Eisenhower
Background
- Eisenhower was 34th President of the United States (1953–1961)
- Born on October 14, 1890 in Denison, Texas
- Graduated from U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York in 1915
- Political Party: Republican
- Died March 28, 1969 in Washington, D.C.
- http://millercenter.org/president
Before He was President
Eisenhower was one of America's greatest military commanders and the thirty-fourth President of the United States. He served as a military aide to General John J. Pershing and then to General Douglas MacArthur in the Philippines. Shortly before the United States entered World War II, Eisenhower earned his first star with a promotion to brigadier general. In 1944, he was supreme commander of Operation Overlord, the Allied assault on Nazi-occupied Europe. In only five years, Eisenhower had risen from a lowly lieutenant colonel in the Philippines to commander of the greatest invasion force in history. When he returned home in 1945 to serve as chief of staff of the Army, Eisenhower was a hero, loved and admired by the American public. In 1952, he declared that he was a Republican and returned home to win his party's presidential nomination, with Richard M. Nixon as his running partner. He ran for two terms easily beating the democratic candidate Stevenson both in the election of 1952 and 1956.
President Eisenhower
Eisenhower was a popular President throughout his two terms in office. Eisenhower helped strengthen established programs, such as Social Security, and launch important new ones, such as the Interstate Highway System in 1956, which became the single largest public works program in U.S. history. Six months after he became President, Eisenhower agreed to an armistice that ended three years of fighting in Korea. But he made effort to wage the Cold War, keeping defense spending high, and placed a strong emphasis on nuclear power.
Accomplishments during his administration include creating the U.S. Information Agency, and establishing Alaska and Hawaii as states. Eisenhower also supported the creation of the Interstate Highway System during his time in office. His other distinctions include signing the 1957 Civil Rights Act and setting up a permanent Civil Rights Commission. Eisenhower was additionally responsible for signing the bill to form the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).