What Does it Take to be a Great President?

 

Dwight Eisenhower

 

 

 

 

Where I Live(ed):

Abilene, Texas and Denison, Texas

Whitehouse, Washington D.C.

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

 

About Me:

I excelled at sports in high school and got an appointement to West Point.  Later I was stationed in Texas where i met my soon to be wife Mamie Geneva Doud, who I married in 1916.

I excelled at staff assignments were i served under Generals John J. Pershing, Douglas MacArthur and Walter Krueger. After Pearl Harbour i was worked in Washington to plan the war. I commanded the invasion of Northern Africa and then was made Supreme Commander of the Forces invading France.

After the war, he became President of Columbia University, then took leave to assume supreme command over the new NATO forces being assembled in 1951. Republican emissaries to his headquarters near Paris persuaded him to run for President in 1952.

In 1953 I negotiated a truce brought an armed peace along the border of South Korea.

In September 1955, I suffered a heart attack in Denver, Colorado. After seven weeks I left the hospital, and in February 1956 doctors said I was fully recovered. In November that year I was elected for my second term.

In domestic policy I pursued a middle course, continuing most of the New Deal and Fair Deal programs, emphasizing a balanced budget. I also sent troops into Little Rock, Arkansas, to assure compliance with the orders of a Federal courtto desegregate schools; he also ordered the complete desegregation of the Armed Forces. I was always the opinion that "There must be no second class citizens in this country".

 

Date of Birth:

October 14th,1890 in Denison, Texas

Date of Death:

March 28, 1969 in Washington D.C.

Sex:

Male

Political Views:

Republican

 

Religious Views:

Presbyterian Church

 

Years Served as President:

I served as president for two terms, from 1953-1961.

Status:

Happily maried to Mamie Geneva Doud Eisenhower.

Children:

Doud Dwight Eisenhower, born September 24, 1917 (1917-1921)

John Sheldon David Doud Eisenhower, born on August 3, 1922 (1922-)

Looking for:

Friendship, networking

Occupations:

Soldier, General and President

 

Interests/Hobbies:

• Golf
• Baseball
• Football
• Boxing
• Playing Cards (especially Bridge)

 

Education:

• I graduated in the 1909 class at Albilene High School.
• I also attended The United States Naval Acadamy at West Point from 1911-1915.
• In 1926, I attended the Army's Commands and General Staff School.

 

Favorite Books:

I really like all of the Western adventure novels by Zane Grey, especially the book Riders of the Purple Sage.

 

Favorite Movies:

My favorite movie by far was High Noon, which I watched quite a few times during my life at the White House. The movie was produced the year I first won the presidential election.

 

Favorite Music:

I really liked patriotic songs, such as America the Beautiful, Battle Hymn of the Republic, and God Bless America. I also liked the songs O Suzanna and Old Man River.

 

Friends:

• Swede Hazlett
• Gee Gerow  
• John F. Kennedy
• And, of course, my wife

Sports:

• Baseball (my favorite, my dream was to go pro)
• Football
• Golf
• Horse Riding
• Boxing

 

During my stint as president, the political, social and economic factors and challenges that I had to deal with (at home) included:

 

Political

• I had to decide how best to deal with those who suggested I brought the troops from Korea home. I faced lots of opposition on my ideas for the troops.
• I had to go through facing Senator Joseph McCarthy, as he attacked many people from my organization, accusing them of being communists. This will forever be seen as a crazed witchhunt.
• I had to watch as the 22nd ammendment, which will forever limit U.S. presidents, was implemented. I strongly opposed this ammendment.

 

Social

• As desegregation of schools began, he sent troops into Little Rock, Arkansas, to assure compliance with the orders of a Federal court; he also ordered the complete desegregation of the Armed Forces.

• By early August the commission report was on his desk, and he sent a special message to the Congress transmitting the proposed changes in Social Security. Not only did the commission propose adding 10.5 million citizens to the Social Security rolls, but it recommended substantial increases in basic monthly benefit payments as well as increased support of disabled Americans.

• Pulling the country out of the WWII slump for good.

• The McCarthy trials also falls into this category in my opinion.

 

Economic

• In domestic policy the President pursued a middle course, continuing most of the New Deal and Fair Deal programs, emphasizing a balanced budget.
• I spent lots of money fixing the bad roads, in an effort to improve the overall transportation system.
• I had an overall conservative view on the economy, which the "Taft Republicans" liked.

 

 

During my stint as president, the political, social and economic factors and challenges that I had to deal with (abroad) included:

 

Political

• Negotiating from military strength, he tried to reduce the strains of the Cold War. In 1953, the signing of a truce brought an armed peace along the border of South Korea.
• New Russian leaders consented to a peace treaty neutralizing Austria. Meanwhile, both Russia and the United States had developed hydrogen bombs. The President proposed that the United States and Russia exchange blueprints of each other's military establishments and "provide within our countries facilities for aerial photography to the other country."
• Eisenhower concentrated on maintaining world peace. He watched with pleasure the development of his "atoms for peace" program--the loan of American uranium to "have not" nations for peaceful purposes.

 

Social

• A rocket able to carry a bomb across the globe also could be used to loft machines and men into orbit. The United States and the Soviet Union engaged in a long competition to develop rockets for both warfare and the exploration of space.

• I worked to protect the interests that we had in the Middle East. In my Eisenhower Doctrine, I asserted that any act that is viewed as an attempt to hurt American interests in the Middle East would be viewed as hostile, and that action would be taken.

• The ENTIRE COLD WAR! This ultimately dominated my presidency, as well as the presidency of numerous presidents before and after.

 

Economic

• The entire space race with the Soviet Union costed lots of money, and was thus a major economic challenge.
• I also had to help solve the problem of the failing economy in Europe, due to WWII.

 

Looking back at my presidential career, I had to wear several "hats."  Wearing these different "hats," these were my most significant achievements and failures:

 

Commander-in-Chief

My major campaign slogan which helped me to win the presidency was that I would promise to end the Korean War. I was eventually able to do this, but I eventually pushed Congress to declare war against Vietnam. We ultimately lost the war in Vietnam.

Chief Executive

I appointed 5 chief justices to the Supreme Court. They were Earl Warran, John Harlan II, William Brennan, Charles Whittaker, and Potter Stewart. I also introduced the Federal Highway Act and the Civil Rights Act, which were both successful in my opinion.

Chief Diplomat

I was famous for stating my "Eisenhower Doctrine" which i described earlier in my Political Challenges section. I also spent much of my time fighting Communism, and our relations with the Soviet Union were much worse than "alright."

Ceremonial Head of State

Many people respected me, due to my success in WWII, when I helped plan the D-Day attack. Many people also enjoyed the fact that I was easy going, as well as a natural athlete. People naturally looked up to me. Although I had many critics, I still was popular with the American people.

Manager of the Economy

I had an overal conservative view on the economy, although I did take huge steps to improve the transportation system in the U.S. with my Federal Highway Act. I tried to compensate for this by cutting government spending in many other economic areas.

Party Leader

For a long time, I was unable to decide whether to join the Republican or Democratic parties. My views were very unique, and didn't follow the general guidelines of either party exactly. I finally decided to run for president as a Republican.

National Leader

I tried to end the segregation that was so widespread during my presidency. I tried to convey the message that segregation was wrong, and it was tearing our nation apart. By introducing the Segregation Act, I tried to end segregation forever.

 

Some of My Best and Favorite Quotes:

"What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of fight in the dog."

"The ONLY way to win WWIII is to prevent it."

"I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity."

 

 

Positive Political Cartoon

http://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/0010/images/herblock_4.jpg

Negative Political Cartoon

http://www.americaslibrary.gov/assets/aa/marshall/aa_marshall_mcarthy_3_m.jpg

Works Cited:

 

"Biography: Dwight David Eisenhower ." Dwight David Eisenhower . 01 jan 2004. The Dwight D. Eisenhower Foundation. 23 May 2008

<http://www.dwightdeisenhower.com/biodde.html>.

 

Graff, Henry F., ed. Presidents: A Reference History. 3^rd ed. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2002. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Gale. International Academy High School. 30 Apr. 2008 <http://go.galegroup.com/ps/start.do?p=GVRL&u=lom_inac>.

 

Pendergast, Sara and Tom Pendergast, eds. St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. Detroit: St. James Press, 2000. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Gale. International Academy High School. 30 Apr. 2008 <http://go.galegroup.com/ps/start.do?p=GVRL&u=lom_inac>.