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We have heard much of the phrase, "peace and friendship."
This phrase, in expressing the aspiration of America,
is not complete. We should say instead,
"peace and friendship, in freedom." This, I think,
is America's real message to the rest of the world.
~Dwight David Eisenhower~

Dwight D. Eisenhower was an American soldier, politician, and became the 34th President of the United States. A recent poll of historians rated him number eleven among all the Presidents. Nevertheless, the judgement of some historians is still that Eisenhower's greatest achievements were those of his wartime military commands.

Dwight David Eisenhower was born on October 14, 1890 in Denison, Texas. His parents were David Jacob and Ida Elizabeth Stover Eisenhower. Dwight Eisenhower was the third of seven sons. His family returned to Abilene, Kansas when Dwight was two. Dwight Eisenhower graduated from Abilene High School in 1809. After he graduated, he worked at Belle Springs Creamery from 1909 to 1911.

In 1911, Eisenhower entered West Point and graduated four years later, in 1915. He married Mamie Geneva Doud on July 1, 1916. Their first son, Doud Dwight, was born on September 24, 1917. He died on January 2, 1921. Their second son, John Sheldon David Doud Eisenhower, was born on August 3, 1922. John Eisenhower served in the United States Army, then became an author and served as U.S. Ambassador to Belgium. John Eisenhower's son, Dwight D. Eisenhower's grandson, David Eisenhower, after whom Camp David is named, married Richard Nixon's daughter Julie in 1968. 

In all of the positions that Eisenhower covered in the Army, he showed his great talents for leadership and diplomacy. Although he had never seen action himself, he won the respect of front-line commanders such as Omar Bradley and George Patton. He dealt with allies such as Winston Churchill, Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery and General Charles de Gaulle. He had fundamental disagreements with Churchill and Montgomery over questions of strategy, but he still had a good relationship with them. President Roosevelt had so much confidence in him that he sometimes allowed Eisenhower to work directly with Stalin.

Eisenhower was offered the Medal of Honor for his leadership in the European Theater but refused it, saying that it should be reserved for bravery and valor. 

After the Germans surrendered on May 8, 1945, Eisenhower was appointed Military Governor of the U.S. Occupation Zone. Germany was divided into four Occupation Zones, one each for the United States, Britain, France and the Soviet Union. The most controversial decisions involved captured German soldiers and their alleged mistreatment. Eisenhower ordered the status of German prisoners of war, or POWs, in U.S. custody changed to that of Disarmed Enemy Forces or DEFs. 

Eisenhower was named Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army in November 1945, and in December 1950 was named Supreme Commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and given operational command of NATO forces in Europe. Eisenhower retired from active service on May 31, 1952, because he wanted to become president.

Eisenhower was not that interested in politics. It was not even known if he was a Republican or a Democrat. Leading up to the 1952 election, Eisenhower was pursued as a candidate by both the Democrats and Republicans. He said he chose the Republicans because the Democrats had been in office for 20 years and the country needed a change.

In the presidential election, Eisenhower campaigned as a "non-politician," and never mentioned his competitor Governor Adlai Stevenson by name. He allowed other Republicans to run a Cold War campaign, accusing the Democrats of being "soft on Communism," while he saved his likable public image. He chose Richard Nixon as his running mate, because Nixon was anti-Communist. Eisenhower was considered the favorite candidate from the start of the campaign. Eisenhower and Nixon won the election with 442 electoral votes against Stevenson's 89.

Eisenhower's presidency was dominated by the Cold War, the prolonged confrontation with the Soviet Union, which had begun during Truman's term of office. During his campaign, Eisenhower had promised to end the Korean War, and a cease-fire was signed in July 1953. He also signed defense treaties with South Korea and the Republic of China, and formed an anti-Communist alliance with Asian and Pacific countries, SEATO, to halt the spread of Communism in Asia. 

Eisenhower endorsed the United States Interstate Highway Act, in 1956. It was the largest public works program in United States history, providing a 41,000-mile highway system. Eisenhower had been impressed during the war with the German Autobahn system, and also recalled his own involvement in a military convoy in 1919 that took 62 days to cross the United States. Another achievement was a 20% increase in family income during his presidency, of which he was very proud. He added a tenth cabinet position, creating the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, and achieved a balanced budget in three of the 8 years that he was President.

Eisenhower retained his popularity throughout his presidency. In 1956 he was re-elected by an even wider margin than in 1952, again defeating Stevenson, and carrying such traditional Democratic states as Texas and Tennessee. Once he 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, John F. Kennedy, but also due to his reluctance to support the civil rights movement or to stop McCarthyism. In recent years Eisenhower's reputation has recovered, largely due to an increased appreciation of how difficult it is today to maintain a prolonged peace. 

Although Eisenhower lived for most of the postwar years on his working farm adjacent to the battlefield at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the Eisenhower Presidential Library is located in Abilene, Kansas, where he grew up. Eisenhower and his wife are buried in a small chapel there, called the Place of Meditation. The Gettysburg farm is a National Historic Site.

There is nothing wrong with America that
the faith, love of freedom, intelligence,
and energy of her citizens cannot cure.
~Dwight David Eisenhower~

Dwight D. Eisenhower Quotes

American Soldiers Behind the Scene

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