Indiana Bicentennial 10.3: Dwight Eisenhower (1953-1961)

Dwight Eisenhower (1953-1961)

Dwight Eisenhower was, of course, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe during World War II. For him, becoming President may have a lighter load than his previous job. He was born in Texas, the third of seven sons, and raised in Kansas. I am told that I am related to Eisenhower on my grandmother’s side. Eisenhower’s maternal grandmother was named Link as was my maternal grandmother. I’m not sure how far up and down the Link chain (sorry) one has to go to connect our families. Obviously we weren’t close!

College was expensive for the Eisenhower family. He made a deal with his brother that one would work and pay for the other’s college. Then they would swap. Dwight worked for two years, putting his brother through college; but was then given the idea to apply to a military academy since it would not require tuition. He asked for consideration at either West Point or Annapolis with his Senator. He did well on the entrance exams but was too old for the Naval Academy and, so, went to West Point. He placed in the middle of the class of 1915 — a class which would ultimately produce 59 general officers.

During World War I, Eisenhower requested positions in Europe but was unsuccessful in obtaining them. Rather, he was stationed in various places in the U.S. However, he showed excellent organizational skills, such as when he commanded a unit that trained tank crews in Pennsylvania. He ended the war with the rank of captain but was promoted to major very shortly after the war. In 1919, he was assigned to a transcontinental convoy that tested vehicles  and highlighted the need for better roads. The convoy averaged only 5 miles per hour from Washington D.C. to San Francisco, and the need for better roads would later become a signature issue of his.

In 1932, Eisenhower was an aide to General MacArthur and participated in the clearing of the Bonus Army protesting at the White House. Eisenhower was apparently against the action and MacArthur’s getting involved with it, but later wrote the official incident report, endorsing MacArthur’s actions. In 1935, Eisenhower accompanied MacArthur to the Philippines. The two apparently had philosophical disagreements about leadership qualities that an American army officer should exhibit and develop in his subordinates. This created some level of antipathy between the two and likely helped Eisenhower manage difficult personalities during World War II, but Eisenhower said the relationship remained positive. Eisenhower respected MacArthur as having a brilliant military mind but disliked his vanity and penchant for theatrics.

In 1941, just before the onset of American participation in World War II, Eisenhower was promoted to brigadier general. World War II and Eisenhower’s involvement in it is far too vast a subject for me to deal with here in any depth, but in December 1943, President Roosevelt appointed Eisenhower to be the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe. In this position, he planned the invasion of Normandy during Operation Overlord which led to the liberation of Europe from the Nazis. The Germans surrendered on May 7, 1945. Following the surrender, Eisenhower became Military Governor of the U.S. Occupation Zone in Germany. When concentration camps were discovered, Eisenhower ordered that the conditions be filmed. Those films were used as evidence during the Nuremberg Trials. He made efforts to supply civilians in post-war Germany with food and medicine; generally attempting to treat the civilians as victims, not villains while — at the same time — purging the country of Nazis. In November, 1945, Eisenhower was appointed as Chief of Staff of the Army where one of his main duties was demobilizing the military.  Initially, Eisenhower was optimistic about the chances for friendly relations with the Soviets following the war. But, by 1947, he agreed with containment as the best policy for dealing with the Soviets.

In 1948, Eisenhower passed on running for President. (Truman apparently approached Eisenhower and offered to run as Eisenhower’s running mate on the Democratic ticket if MacArthur was nominated to the Republican ticket.) Instead, Eisenhower became President of Columbia University. His memoir “Crusade in Europe” written during this time was a financial success. His other activities took him away from Columbia for extended periods of time and resentment built in some quarters that he was an absentee university president.

In 1952, both parties courted him as a Presidential nominee, and he eventually declared himself a Republican. Because he defeated the right wing, conservative Robert Taft, Richard Nixon was appointed as his vice-president to appease that wing of the party. “Nixon also provided a strong anti-communist presence as well as some youth to counter Ike’s more advanced age.” His campaign stressed “Korea, Communism and corruption” as themes, attacking the policies of the Roosevelt and Truman administration. But, it was likely Eisenhower’s personal appeal that drove his victory. His campaign slogan was the famously simple, “I like Ike.” He beat Adlai Stevenson in a landslide: 442 to 89.  

“Eisenhower’s cabinet, consisting of several corporate executives and one labor leader, was dubbed by one journalist, ‘Eight millionaires and a plumber.’” Eisenhower described himself as a “progressive conservative.” He expanded Social Security and continued integration of the military begun under Truman. The progressive part of that equation seems to have been the stronger half. In 1954, the GOP was losing ground and in danger of losing its Congressional majorities. He blamed the old-guard conservatives. Eisenhower said, “I have just one purpose … and that is to build up a strong progressive Republican Party in this country. If the right wing wants a fight, they are going to get it … before I end up, either this Republican Party will reflect progressivism or I won’t be with them anymore.”

In 1953, Eisenhower oversaw an armistice in the Korean War. In this, he was aided by his military reputation and the death of Stalin. Once Stalin was dead, the Soviet hardline in support of China weakened, China weakened in turn, and an armistice was signed that drew the line between North and South Korea along approximately the same boundary as in 1950. Eisenhower had concluded that total war in the nuclear age was unthinkable and limited war unwinnable.

In August of 1953, Eisenhower authorized the CIA to overthrow the government of Iran and install the Shah, thereby increasing the strategic control of oil in the region by the U.S. and Great Britain. Prime Minister Mohammed Mosaddegh sought to audit the Anglo-Iranian Oil company and limit its control over Iran’s petroleum reserves. The British sought and received U.S. assistance in getting rid of Mosaddegh in Operation Ajax, an operation involving Theodore Roosevelt’s grandson, Kermit Roosevelt, Jr. which ultimately returned the Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi to power. In 1979, the Shah was overthrown by the Ayatollah Khomeini which has had a significant impact on our relationship to the Middle East today.  

Next time: We’ll continue on with President Eisenhower, more of his foreign policy, and his domestic policies.