Dwight David Eisenhower (1890-1969)/biography

Dwight David Eisenhower ( –  ), nicknamed "Ike", was a five-star  in the  and, who served as the thirty-fourth  (1953–1961). During, he served as of the  in , with responsibility for planning and supervising the successful  and  in 1944-45. In 1951, he became the first supreme commander of. As a, he was elected the 34th U.S. President, serving for two terms. As president, he oversaw the cease-fire of the, kept up the pressure on the during the , made  a higher defense priority, launched the , enlarged the  program, and began the.

Early life and family
Eisenhower (historically "Eisenhauer") was born David Dwight Eisenhower in. He was the first U.S. President born in Texas. ( would be the second; Presidents and  spent significant political years in Texas, but were not native-born.) Eisenhower was the third of seven sons born to  and. He was named David Dwight and was called Dwight. Later, the order of his given names was switched (according to the staff at the Eisenhower Library and Museum, the name switch occurred upon Eisenhower's matriculation at ). Hans Nicolas Eisenhauer and his family emigrated from, Germany to  in 1741. The family settled in in 1892. Eisenhower's father was a college-educated engineer. Eisenhower graduated from in 1909.

Eisenhower married (1896–1979) of  on. The couple had two sons. Doud Dwight Eisenhower was born, , and was nicknamed "Icky" by his parents, but died of on , , at the age of three. was born the following year on, ; John grew up to serve in the (retiring as a brigadier general from the Army reserve), became an author, and served as U.S. Ambassador to  from 1969 to 1971. John's son,, after whom is named, married 's daughter  in 1968.

Religion
David Jacob Eisenhower's family arrived in the United States in 1741 when Hans Nicholas Eisenhauer emigrated from Odenwald, Germany. Eisenhower's mother, Ida E. Eisenhower, previously a member of the River Brethren, joined the (now more commonly known as ) in 1895, when Eisenhower was 4 or 5 years old. The Eisenhower home served as the local meeting hall from 1896 to 1915.

Jehovah’s Witnesses are opposed to killing or any doctrines such as ; Eisenhower's ties to the group were weakened when he joined the at  in 1911. By 1915, the home no longer served as the meeting hall. All the men in the household abandoned the Witnesses as adults, and some even hid their previous affiliation. However, on his death in 1942, Eisenhower's father was given his rites as though he remained a Jehovah's Witness, and Eisenhower's mother continued as an active Jehovah's Witness until her death. Despite their differences in religious beliefs, Eisenhower enjoyed a close relationship with his mother throughout her lifetime.

Eisenhower was baptized, confirmed, and became a in the  church in a single ceremony on , just 12 days after his first inauguration. He is the only president known to have pursued these rites while in office. Eisenhower was instrumental in the addition of the words "under God" to the in 1954, and the 1956 adoption of "" as the  of the US, and its 1957 introduction on paper currency. In his retirement years, he was a member of the Presbyterian Church. The chapel at his presidential library is intentionally inter-denominational.

Education
Dwight D. Eisenhower (and his six brothers) attended Abilene High School in Abilene, Kansas; Dwight graduated with the class of 1909. He then took a job as a night foreman at the Belle Springs Creamery.

After Dwight worked for two years to support his brother Edgar's college education, a friend urged him to apply to the. Though Eisenhower passed the entrance exam, he was beyond the age of eligibility for admission to the Naval Academy.

Kansas  recommended Dwight for an appointment to the Military Academy in 1911, which he received. Eisenhower graduated in the upper half of the class of 1915.

Early military career
Eisenhower enrolled at the United States Military Academy at West Point in June 1911. His parents were against militarism, but did not object to his entering West Point because they supported his education. Eisenhower was a strong athlete. In 1912, a spectacular Eisenhower won praise from the sports reporter of the , and he even managed, with the help of a  partner, to tackle the legendary. In the very next week, however, his promising sports career came to a quick and painful end — he injured his knee quite severely when he was tackled around the ankles. Eisenhower graduated in 1915. He served with the until 1918 at various camps in Texas and. During, Eisenhower became the #3 leader of the new tank corps and rose to temporary in the. He spent the war training tank crews in and never saw combat. After the war, Eisenhower reverted to his regular rank of (and was promoted to  a few days later) before assuming duties at, , where he remained until 1922. His interest in tank warfare was strengthened by many conversations with and other senior tank leaders; however their ideas on tank warfare were strongly discouraged by superiors. Eisenhower became executive officer to General in the, where he served until 1924. Under Conner's tutelage, he studied military history and theory (including 's On War), and later cited Conner's enormous influence on his military thinking. In 1925-26, he attended the at, Kansas, and then served as a  commander at , Georgia until 1927. During the late 1920s and early 1930s Eisenhower's career in the peacetime Army stagnated; many of his friends resigned for high paying business jobs. He was assigned to the, directed by General , then to the , and then served as executive officer to General George V. Mosely, Assistant Secretary of War, from 1929 to 1933. He then served as chief military aide to General, Army , until 1935, when he accompanied MacArthur to the , where he served as assistant military adviser to the Philippine government. It is sometimes said that this assignment provided valuable preparation for handling the egos of, George S. Patton and during World War II. Eisenhower was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1936 after sixteen years as a major. He also learned to fly, although he was never rated as a military pilot. He made a solo flight over the Philippines in 1937. Eisenhower returned to the U.S. in 1939 and held a series of staff positions in, and Texas. In June 1941, he was appointed Chief of Staff to General, Commander of the 3rd Army, at in , Texas. He was promoted to in September 1941. Although his administrative abilities had been noticed, on the eve of the U.S. entry into World War II he had never held an active command and was far from being considered as a potential commander of major operations.

World War II
After the, Eisenhower was assigned to the General Staff in Washington, where he served until June 1942 with responsibility for creating the major war plans to defeat Japan and. He was appointed Deputy Chief in charge of Pacific Defenses under the Chief of War Plans Division, General, and then succeeded Gerow as Chief of the War Plans Division. Then he was appointed Assistant Chief of Staff in charge of Operations Division under Chief of Staff General. It was his close association with Marshall which finally brought Eisenhower to senior command positions. Marshall recognized his great organizational and administrative abilities.

In 1942, Eisenhower was appointed Commanding General, (ETOUSA) and was based in. In November, he was also appointed of the  (NATOUSA) through the new operational Headquarters. The word "expeditionary" was dropped soon after his appointment for security reasons. In February 1943, his authority was extended as commander of AFHQ across the Mediterranean basin to include the, commanded by General Bernard Law Montgomery. The 8th Army had advanced across the from the east and was ready for the start of the. Eisenhower gained his fourth star and gave up command of ETOUSA to be commander of NATOUSA. After the capitulation of forces in, Eisenhower remained in command of the renamed  (MTO), keeping the operational title and continued in command of NATOUSA redesignated MTOUSA. In this position he oversaw the and the.



In December 1943, it was announced that Eisenhower would be Supreme Allied Commander in Europe. In January 1944, he resumed command of ETOUSA and the following month was officially designated as the (SHAEF), serving in a dual role until the end of hostilities in Europe in May 1945. In these positions he was charged with planning and carrying out the Allied in June 1944 under the code name, the liberation of western Europe and the invasion of Germany. A month after the Normandy landings on , the  took place, and control of the forces which took part in the southern invasion passed from the AFHQ to the SHAEF. From then until the on , Eisenhower through SHAEF had supreme command of all operational Allied forcesundefined, and through his command of ETOUSA, administrative command of all U.S. forces, on the  north of the.

As recognition of his senior position in the Allied command, on, he was promoted to  equivalent to the rank of  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 dealt skillfully with difficult subordinates such as and, and allies such as , Field Marshal  and General. He had fundamental disagreements with Churchill and Montgomery over questions of strategy, but these rarely upset his relationships with them. He negotiated with, and such was the confidence that President  had in him, he sometimes worked directly with , much to the chagrin of the British High Command who disliked being bypassed. During the advance towards Berlin, he came to the conclusion that Allied forces would suffer an estimated of 100,000 casualties before taking the city. The Soviet Army sustained 80,000 casualties during the fighting in and around Berlin, the last large number of casualties suffered in the war against Nazism.

It was never certain that  would succeed. The seriousness surrounding the entire decision, including the timing and the location of the Normandy invasion, might be summarized by a second shorter speech that Eisenhower wrote in advance, in case he needed it. In it, he states he would take full responsibility for catastrophic failure, should that be the final result. Long after the successful landings on D-Day and the broadcast of Eisenhower's brief speech concerning them, the never-used second speech was found in a shirt pocket by an. It read:

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.

Aftermath of World War II
Following the German on , Eisenhower was appointed Military Governor of the , based in. Germany was divided into four Occupation Zones, one each for the U.S., Britain, France, and the Soviet Union. Upon full discovery of the s that were part of the, he ordered camera crews to comprehensively document evidence of the atrocity so as to prevent any doubt of its occurrence. He made the decision to reclassify German (POWs) in U.S. custody as  (DEFs), thus depriving them of the protection of the. As DEFs, their food rations could be lowered and they could be compelled to serve as (see ). Eisenhower was an early supporter of the to permanently remove Germany's industrial capacity to wage future wars. In November 1945 he approved the distribution of 1000 free copies of 's book Germany is Our Problem, which promoted and described the plan in detail, to American military officials in occupied Germany. Historian draws the conclusion that, despite Eisenhower's later claims that the act was not an endorsement of the Morgenthau plan, Eisenhower both approved of the plan and had previously given Morgenthau at least some of his ideas on how Germany should be treated. He also incorporated officials from Morgenthau's into the army of occupation. These were commonly called "Morgenthau boys" for their zeal in interpreting the occupation directive, which had been heavily influenced by Morgenthau and his plan, as strictly as possible. Eisenhower served as Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army from 1945-48. In December 1950, he was named Supreme Commander of the (NATO), and given operational command of NATO forces in Europe. Eisenhower retired from active service on, upon entering politics. He wrote , widely regarded as one of the finest U.S. military memoirs. During this period Eisenhower served as President of from 1948 until 1953, though he was on leave from the university while he served as NATO commander.

After his many wartime successes, General Eisenhower returned to the U.S. a great hero. He was unusual for a military hero in that he never saw the front line in his life. The nearest that he came to being under enemy fire was in 1944 when a German fighter strafed the ground while he was inspecting troops in Normandy. Eisenhower dove for cover like everyone else and after the plane flew off, a British brigadier helped him up and seemed very relieved that he was not hurt. When Eisenhower thanked him for his solicitude, the brigadier deflated him by explaining that "my concern was that you should not be injured in my sector". This incident formed part of Eisenhower's fund of funny stories that he would tell now and again.

Not long after his return, a "" movement in the Republican party persuaded him to declare his candidacy in the to counter the candidacy of isolationist Senator. (Eisenhower had been courted by both parties in 1948 and had declined to run then.) Eisenhower defeated Taft for the nomination but came to an agreement that Taft would stay out of foreign affairs while Eisenhower followed a conservative domestic policy. Eisenhower's campaign was a crusade against the administration's policies regarding ",  and Corruption" and was also noted for the simple but effective phrase "I Like Ike." Eisenhower promised to go to Korea himself and end the war and maintain both a strong NATO abroad against Communism and a corruption-free frugal administration at home. He and his running mate, whose daughter later married Eisenhower's grandson David, defeated Democrats and  in a landslide, marking the first Republican return to the  in 20 years. Eisenhower was the only general to serve as President in the 20th century.

Interstate Highway System
One of Eisenhower's most enduring achievements as President was championing and signing the bill that authorized the Interstate Highway System in 1956. He justified the project through the as essential to American security during the Cold War. It was believed that large cities would be targets in a possible future war, and the highways were designed to evacuate them and allow the military to move in.

Eisenhower's goal to create improved highways was influenced by his involvement in the U.S. Army's 1919 Transcontinental Motor Convoy. He was assigned as an observer for the mission, which involved sending a convoy of U.S. Army vehicles coast to coast. His subsequent experience with German s during World War II convinced him of the benefits of an Interstate Highway System.

Dynamic Conservatism
Throughout his presidency, Eisenhower preached a doctrine of Dynamic.

Although he maintained a conservative economic policy, he continued all the major programs still in operation, especially. He expanded its programs and rolled them into a new cabinet-level agency, the, while extending benefits to an additional 10 million workers. His cabinet, consisting of several corporate executives and one labor leader, was dubbed by one journalist, "Eight millionaires and a plumber."

Eisenhower was extremely popular, winning his second term in 1956 with 457 of 531 votes in the, and 57.6% of the.

Eisenhower Doctrine
After the, the United States became the protector of most Western interests in the. As a result, Eisenhower proclaimed the "" in January 1957. In relation to the Middle East, the U.S. would be "prepared to use armed force...[to counter] aggression from any country controlled by international communism." On, he sent just under 15,000 soldiers to Lebanon (a combined force of Army and Marine Corps) as part of , a non-combat peace keeping mission to stabilize the pro-Western government. They left in the following October.

In addition, Eisenhower explored the option of supporting the French colonial forces in who were fighting an independence insurrection there. However, Chief of Staff dissuaded the President from intervening by presenting a comprehensive estimate of the massive military deployment that would be necessary.

Civil Rights
Eisenhower supported the 1954  U.S. Supreme Court decision, in which segregated ("") schools were ruled to be unconstitutional. The very next day he told District of Columbia officials to make Washington a model for the rest of the country in integrating black and white public school children. His critics complained Eisenhower was never enthusiastic about civil rights, but he did propose to Congress the Civil Rights Acts of and  and signed those acts into law, although both Acts were very weak and added little to the total electorate. Nonetheless, they constituted the first significant civil rights acts since the 1870s.

The "" incident of 1957 involved state refusal to honor a federal court order to integrate the schools. Eisenhower placed the Arkansas National Guard under federal control and sent Army troops to escort nine black students into an all-white public school; this integration did not occur without violence, and Eisenhower and Arkansas governor engaged in tense arguments.

Supreme Court appointments
Eisenhower appointed the following to the :


 * 1953
 * 1954
 * 1956
 * 1957
 * 1958

States admitted to the Union

 * –  49th state
 * –  50th state

Post-presidency


In 1961, Eisenhower became the first U.S. president to be "constitutionally forced" from office, having served the maximum two terms allowed by the 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (amendment was ratified in 1951---before Eisenhower took office--but the amendment stipulated that the president at that time, Harry Truman, would not be held to the amendment).

In the 1960 election to choose his successor, Eisenhower endorsed his own Vice President, Republican Richard Nixon against Democrat John F. Kennedy. However, he only campaigned for Nixon in the campaign's final days and even did Nixon some harm when asked by reporters on TV to list one of Nixon's policy ideas he had adopted, replying "give me a week, I might think of one, I don't remember". Kennedy's campaign used the quote in one of their campaign commercials. Nixon lost narrowly to Kennedy.

On, Eisenhower gave his final televised Address to the Nation from the. In his farewell speech to the nation, Eisenhower raised the issue of the Cold War and role of the U.S. armed forces. He described the Cold War saying: "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 and continued with a warning that "we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the ... 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."

After Eisenhower left office, his reputation declined and he was seen as having been a "do-nothing" President. This was partly because of the contrast between Eisenhower and his young activist successor,, but also because of his reluctance not only to support the movement to the degree that more liberal individuals would have preferred, but also to stop , even though he opposed McCarthy's tactics and claims. Such omissions were held against him during the climate of the 1960s and 1970s. Since that time, however, Eisenhower's reputation has risen because of his non-partisan nature, his wartime leadership, and an increasing appreciation of how difficult it is today to maintain a prolonged peace. In of historians, Eisenhower often is ranked in the top 10 among all US Presidents.



Eisenhower retired to the place where he and Mamie had spent much of their post-war time, a working farm adjacent to the battlefield at. The Gettysburg farm is a. In retirement, he did not completely retreat from political life; he spoke at the and appeared with  in a Republican campaign commercial from Gettysburg.

Because of legal issues related to holding a military rank while in a civilian office, Eisenhower resigned his permanent commission as before entering the office of President of the United States. Upon completion of his Presidential term, his commission on the retired list was reactivated and Eisenhower again was commissioned a five-star general in the United States Army.

Eisenhower died at 12:25 p.m. on, at  in Washington D.C., of. He lies alongside his wife and their first child, who died in childhood, in a small chapel called the Place of Meditation, at the, located in Abilene. His was unique because it was presided over by Richard Nixon, who was Vice President under Eisenhower and was serving as President of the United States.

Tributes and memorials
Eisenhower's picture was on the from 1971 to 1978. Nearly 700 million of the copper-nickel clad coins were minted for general circulation, and far smaller numbers of uncirculated and issues (in both copper-nickel and 40% silver varieties) were produced for collectors. He reappeared on a silver dollar issued in 1990, celebrating the 100th anniversary of his birth, which with a double image of him showed his two roles, as both a soldier and a statesman. As part of the Presidential $1 Coin Program, Eisenhower will be featured on a gold dollar coin in 2015.

He is remembered for ending the. , the second, was named in his honor.

The (Interstate 290), a 30-mile long expressway in the  area, was renamed after him.

The British A4 class steam locomotive No. 4496 (renumbered 60008) Golden Shuttle was renamed Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1946. It is preserved at the in.

was a small, liberal arts college chartered in, in 1965, with classes beginning in 1968. Financial problems forced the school to fall under the management of the in 1979. Its last class graduated in 1982.

The in  was named after the President in 1971.

The, located at near , was named in his honor.

In February 1971, Dwight D. Eisenhower School of was officially opened.

The was completed in 1979; it conveys westbound traffic on  through the, 60 miles west of.

In 1983, was founded in Washington, D.C., as a policy institute to advance Eisenhower's intellectual and leadership legacies.

In 1999, the created the  Commission, which is in the planning stages of creating an enduring  in Washington, D.C., across the street from the  on the.

A county park in  is named in his honor. In addition, on  near his birthplace of Denison is named in his honor; his actual birthplace is currently operated by the State of Texas as.

Many public and  in the U.S. are named after Eisenhower.

There is a in the  of the  in.

United States awards
In Order of Precedence
 * with four
 * with one silver and four bronze
 * with "Germany" clasp
 * (2 awards)
 * with one silver and four bronze
 * with "Germany" clasp
 * (2 awards)
 * with one silver and four bronze
 * with "Germany" clasp
 * (2 awards)
 * (2 awards)

He was also an honorary member of the 's.

International awards
List of citations bestowed by other countries.
 * Argentinian Order of the Liberator San Martin, Great Cross
 * Belgian
 * Belgian
 * Brazil Campaign Medal
 * Brazil War Medal
 * Brazilian Order of Military Merit, Grand Cross
 * Brazilian Order of Aeronautical Merit, Grand Cross
 * Brazilian National
 * British, Knight Grand Cross
 * British
 * British with "8" and "1" numerical devices.
 * Chilean Chief Commander of the Order of Merit
 * Chinese Order of Yun Hui, Grand Cordon
 * Chinese Order of Yun Fei, Grand Cordon
 * Czechoslovakian Golden Star of Victory
 * Ecuadorian Star of Abdon Calderon
 * Egyptian Order of Ismal, Grand Cordon
 * Ethiopian Order of Solomon
 * Italy:, Knight Grand Cross
 * Italy: Order of Malta
 * with s
 * Guatemalan Cross of Military Merit, First Class
 * Haitian Order of Honor and Merit, Grand Cross
 * Luxembourg Medal of Merit
 * Mexican, First Class
 * Mexican Medal of Civic Merit
 * Mexican Order of Military Merit
 * Moroccan
 * Netherlands, Grand Cross
 * Norwegian
 * Pakistanian Order of Pakistan, Nisham, First Class
 * Panama Order of Vasco Nunez de Balboa, Grand Cross
 * Panama Order of Manuel Amador Guerrero, Grand Master (collar grade)
 * Philippines
 * Philippines Shield of Honor Medal, Chief Commander
 * Philippines, Raja (First Class)
 * Polish
 * Polish Rastituta Chevalier
 * Polish
 * Soviet
 * Soviet
 * Tunisian Order of Nichan Iftikhar, Gand Cordon
 * Philippines, Raja (First Class)
 * Polish
 * Polish Rastituta Chevalier
 * Polish
 * Soviet
 * Soviet
 * Tunisian Order of Nichan Iftikhar, Gand Cordon

Other honors

 * Eisenhower's name was given to a variety of streets, avenues, etc., in cities around the world, including,.
 * In December 1999, Eisenhower was listed on.

Military career

 * Ambrose, Stephen E. Eisenhower: Soldier, General of the Army, President-Elect, 1890-1952 (1983);
 * D'Este, Carlo. Eisenhower: A Soldier's Life (2002), military biography to 1945
 * Eisenhower, David. Eisenhower at War 1943-1945 (1986), detailed study by his grandson
 * 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.
 * Pogue, Forrest C. The Supreme Command (1996) official Army history of SHAEF
 * Sixsmith, E.K.G. Eisenhower, His Life and Campaigns (1973), military
 * Russell Weigley. Eisenhower's Lieutenants. Indiana University Press, 1981. Ike's dealings with his key generals in WW2

Civilian career

 * Albertson, Dean, ed. Eisenhower as President (1963).
 * Alexander, Charles C. Holding the Line: The Eisenhower Era, 1952-1961 (1975).
 * Ambrose, Stephen E. Eisenhower: Soldier, General of the Army, President-Elect, 1890-1952 (1983); Eisenhower. The President (1984); one volume edition titled Eisenhower: Soldier and President (2003). Standard biography.
 * Bowie, Robert R. and Richard H. Immerman; Waging Peace: How Eisenhower Shaped an Enduring Cold War Strategy, Oxford University Press, 1998.
 * Damms, Richard V. The Eisenhower Presidency, 1953-1961 (2002).
 * David Paul T. (ed.), Presidential Nominating Politics in 1952. 5 vols., Johns Hopkins Press, 1954.
 * Divine, Robert A. Eisenhower and the Cold War (1981).
 * Greenstein, Fred I. The Hidden-Hand Presidency: Eisenhower as Leader (1991).
 * Harris, Douglas B. "Dwight Eisenhower and the New Deal: The Politics of Preemption" Presidential Studies Quarterly, Vol. 27, 1997.
 * Harris, Seymour E. The Economics of the Political Parties, with Special Attention to Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy (1962).
 * Krieg, Joann P. ed. Dwight D. Eisenhower, Soldier, President, Statesman (1987). 24 essays by scholars.
 * McAuliffe, Mary S. "Eisenhower, the President", Journal of American History 68 (1981), pp. 625-632.
 * Medhurst, Martin J. Dwight D. Eisenhower: Strategic Communicator Greenwood Press, 1993.
 * Pach, Chester J. and Elmo Richardson. Presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower (1991). Standard scholarly survey.
 * Parmet, Herbert S. Eisenhower and the American Crusades (1972). Scholarly biography of post 1945 years.