Eisenhower - Emma Meyer (ebook reader with highlight function TXT) 📗

Dwight D. Eisenhower was born October 14, 1890 in Denison, Texas. He was born to David Jacob Eisenhower and Ida Stover Eisenhower. Ida and David had seven sons; Dwight was the third of them. In his early life, the family moved to and lived in Abilene, Kansas. Eisenhower is a German name and translates roughly into “iron” which illustrates why Dwight entered into a military career by enrolling in West Point military academy.
Eisenhower enrolled in West Point on the first of July in 1911. Eisenhower had an extremely successful military career, working his way up the ranks year after year. His men respected him and his superiors trusted him with all of their hearts. Dwight fought in WWI and was temporarily given the titles of major and lieutenant colonel.
After WWI, Eisenhower became the president of Columbia University in New York City. A short time later, he was on leave to assume the duty of supreme commander of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization). He then retired from NATO in 1952 and returned to Columbia University.
Eisenhower married Mamie Geneva Doud in 1916. They married in Mamie’s parents’ house in Denver when she was only 19 and he was 25. Mamie and Dwight had two children, Icky and John. Icky died of scarlet fever and only John lived on to adulthood. John followed in his father’s footsteps and went into decent a military career.
At the age of sixty-three, Eisenhower decided that, with no prior experience in government that he would run for president of the United States of America.
Dwight D. Eisenhower was sixty-three when he first ran for president as the republican candidate. His running mate was Richard Nixon, who would later become president. He was popular among voters in the 1953 election. With buttons proclaiming “I like Ike,” how could you not be a favorite? According to The American Presidents Volume 3, he also charmed the public with his “famous grin and winning personality” and he sought an “American center.” Eisenhower was nothing special; his mind and personality were standard American.
Eisenhower was running against Adlai Stevenson in 1952. This was the first time that the candidates really tried to get the females’ votes due to the women’s rights movement. To appeal to women, they paid attention to the issues of education, inflation, and ending the war in Korea. Dwight had a sweeping win with 442 electoral votes to Stevenson’s 89. Of course, it helped that he won California with 32 electoral votes.
Eisenhower was the thirty-fourth president of the United States of America. He was the first soldier president since Ulysses S. Grant. He was also the first President to head all fifty states because he admitted Hawaii and Alaska into the union. Many people, when they think about the fifties, picture the Cold War and not much beyond, but the fifties was a time of great prosperity in America. It was the beginning of the space age and most people started to have televisions in their homes. However, no matter how good things were, there was always something hanging over the president’s head.
They worked on ending the war in Korea to appeal to all Americans and because it had escalated over the years. From 1950 to 1953, one-hundred forty-two thousand men died while entering North Korea to end communism.
Eisenhower was reelected in 1954 for a second term. It would seem that the people couldn’t get enough of this authentic American soldier.
In 1955, Eisenhower suffered a heart attack while in Denver Colorado. He was in the hospital for seven weeks. Finally, in February of 1956, doctors formally reported his recovery. Even though he was alright, the whole country was holding its breath I anticipation of the news.
Eisenhower was a father figure during his presidency, but most minorities were ignored until the late fifties. This was the time of the civil rights movement when a law was passed on the integration of the schools. Although some rejoiced at this step forward, many did not approve. Dwight was forced to send armed forces to a school in Little Rock, Arkansas. The nine African-American Students, Little Rock Nine, that were trying to enter the school were blocked by a crowd trying to prevent their entrance. To enforce the legislature, Eisenhower sent troops to escort them to their classes on September 25.
President Eisenhower was not as well liked by critics as he was by the people of his country. They dislike his “alleged blunders, blandness, and laziness in office.” One critic called him a “mumbling, bumbling, stumbling, fumbling leader who preferred a game of golf or a bridge foursome to the duties of office.” This was a bold statement and was not taken lightly. One of Eisenhower’s own speech writers even went as far as saying that he was a “walking debate” and an “oaf.” Another person said that the Eisenhower doll was a doll that did nothing for four years. Dwight was a short tempered person and did not take to these comments well at first.
Although the critics were harsh on the president, the public really did like Ike. They liked him enough to elect him into office two times in a row and appreciated his standard American outlook on life. Eisenhower’s terms were very successful by all of his achievements. He was a strong leader and truly the only one of his kind. He was politically the most powerful president of the post-war era, and was loved by most Americans. His success, however, would perhaps be shadowed by his successor, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Anyways, for a guy with no previous political experience, he did well. That may have been why people liked him so much. To see a man who was once a poor boy, become so successful may have given the people hope.

Publication Date: 03-28-2012

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