Dwight D. Eisenhower - 34th President

Dwight David Eisenhower
Our 34th President

Dwight David Eisenhower was born on October 14, 1890 in Denison Texas. He had five Brothers. They were Edgar, Earl, Arthur, Roy, and Milton. When he was a child, he was given the nickname Ike. Ike and his family moved to Abilene Kansas. When he was growing up, he and his family lived on a farm and had very little money. Ike had to do chores on the farm like feeding the pigs and milking the cows to help his family survive. Ike liked to play baseball and football in school. He liked outdoor activities like hunting and fishing. He could not afford to go to college so he took a job at his father's creamery for a while. Ike got accepted at West Point Military Academy when he was 20 years old, on June14, 1911. Ike's goal at West Point was to become an officer in the US Army. He played football and got injured. He graduated in 1945.

Ike got married on July 1, 1916 to Mamie Doud. Their first child was born in 1917. In 1920 he got sick of scarlet fever and died. He was three years old at the time. They had a second child in 1922. His name was John Sheldon Eisenhower. John went to West Point Military Academy in 1940 and was in the Army.

Ike had some jobs through his life before he was President. When he was young, he worked loading sheet metal into box cars. When he was 18, he worked at his father's creamery. After graduation from West Point, Ike was 2nd lieutenant in the Army. For 20 years Ike was in a peace time army. He was a major general in World War II. By the time the war ended, Ike was a five star general, which is the highest military rank. Ike was Chief of Staff for 2 years under President Truman. When the war was over, Ike was very popular in the world. He was also a very respected leader in the world. He was the Commander of NATO. NATO is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Ike was a Republican. He was the 34th President.

Ike had accomplishments while he was President. Here are some of them:

In Korea, there was a war between the North and the South over Communism. Ike thought of peace instead of using the atomic bomb. He ended the fighting with a truce.
Ike sponsored and signed the Civil Rights Bill of 1957. He did this to help the African American people. He wanted them to be equal by not sitting at the back of the bus and going the same schools.
One of President Eisenhower's favorite and long lasting accomplishments was starting America's Interstate Highway system. He sponsored and signed the Federal Highway Act of 1956.
Ike balanced the budget. He would not let the government spend more money than they had. This helped the country do well in the 1950's.
One of his biggest accomplishments was keeping America at peace. Besides the Korean war, Ike had several other crises which threatened America. Though the U-2 crises, and dangerous situations in Formosa, Vietnam, Suez, Hungary, and Berlin, Ike was calm and guided America through with no big wars.

When Ike and Mamie Eisenhower left the White House in 1961, they went to live at their 550 acre farm in Gettysburg Pennsylvania. They spent a lot of time together. They read, watched T.V., and enjoyed their farm. Ike's son John Eisenhower and his wife Barbara had four children and lived on the Gettysburg property. Ike wrote several books after he retired. One book was "At Ease: Stories I Tell to Friends." In April 1968, Ike had a heart attack. He had to spend the last year of his life in Walter Reed Army Hospital. Mamie stayed with him in the next room. Ike died on March 28th, 1969. He was buried in Abilene, Kansas.

Ike had a lot of character during his life. Here are some of his traits. Ike was an honest man. During the election, he promised to stop the Korean war, and he did. Ike was also a responsible person. He did chores on the farm when he was a child to help his family survive. Ike was perseverant by leading his Army in World War II. Ike was also a very cooperative man. An example of his cooperation was his long career in the Army.

President Eisenhower is a very remembered President. He is remembered for being a five star general in world war II. He stopped the Korean war. During the time he was President, there were many problems in the world and they could have caused war. He is remembered for keeping our country at peace. History writers believe Dwight D. Eisenhower was one of the greatest Presidents ever.