Dwight D. Eisenhower | Biography, Cold War, Presidency, & Facts (2024)

Dwight D. Eisenhower

See all media

In full:
Dwight David Eisenhower
Born:
October 14, 1890, Denison, Texas, U.S.
Died:
March 28, 1969, Washington, D.C. (aged 78)
Title / Office:
presidency of the United States of America (1953-1961), United States
Political Affiliation:
Republican Party
Notable Works:
Atoms for Peace speech
“Crusade in Europe”

See all related content →

Top Questions

What was Dwight D. Eisenhower’s family like?

Dwight Eisenhower’s parents, David Jacob and Ida Elizabeth (Stover) Eisenhower, moved their family from Denison, Texas, to Abilene, Kansas, where their forebears had settled in a Mennonite colony. David worked in a creamery, the family was poor, and young Dwight and his brothers were introduced to hard work and a strong religious tradition.

Where was Dwight D. Eisenhower educated?

Eisenhower was more interested in sports than in his studies at Abilene (Kansas) High School. He matriculated at the U.S. Military Academy, where he ranked 61st academically out of 164 graduates. He ranked first in a class of 275 at the army’s Command and General Staff School and then graduated from the Army War College.

How did Dwight D. Eisenhower become famous?

Eisenhower became famous for his military leadership during World War II.After planning the invasions of North Africa, Sicily, and mainland Italy, he became supreme commander of Allied forces in western Europe (1943) and planned the Normandy Invasion (1944) and the conduct of the war in western Europe until the German surrender (1945).

When was Dwight D. Eisenhower president?

The 34th U.S. president, Eisenhower served two terms, from 1953 to 1961. His tenure came at the end of fighting in the Korean War but during the Cold War. A period of general economic growth and prosperity, it was the age of the housing, television, and baby booms but also the era of McCarthyism.

What were Dwight D. Eisenhower’s beliefs?

Eisenhower urged economy and honesty in government. His basically conservative views on domestic affairs were reflected in his administration’s “modern Republicanism,” a program that called for reduced taxes, balanced budgets, a decrease in government control over the economy, and the return of certain federal responsibilities to the states.

Should the United States maintain the embargo initiated by Dwight D. Eisenhower against Cuba?

Whether the U.S. should maintain its embargo initiated by Dwight D. Eisenhower against Cuba is hotly debated. Some say Cuba has not met the conditions required to lift it, and the US will look weak for lifting the sanctions. Others say the 50-year policy has failed to achieve its goals, and Cuba does not pose a threat to the United States. For more on the Cuba embargo debate, visit ProCon.org.

Dwight D. Eisenhower (born October 14, 1890, Denison, Texas, U.S.—died March 28, 1969, Washington, D.C.) was the 34th president of the United States (1953–61), who had been supreme commander of the Allied forces in western Europe during World War II.

Early career

Eisenhower was the third of seven sons of David Jacob and Ida Elizabeth (Stover) Eisenhower. In the spring of 1891 the Eisenhowers left Denison, Texas, and returned to Abilene, Kansas, where their forebears had settled as part of a Mennonite colony. David worked in a creamery; the family was poor; and Dwight and his brothers were introduced to hard work and a strong religious tradition at an early age.

“Ike,” as Dwight was called, was a fun-loving youth who enjoyed sports but took only a moderate interest in his studies. The latter was perhaps a sign of one of his later characteristics: a dislike for the company of scholars. Dwight graduated from Abilene High School in 1909, worked for more than a year to support a brother’s college education, and then entered the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, a decision that left his mother, a pacifist, in tears. He excelled in gridiron football but injured a knee in his second year at the academy and was forced to stop playing. In the remarkable class of 1915—which was to produce 59 generals—he ranked 61st academically and 125th in discipline out of the total of 164 graduates.

After being commissioned a second lieutenant, he was sent to San Antonio, Texas, where he met Mamie Geneva Doud (Mamie Eisenhower), daughter of a successful Denver meat packer. They were married in 1916 and had two sons: Doud Dwight, born in 1917, who died of scarlet fever in 1921, and John Sheldon Doud, born in 1922.

Britannica QuizPop Quiz: 17 Things to Know About World War II

During World War I Eisenhower commanded a tank training centre, was promoted to captain, and received the Distinguished Service Medal. The war ended just before he was to be sent overseas. From 1922 to 1924 he was assigned to the Panama Canal Zone, and there he came under the inspiring influence of his commander, Brig. Gen. Fox Conner. With Conner’s assistance, Eisenhower was selected to attend the army’s Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Then a major, he graduated first in a class of 275 in 1926 and two years later graduated from the Army War College. He then served in France (where he wrote a guidebook of World War I battlefields) and in Washington, D.C., before becoming an aide to Army Chief of Staff Gen. Douglas MacArthur in 1933. Two years later he accompanied MacArthur to the Philippines to assist in the reorganization of the commonwealth’s army, and while there he was awarded the Distinguished Service Star of the Philippines and promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He returned to the United States shortly after Germany’s invasion of Poland initiated the European phase of World War II, and in March 1941 he became a full colonel. Three months later he was made chief of staff of the Third Army, and he soon won the attention of Army Chief of Staff Gen. George C. Marshall for his role in planning war games involving almost 500,000 troops.

Supreme commander

When the United States entered World War II in December 1941, Marshall appointed Eisenhower to the army’s war plans division in Washington, D.C., where he prepared strategy for an Allied invasion of Europe. Eisenhower had been made a brigadier general in September 1941 and was promoted to major general in March 1942; he was also named head of the operations division of the War Department. In June Marshall selected him over 366 senior officers to be commander of U.S. troops in Europe. Eisenhower’s rapid advancement, after a long army career spent in relative obscurity, was due not only to his knowledge of military strategy and talent for organization but also to his ability to persuade, mediate, and get along with others. Men from a wide variety of backgrounds, impressed by his friendliness, humility, and persistent optimism, liked and trusted him. A phrase that later became one of the most famous campaign slogans in American history seemed to reflect the impression of everyone who met him: “I like Ike!”

Special 30% offer for students! Finish the semester strong with Britannica.

Learn More

Eisenhower was promoted to lieutenant general in July 1942 and named to head Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of French North Africa. This first major Allied offensive of the war was launched on November 8, 1942, and successfully completed in May 1943. Eisenhower’s decision to work during the campaign with the French admiral François Darlan, who had collaborated with the Germans, aroused a storm of protest from the Allies, but his action was defended by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. A full general since that February, Eisenhower then directed the amphibious assault of Sicily and the Italian mainland, which resulted in the fall of Rome on June 4, 1944.

During the fighting in Italy, Eisenhower participated in plans to cross the English Channel for an invasion of France. On December 24, 1943, he was appointed supreme commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force, and the next month he was in London making preparations for the massive thrust into Europe. On June 6, 1944, he gambled on a break in bad weather and gave the order to launch the Normandy Invasion, the largest amphibious attack in history. On D-Day more than 156,000 troops landed in Normandy. Invading Allied forces eventually numbered 1,000,000 and began to fight their way into the heart of France. On August 25 Paris was liberated. After winning the Battle of the Bulge—a fierce German counterattack in the Ardennes in December—the Allies crossed the Rhine on March 7, 1945. Germany surrendered on May 7, ending the war in Europe. Although Eisenhower was criticized, then and later, for allowing the Russians to capture the enemy capital of Berlin, he and others defended his actions on several grounds (the Russians were closer, had more troops, and had been promised Berlin at the Yalta Conference of February 1945). In the meantime, in December 1944, Eisenhower had been made a five-star general.

(Read Sir John Keegan’s Britannica entry on the Normandy Invasion.)

Eisenhower was given a hero’s welcome upon returning to the United States for a visit in June 1945, but in November his intended retirement was delayed when Pres. Harry S. Truman named him to replace Marshall as chief of staff. For more than two years Eisenhower directed demobilization of the wartime army and worked to unify the armed services under a centralized command. In May 1948 he left active duty as the most popular and respected soldier in the United States and became president of Columbia University in New York City. His book Crusade in Europe, published that fall, made him a wealthy man.

Eisenhower’s brief career as an academic administrator was not especially successful. His technical education and military experience prepared him poorly for the post. In the fall of 1950 President Truman asked him to become supreme commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and in early 1951 he flew to Paris to assume his new position. For the next 15 months he devoted himself to the task of creating a united military organization in western Europe to be a defense against the possibility of communist aggression.

Dwight D. Eisenhower | Biography, Cold War, Presidency, & Facts (2024)

FAQs

What role did Dwight D Eisenhower play in the Cold War? ›

Throughout his presidency, Eisenhower insisted on having plans to retaliate, fight, and win a nuclear war against the Soviets, although he hoped he would never feel forced to use such weapons. As the ground war in Korea ended, Eisenhower sharply reduced the reliance on expensive Army divisions.

What did Dwight Eisenhower do during his presidency? ›

On the domestic front, Eisenhower governed as a moderate conservative who continued New Deal agencies and expanded Social Security. He covertly opposed Joseph McCarthy and contributed to the end of McCarthyism by openly invoking executive privilege.

What did Eisenhower do during the Cold War quizlet? ›

President Eisenhower attempted to make peace with the new Soviet Union dictator, Nikita Khrushchev, following Stalin's death. Peace negotiations were rejected. Soviet Union formed this in 1955. It included the Soviet Union and seven of its satellites (countries alligned with them) in Eastern Europe.

What is Eisenhower's role in the invasion? ›

Eisenhower encouraged Allied soldiers, sailors, and airmen taking part in the D-day invasion. It was handed to Allied troops stepping onto their transports on the eve of the cross-channel assault into Normandy.

Which president was more successful during the Cold War and why? ›

Both Truman and Reagan made significant contributions to the United States' efforts during the Cold War. Truman laid the foundation for containment and established key alliances, while Reagan's strong stance and negotiations helped hasten the end of the conflict.

Why was Dwight D. Eisenhower a good president? ›

Eisenhower continued New Deal programs, expanded Social Security, and prioritized a balanced budget over tax cuts. He played a major role in establishing the Interstate Highway System, a massive infrastructure project consisting of tens of thousands of miles of divided highways.

Was Eisenhower ever in combat? ›

Ike and his tank crews never saw combat. After the war, Eisenhower reverted to his regular rank of captain (and was promoted to major a few days later) before assuming duties at Camp Meade, Maryland, where he remained until 1922. His interest in tank warfare was strengthened by many conversations with George S.

Which of the following is most characteristic of President Eisenhower's Cold War? ›

Which of the following is most characteristic of President Eisenhower's Cold War Strategy? It relied on the principle of massive retaliation.

What did Eisenhower think was the key to victory in the Cold War? ›

The Cold War shaped Eisenhower's thinking from the moment he took office. He was convinced that the key to victory was not simply military might but also a strong economy. The United States had to show the world that the free enterprise system could produce a better society than communism.

What was Dwight D Eisenhower known for in the Vietnam war? ›

Following the partition of Vietnam into a communist North and pro-western South, Eisenhower chose to invest huge sums of money and prestige in transforming South Vietnam into a showcase of a new “free Asia.” Spending billions of dollars, sending military advisers, supporting the increasingly brutal tactics of the South ...

References

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Prof. An Powlowski

Last Updated:

Views: 6263

Rating: 4.3 / 5 (44 voted)

Reviews: 83% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Prof. An Powlowski

Birthday: 1992-09-29

Address: Apt. 994 8891 Orval Hill, Brittnyburgh, AZ 41023-0398

Phone: +26417467956738

Job: District Marketing Strategist

Hobby: Embroidery, Bodybuilding, Motor sports, Amateur radio, Wood carving, Whittling, Air sports

Introduction: My name is Prof. An Powlowski, I am a charming, helpful, attractive, good, graceful, thoughtful, vast person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.