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Line 57: + + + + + + + + − After [[Harry Truman]] decided against running for a third term in the [[United States presidential election, 1952|1952 Presidential Election]], Eisenhower ran on the [[Republican]] ticket, though he was asked to run as a [[Democrat]] as well. (There was a "Draft Eisenhower" movement going on at the time.) He refused to run as a Democrat because they supported a weak U.S. military. With a large amount of popularity from serving as a [[General]] in [[World War II]], he won the election against former [[Illinois]] governor [[Adlai Stevenson]]. His military experience was deemed important, as the [[United States]] was perceived by many as being under threat. <ref>http://www.utexas.edu/features/archive/2004/election_policy.html</ref> The [[Soviet Union]] had developed the [[atomic bomb]] several years before, in 1949, and the U.S. was involved in the [[Korean War]]. −
Dwight D. Eisenhower (view source)
Revision as of 19:17, December 15, 2008
, 19:17, December 15, 20081952
[[Image:Eisenhower Nehru.jpg|right|thumb|350px|Prime Minister [[Jawaharlal Nehru|Nehru]] of India receives an honorary degree while Eisenhower was President of Columbia University]]
[[Image:Eisenhower Nehru.jpg|right|thumb|350px|Prime Minister [[Jawaharlal Nehru|Nehru]] of India receives an honorary degree while Eisenhower was President of Columbia University]]
The 1951 appointment of Eisenhower as NATO's first supreme allied commander, Europe (SACEUR) was crucial to the alliance's success. Eisenhower was the only individual with sufficient military and political stature to persuade Western Europe to rearm in the face of the Soviet threat. While not completely successful - NATO's combat strength did not reach the desired totals - Eisenhower spent 18 months visiting member countries and organizing available military forces. When he left NATO in 1952 to run for president, the organization was planning an ambitious expansion, including the entry of Greece and Turkey into the alliance and the rearming of the Federal Republic of Germany.<ref> See Bielakowski (2004)</ref>
The 1951 appointment of Eisenhower as NATO's first supreme allied commander, Europe (SACEUR) was crucial to the alliance's success. Eisenhower was the only individual with sufficient military and political stature to persuade Western Europe to rearm in the face of the Soviet threat. While not completely successful - NATO's combat strength did not reach the desired totals - Eisenhower spent 18 months visiting member countries and organizing available military forces. When he left NATO in 1952 to run for president, the organization was planning an ambitious expansion, including the entry of Greece and Turkey into the alliance and the rearming of the Federal Republic of Germany.<ref> See Bielakowski (2004)</ref>
==1952 Presidential campaign==
Eisenhower was convinced that America's own security depended on its commitment to NATO. He was therefore outraged by the isolationism of the leader of the GOP in Congress, Ohio Senator Robert Taft. In February 1951, Eisenhower met privately with Taft, seeking the senator's assurance that he would support America's commitment to European collective security. Taft refused, and the die was cast for Eisenhower's entry into the 1952 presidential contest to stop Taft and guarantee an internationalist commitment. Numerous Republican politicians in the Northeast, led by New York Governor [[Tom Dewey]] and Massachusetts Senator [[Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr.]], along with media leaders, urged Ike to run, and set up Ike Clubs that sounded a drumbeat of popular demand. Taft was adding delegates; he had about 450 of the 604 needed for the nomination, but Eisenhower delegates were also being elected in the primary, despite the leader's indecision. Finally, with his reorganization of NATO accomplished, Eisenhower entered the race in Abilene on June 4, intending, as he always did, to win. <Ref> Ambrose 1: ch 25-26</ref> He stood for internationalism in foreign affairs--basically a continuation of the Roosevelt-Truman policies. On domestic affairs he was conservative and pro-business, though he did not attack labor unions the way Taft did. Most of all he stood for new leadership and for a level of competence the nation had been missing for eight years. After ousting some Taft delegates the convention nominated Eisenhower, who chose young Senator [[Richard M. Nixon]] as his aggressive running mate. Eisenhower and Taft came to terms, and the GOP ran a united campaign.
Eisenhower crusaded against the multiple failures of the Truman administration at home and abroad, summed up as "Communism, Korea and Corruption." His campaign made heavy use of the catchy slogan "I Like Ike"; it became an animated TV commercial produced by [[Roy Disney]] and the Citizens for Eisenhower-Nixon <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.archive.org/details/Eisenhow1952|title=Internet archive, Eisenhower Campaign Spots|accessdate=2007-09-11|date=1952}}</ref>.
Truman's popularity had collapsed because of the failure to end the Korean war. Late in the campaign Eisenhower electrified the nation by promising "I Shall Go to Korea" (and thus promising to end the war quickly). This speech is one of the rare instances when a single address is credited with having a decisive effect upon a presidential election. Though Eisenhower's personal stature seemed to validate the promise of his declaration, the public response additionally derived from four elements that formed a major portion of the conceptual, emotional, and interpretive manner by which voters in 1952 perceived and acted upon their world: 1) the Cold War discourse as it had been practiced from 1946 to 1952, making it the nation's greatest challenge; 2) the foreign policy debate discourse, especially as it related to involvement in Asia; 3) the Korean War discourse as practiced from 1950 to 1952, in which the GOP was free to denounce Truman because Congress had never been asked to approve; and 4) the discourse of Eisenhower from 1942 to 1952, portaying the joyful warrior, particularly the 1952 campaign discourse featuring an appeal to character. Because of this complex context, the speech was a decisive event. Once in office Eisenhower threatened to use nuclear weapons unless the Chinese came to terms on the issue of prisoner exchange, which they promptly did.<ref>Martin J. Medhurst, "Text and Context in the 1952 Presidential Campaign: Eisenhower's 'I Shall Go to Korea' Speech" ''Presidential Studies Quarterly'' (2000) 30(3): 464-484. Issn: 0360-4918 [http://www.questia.com/read/5001083440 online edition]</ref>
==First Term==
==First Term==
During this term, the Korean War ended in a stalemate after a treaty was signed. Eisenhower's term in office is also notable for the creation of the enormous Interstate Highway System, which was funded by the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 <ref>http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/programadmin/interstate.html</ref>.
During this term, the Korean War ended in a stalemate after a treaty was signed. Eisenhower's term in office is also notable for the creation of the enormous Interstate Highway System, which was funded by the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 <ref>http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/programadmin/interstate.html</ref>.