.
Medhurst, Martin J. (1993).Dwight D. Eisenhower: Strategic Communicator. Greenwood Press.ISBN0313261407
Mayer, Michael S. (2009).The Eisenhower Years Facts on File.ISBN0816053871
Grant, Rebecca (June 1, 2001)."Deep Strife".Air & Space Forces Magazine.
Owen, David (1999).The Making of the Masters: Clifford Roberts, Augusta National, and Golf's Most Prestigious Tournament. Simon and Schuster.ISBN0684857294.
Young, Ken; Schilling, Warner R. (2019).Super Bomb: Organizational Conflict and the Development of the Hydrogen Bomb. Cornell University Press.ISBN978-1-5017-4516-4.
Primary sources
Boyle, Peter G., ed. (1990).The Churchill–Eisenhower Correspondence, 1953–1955. University of North Carolina Press.
Boyle, Peter G., ed. (2005).The Eden–Eisenhower correspondence, 1955–1957. University of North Carolina Press.ISBN0807829358
Butcher, Harry C. (1946).My Three Years With Eisenhower The Personal Diary of Captain Harry C. Butcher, USNR, candid memoir by a top aide.online
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