Dwight D. Eisenhower was the son of David and Ida Stover Eisenhower of Abilene, Kansas. After a brief business venture in Hope, Kansas, David sought work with the railroad in Denison, Texas. In 1889 he sent for his family, and in 1890 Dwight was born. Before young Eisenhower was two years old, the family returned to Abilene. There, David went to work for the Belle Springs Creamery.
By his own account, Eisenhower enjoyed his youth in Abilene. He was fascinated with the stories old-timers told about the exciting times when Abilene was the northern terminating point of the Chisolm Trail. He read western novels, but was particularly interested in ancient Greek and Roman history. Already in high school, Eisenhower displayed leadership qualities that would highlight his future military career. Since there were no formal athletic organizations at his high school, Eisenhower initiated and became president of the Abilene High School Athletic Association.
After graduation from high school Eisenhower worked at the creamery to help support his brother Edgar at the University of Michigan. After two years Eisenhower found a way to get a college education. A close friend persuaded Eisenhower to join him in seeking appointment to a military academy. Eisenhower passed entrance exams for both Annapolis and West Point, but learned that he was above the age requirement for the Naval Academy. Senator Joseph Bristow of Kansas recommended Eisenhower for appointment to West Point in 1911.
Military Career
At West Point, Eisenhower quickly emerged as a leader. He played varsity football and was a promising halfback known as the "Kansas Cyclone" before a knee injury forced him to give up the game for life. He then became a student coach of the academy's junior varsity team and molded them into winners. Eisenhower admits that he did not apply himself academically at West Point and he graduated 61st out of 164 cadets.
After Eisenhower's graduation he was commissioned a second lieutenant and sent to Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. There, he met Mamie Geneva Doud. After a whirlwind courtship, the couple married in Mamie's hometown of Denver, Colorado. Over the next few years, the newlyweds were assigned to various army posts throughout the country.
See Mamie Eisenhower: First Lady Mamie Doud Eisenhower was graciously remembered for mastering the art of being a hostess.
During this period a turning point occurred in Eisenhower's career that had lasting impact. In 1922 he was assigned to Camp Gaillard in the Panama Canal Zone under the command of General Fox Conner. Conner introduced Eisenhower to the study of military history. These lessons in warfare knowledge would latter prove invaluable to him during World War II. Soon after his service at Camp Gaillard, Eisenhower attended the Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Thanks to hard work and the professional military education he had received from Fox Conner, Eisenhower graduated first in a class of 275.
He had now made a name for himself among the officer corps of the peacetime army. He went to Washington, D.C. for a series of assignments that included working for Generals John J. Pershing and Douglas MacArthur.
After serving in the Philippines with Douglas MacArthur from 1935-1939, he returned to the states for a series of infantry assignments. He was promoted to brigadier general on September 29, 1941, just a few weeks before the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
When war was declared, Eisenhower was immediately transferred to Washington where he served in the War Plans Division under the command of Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall. Impressed with Eisenhower's ability as a thinker, organizer, and a leader, Marshall promoted him to major general in March 1942. Within three months General Eisenhower was sent to England to command United States forces in the European Theatre of Operations.
Eisenhower's service during World War II made him an international figure. In 1942 he directed the allied invasion of North Africa. He commanded the allied invasions of Sicily and Italy in 1943. In 1944 as Supreme Commander of the allied Expeditionary Forces, he directed the allied troops on D-Day, the historic June 6 invasion of France. After only eleven months of intensive military action, Europe was liberated. Germany unconditionally surrendered on May 8, 1945.
Following the war, Eisenhower returned to the United States to serve as Army Chief of Staff from 1945-1948. In June 1948 he left the army to become president of Columbia University. In 1950 he returned to Europe to become the first Supreme Allied Commander for the military forces of the recently formed multinational North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). He remained at NATO until declaring his candidacy for the presidency in June of 1952.
Presidency
Eisenhower served as president from 1953 to 1961. In 1952 he had defeated his Democratic opponent Adlai Stevenson by a popular vote of 33,936,234 to 27,314,992 and an electoral vote of 441 to 89. He again defeated Stevenson in 1956 by an even greater margin. As the voting figures indicate, Eisenhower was a popular President.
Eisenhower's two terms in office were highlighted by peace in foreign relations and prosperity at home. He ended the Korean War in 1953, and Eisenhower was able to prevent another world war from erupting. Between 1950 and 1960, the gross national product grew at an annual rate of 3.2 percent. Prices rose during the eight year Eisenhower Administration by only about 10 percent a year. Physical growth of the United States also occurred under Eisenhower. In 1953 Alaska became the 49th state and Hawaii the 50th state of the union.
Eisenhower was a fiscal conservative, a trait that can be attributed to his family background. His parents were very frugal and taught all their sons the value of a dollar. Throughout his administration, Eisenhower sought to balance the federal budget. Yet Eisenhower supported legislation he thought would benefit the general public. His administration expanded Social Security, increased the minimum wage from $.75 to $1.00 an hour, authorized the construction of 45,000 housing units between 1955 and 1959, and established the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. America' highway system also expanded during the Eisenhower Administration. He launched the United States into the space program with the creation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 1958.
In the area of civil rights, Eisenhower sent federal troops to Little Rock, Arkansas to enforce the desegregation of public schools as ordered by the Supreme Court in Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas (1954). Civil rights legislation signed by Eisenhower in 1957 and 1960 strengthened the legal rights of voters by imposing fines and penalties on any person denying blacks their constitutional right to vote.
In foreign affairs Eisenhower had to lead the country at the height of the Cold War. The President took steps to prevent communist infiltration in government and he refused to commute the espionage death sentences for Julius and Ethel Rosenberg who were convicted of passing atomic weapons secrets to the Soviet Union.
The anti-Communist hysteria generated by Wisconsin Senator Joseph R. McCarthy caused the Eisenhower administration embarrassment. Because of concern for the image of the Presidential office, Eisenhower refused to "get down in the gutter" and personally confront the senator. He worked behind the scenes against McCarthy and in December 1954 the United States finally censured McCarthy for actions unbecoming of a senator. This brought an end to "McCarthyism".
Although the red scare in the United States had significantly lessened after McCarthy's downfall, the fear of world-wide communism had not. Eisenhower faced the task of containing the perceived Soviet Union threat without resorting to war. He also tried to reach a dÈtente with the Russians. In 1955 the Big Four world leaders met at Geneva, Switzerland, to discuss aerial inspections of nuclear arms, but by October arms negotiations resulted in a stalemate. Although a glimmer of cooperation between the two superpowers occurred with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev's visit to the United States in 1959, no thaw in the Cold War occurred during Eisenhower's Administration.
Eisenhower faced a number of critical "hot spots" on the international scene during his presidency. When the French garrison at Dien Bien Phu in Vietnam fell to the communists he was urged by advisors to intervene. Because of his military experience he decided against involving the United States in a land war in Southeast Asia.
In 1956 France, Great Britain, and Israel invaded Egypt after its president Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal. Eisenhower surprised and pleased the third-world nations by condemning the actions of his former World War II allies and Israel. He forced the withdrawal of the invading forces in Suez.
In October 1956, the Soviet Union invaded Hungary to quell a revolution against the communist government in that Warsaw Pact nation. There was strong sentiment in the United States to provide military assistance to the Hungarians. Once again, Eisenhower's military experience and natural restraint made him decide not to take military action. The United States government led the worldwide condemnation of the Soviet Union and thousands of Hungarians refugees were allowed to resettle in the United States.
In 1957 Congress approved the Eisenhower Doctrine which allowed the president to use economic and military assistance to guarantee Middle Eastern nations their independence. In 1958 Eisenhower used the doctrine by landing United States Marines to protect the pro Western regime in Lebanon.
As the end of Eisenhower's second term grew near, relations with the Soviet Union remained strained. On the eve of a summit meeting to be held between the two superpowers at Paris, France, in May 1960, an American U-2 reconnaissance plane was shot down 1,200 miles inside the Soviet Union. This event ended any hopes for immediate improvement in relations between the two nations.
Retirement
Eisenhower left office in January 1961. He retired to his farm in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and a life of writing, public speaking, and golf. He was the Republican elder statesman, but was often called upon by Democratic Presidents Kennedy and Johnson for advice.
Ike left one warning for the American people. He told them to be on guard against what he referred to as the "military-industrial complex." He feared that the increasingly close relationship between the defense industry and the armed forces would lead to waste and abuse of the taxpayer's money.
President Eisenhower's popularity never diminished while he lived. A Gallop poll taken in 1968 identified him as the most admired American. On March 28, 1969, General Eisenhower died. He is buried in Abilene, Kansas. He left his hometown in 1911 as a young military cadet; he came home to rest as a hero.
