Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David Eisenhower served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 - 1961. Prior to the presidency, Eisenhower was a highly-regarded general during World War II. As president, he worked to calm the Cold War.
In regards to civil rights, Eisenhower stated in 1952 that "'unalterable support of fairness and equality among all types of American citizens,' but quickly hedged: 'I do not believe we can cure all the evils in men’s hearts by law'" (Miller Center). During his presidency, the Supreme Court overturned Plessy vs. Ferguson, which prompted the need for quick action from the president. In Little Rock, Arkansas, Eisenhower sent the 101st Airborne to ensure that black students could enter the now desegregated school.
Eisenhower died on March 28, 1969.
Resources
- Dwight D. Eisenhower: White HouseBringing to the Presidency his prestige as commanding general of the victorious forces in Europe during World War II, Dwight D. Eisenhower obtained a truce in Korea and worked incessantly during his two terms (1953-1961) to ease the tensions of the Cold War.
- Dwight D. Eisenhower: Miller CenterBorn in Texas and raised in Kansas, Dwight D. Eisenhower was one of America's greatest military commanders and the thirty-fourth President of the United States. Inspired by the example of a friend who was going to the U.S. Naval Academy, Eisenhower won an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Although his mother had religious convictions that made her a pacifist, she did not try to stop Eisenhower from becoming a military officer.
- The Struggle for Civil Rights: The Age of EisenhowerFollowing World War II, African Americans demanded equality before the law.
- Eisenhower, Dwight David: StanfordAs the 34th president of the United States, Dwight Eisenhower took office one year before the Supreme Court’s historic 1954 ruling in Brown v. Board of Education and served during the rise of the modern civil rights movement.
Archives & Primary Sources
- Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum & Boyhood HomeOfficial website of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum & Boyhood Home. Links are provided to his archives and special collections.
- The Papers of Dwight EisenhowerA comprehensive edition of the papers of Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (1890 –1969), the 34th President of the United States. He had previously been a five-star general in the United States Army during World War II and served as Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe; he had responsibility for planning and supervising the invasion of North Africa in Operation Torch in 1942–43 and the successful invasion of France and Germany in 1944–45 from the Western Front. In 1951, he became the first supreme commander of NATO. After World War II, Eisenhower served as Army Chief of Staff under President Harry S. Truman and then assumed the post of President at Columbia University. Eisenhower served two terms as President of the United States, 1953 to 1961.
Dwight D. Eisenhower: Commander-In-Chief
Dwight D. Eisenhower towered over America unlike any hero since George Washington. His feats as both a military leader and president brought his nation through the darkest days.
Source: Kanopy
Perspectives
Eisenhower
In the rousing style he's famous for, Paul Johnson offers a fascinating biography of Dwight D. Eisenhower (Ike). Johnson chronicles Ike's modest childhood in Kansas and his swift rise through the military ranks, culminating in his appointment as Supreme Commander of the Allied forces during World War II. Johnson then paints a rich portrait of Eisenhower's presidency, many elements of which speak to American politics today: his ability to balance the budget, his mastery in managing an oppositional Congress and his prescient warnings about the military-industrial complex.
Eisenhower
A study of the life of Dwight David Eisenhower sheds new light on his military and political career, including his alleged affair with Kay Summersby, his rise to commander of the Allied forces, and his two terms as president.
Ike and Mccarthy
Revealed for the first time, this is the full story of how President Dwight Eisenhower masterminded the downfall of the anti-Communist demagogue Senator Joseph McCarthy. Behind the scenes, Eisenhower loathed McCarthy, the powerful Republican senator notorious for his anti-Communist witch hunt. In spite of a public perception that Eisenhower was unwilling to challenge McCarthy, Ike believed that directly confronting the senator would diminish the presidency. Therefore, the president operated with a "hidden hand," refusing even to mention the Senator's name. In Ike and McCarthy, David A Nichols shows how the tension between the two men escalated. In a direct challenge to Eisenhower, McCarthy alleged that the US Army was harboring communists and launched an investigation. But the senator had unwittingly signed his own political death warrant. The White House employed surrogates to conduct a clandestine campaign against McCarthy and was not above using information about the private lives of McCarthy's aides as ammunition. In January 1954 McCarthy was arguably the most powerful member of the Senate. By the end of that year, he had been censured by his colleagues for unbecoming conduct. Eisenhower's covert operation had discredited the senator months earlier, exploiting the controversy that resulted from the televised Army-McCarthy hearings. McCarthy would never recover his lost prestige. Nichols uses documents previously unavailable or overlooked to authenticate the extraordinary story of Eisenhower's anti-McCarthy campaign. Ike and McCarthy is an eye-opening, newsworthy, and fascinating read.
Eisenhower and Churchill
Although born and raised more than an ocean apart, Dwight Eisenhower and Winston Churchill—the two titans of the greatest generation—led remarkably parallel lives whose paths would intersect during history's most harrowing days. Through their youth, education, and military training, both men experienced similar triumphs and failures that shaped their lives, though they met only for the first time upon the eve of war in 1941. Eisenhower and Churchilltells the magnificent story of these two great leaders and their exemplary partnership in war and peace. Through enlivened pages and fascinating anecdotes, author James C. Humes illuminates the human side of each man, who had more in common with each other than a world war. You'll discover the extraordinary stories of how both were born to domineering mothers and failed fathers, both did not qualify for the military academy on the first try, both were traumatized by experiences in World War I, both were talented writers, and both lost a child in the very same year (1921). Remarkably, each man did not warm to the other at first; but as they worked together, their respect for one another grew to become a powerful friendship that lived long after the echoes of war had receded into the past. As allies, they shared a hatred for tyranny and led the world through the greatest war of the twentieth century. As friends, they shared a sense of trust and cooperation that should be raised as a standard. Containing new research and memorable insights,Eisenhower and Churchillbrings to life the two lions of the twentieth centruy. "Who would not welcome an intimate book about Churchill and Eisenhower, and who is better situated to write it than Professor Humes, who knew them both, and studiously—and ardently—records their careers and their friendship?" —William F. Buckley Jr. "James C. Humes'sEisenhower and Churchillis a wonderful dual biography laced with lively anecdotes, engaging prose, and shrewd analysis. A truly welcome addition to our growing literature on the Second World War." —Douglas Brinkley,professor of history and director of the Eisenhower Center, University of New Orleans
Mrs. Ike
In an era where Americans are desperately seeking heroes and mentors, here is the story of how a saucy young lady from Denver, Mamie Doud Eisenhower, meets her match in handsome Ike Eisenhower, a farm boy fresh out of West Point, and becomes the Army wife par excellence. They were two very passionate and private people whose 53-year marriage, much of it lived in the public eye, survived great tragedies, misunderstandings, and adventures ¿ and led to glowing triumphs in World War II and the White House. Mrs. Ike is not only a biography of a beloved American but a superb account of a complex marriage. Susan Eisenhower helps readers see her grandmother as her husband did ¿ a heroic and irresistible figure in her own right.
Eisenhower's Endgame in Europe
Why did Hitler keep fighting even when he knew all hope was lost? Why did his generals and their armies stick with him? How did the Allies finally bring an end to German resistance? How did Eisenhower and the Soviets debate the terms of surrender? Find out in this penultimate episode.
Source: Kanopy