Basic Information
Name: Dwight David Eisenhower
Nicknames: Ike, Big D., Howdy D., Dwight Rightly
Born: October 14th, 1890
Died: March 28th, 1969
Nationality: American
Hometown: Denison, Texas
WORK & EDUCATION
Occupation: president of the United States of America
Education: United States Military Academy
FAMILY & FRIENDS
Parents: Ida Elizabeth Stover Eisenhower and David Jacob Eisenhower
Siblings: Arthur Eisenhower, Edgar Newton Eisenhower, Roy Eisenhower, Earl Eisenhower, Milton Stover Eisenhower, and Paul Eisenhower (died in infancy)
Spouse: Mamie Doud
Children: Doud Dwight "Ikky" Eisenhower and John Sheldon Doud Eisenhower
Friends: Harold Macmillan, Richard Nixon, and interstate highways
Foes: Mostly the Soviets, but also Harry S. Truman (hardcore frenemies)
Analysis
Dwighty D.
From the very beginning of his career, Dwight D. Eisenhower had a reputation—for being excellent at everything. Equally successful in the military and politics, the native Texan entered into government service early in life, occupying significant strategic and operative roles in both world wars.
He blasted through the ranks of the U.S. military and politics to become:
- BOOM: the governor of the American zone of occupied Germany.
- BANG: the 16th chief of staff of the U.S. Army.
- POW: the first supreme allied commander, Europe under the then newly founded North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
- WHIZ: the 34th president of the United States.
Now, that's quite the resume, but it doesn't stop there. Other notable achievements include being the president of Columbia University in the late 1940s and early 1950s and being a mastermind behind the U.S. invasion of France and Germany during World War II.
Occupying the White House from 1953 to 1961, Eisenhower served two terms as president. As a progressive Republican, he supported the efforts of the civil rights movement, established NASA, and initiated the American interstate highway system. His major political agenda was to hinder the international spread of communism and cripple the global influence of the Soviet Union.
During the 1950s, he strongly supported the development of nuclear weapons as a new means of building American defenses against the Soviets, but in a way that was economically feasible (because nukes are expensive). His policy is known as the "New Look," which sounds like a trend in high-end fashion but, like much of the political, military, and scientific events of the Eisenhower administration, was part of a larger global situation called the arms race. (What is with these names?)
The arms race was a competition between the U.S. and the USSR to see who could create the most advanced military technology first. Although it wasn't about sprinting while doing a handstand, it was about who could flex the most muscle when it came to national defense. Many organizations and projects arose from these circumstances, including the U.S. and Soviet space programs and, of course, advanced research on nuclear warfare.
As the nuclear situation began to approach a fever pitch, Eisenhower knew he had to pump the brakes on the general enthusiasm for all things atomic, and he began to advocate for more peaceful methods of nuclear advancement. His speech "The Chance for Peace" is one such example of his efforts. Another was his consistent work to negotiate a treaty regulating the testing of nuclear weapons.
Although his term in office would end before the final arrangements of such a treaty could be realized, his diplomatic engagement with the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union laid the foundation for the PTBT. It was a major step in reducing tensions around the issue of nuclear weapons.
Ironically, Eisenhower also laid the foundation for the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba. Carried out under the supervision of his successor, President John F. Kennedy, the Bays of Pigs was a military flop, a political disaster, and an international "incident" that, in part, triggered the Cuban Missile Crisis.
A sufferer of chronic heart problems, Eisenhower died on March 28th, 1969, of congestive heart failure. He is thought of as one of the most popular presidents in history, and considering what a bang-up job he did, it's a designation well-deserved. Without his work on the PTBT, the world might be…
Wait, let's not even go there.