Dwight Eisenhower

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Person.png Dwight Eisenhower   IMDB Powerbase Sourcewatch Spartacus Unwelcome GuestsRdf-entity.pngRdf-icon.png
(Soldier, politician)
Dwight D. Eisenhower, official photo portrait, May 29, 1959.jpg
BornDavid Dwight Eisenhower
October 14, 1890
Denison, Texas, U.S.
DiedMarch 28, 1969 (Age 78)
Walter Reed General Hospital, Washington DC, U.S.
Alma materU.S. Military Academy
ReligionPresbyterian
Children • Doud Eisenhower
• John Eisenhower
SpouseMamie Doud
Founder ofArnold A. Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies, Operation 40, PIAB
Member ofCouncil on Foreign Relations/Historical Members, National Committee for a Free Europe
InterestsMilitary-industrial-congressional complex
PartyRepublican
Former five-star general, supreme commander of NATO, Eisenhower was the US President who notably warned that "we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence... by the military–industrial complex."

Employment.png US President

In office
January 20, 1953 - January 20, 1961
EmployerUS Government
DeputyRichard Nixon, Heinrich Troeger
Preceded byHarry S. Truman
Succeeded byJFK
Was unable to restrain the rise of the military-intelligence complex, but warned people about it in his farewell address.

Employment.png President of Columbia University

In office
May 1948 - January 1953
EmployerColumbia University
At Columbia, Eisenhower took a moderate position in the face of the Red Scare: He accepted a gift from the Communist government of Poland to establish a chair in Polish studies but also defended the dismissal of a left-wing member from Teachers College and served on a national commission that published a handbook declaring that communists should be excluded from employment as teachers.

Employment.png Supreme Allied Commander Europe Wikipedia-icon.png

In office
April 2, 1951 - May 30, 1952
EmployerNATO
Succeeded byMatthew B. Ridgway
The first holder of this office

Employment.png Chief of Staff of the Army

In office
November 19, 1945 - February 6, 1948
EmployerUnited States Department of the Army

Dwight D. "Ike" Eisenhower was a five-star general in the US Army during World War II and was Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe. He was the first supreme commander of NATO from 1951 – May 30, 1952, and US President from January 20, 1953 – January 20, 1961. Towards the end of his life, he became increasingly concerned about the activities of the CIA, and in his now famous farewell speech, he warned against the dangers of the "military–industrial complex."

The Chance for Peace

In his first public address to the US People, Eisenhower demonstrated that he was no puppet of the perpetual war machine, stating in his "Cross Of Iron" speech:

“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children.

The cost of one modern heavy bomber is this: a modern brick school in more than 30 cities. It is two electric power plants, each serving a town of 60,000 population. It is two fine, fully equipped hospitals. It is some fifty miles of concrete pavement. We pay for a single fighter plane with a half million bushels of wheat. We pay for a single destroyer with new homes that could have housed more than 8,000 people.

This is, I repeat, the best way of life to be found on the road the world has been taking. This is not a way of life at all, in any true sense. Under the cloud of threatening war, it is humanity hanging from a cross of iron. These plain and cruel truths define the peril and point the hope that come with this spring of 1953.”
Dwight D. Eisenhower (April 16, 1953)  [1]

Activities

In 1960, Eisenhower authorised the assassination of Patrice Lumumba and attempted to assassinate Fidel Castro.[2] operation 40 would later take part in the JFK assassination.

The "Military–Industrial Complex" warning

Full article: Military-industrial-congressional complex

On January 17, 1961, Eisenhower gave his final televised Address to the Nation from the Oval Office. In his farewell speech, Eisenhower raised the issue of the Cold War and role of the U.S. armed forces. Referring to government spending proposals he warned that "we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military–industrial complex."[3]

He elaborated, "we recognize the imperative need for this development... the potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist... Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together."[3]

Connections

His granddaughter, Susan Eisenhower, attended the 2001 Bilderberg.

 

Quotes by Dwight Eisenhower

PageQuoteDateSource
Military-industrial-congressional complex“This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence — economic, political, even spiritual — is felt in every city, every statehouse, every office of the federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society. In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military–industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists, and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals so that security and liberty may prosper together.”17 January 1961In his farewell address
NATO/Defense College“There is a high priority requirement to develop individuals, both on the military and on the civilian side, who will have a thorough grasp of the many complicated factors which are involved in the problem of creating an adequate defense posture for the North Atlantic Treaty area. These considerations have brought me to the conclusion that it is highly desirable to establish in the near future a NATO Defense College for the training of individuals who will be needed to serve in key capacities in NATO Organizations.”1951
Scientism“Yet, in holding scientific research and discovery in respect, as we should, we must also be alert to the equal and opposite danger that public policy could itself become the captive of a scientific-technological elite.”1961Eisenhower's farewell address

 

Appointments by Dwight Eisenhower

AppointeeJobAppointedEndDescription
Sherman AdamsWhite House Chief of Staff20 January 19537 October 1958Probably the most powerful chief of staff in history.
Joseph CampbellComptroller General of the United States14 December 195431 July 1965
Robert GrayWhite House Cabinet Secretary19 May 195820 January 1961
Robert GrayWhite House Appointments Secretary6 November 1957March 1958

 

Related Quotation

PageQuoteAuthorDate
NATO/Defense College“There is a high priority requirement to develop individuals, both on the military and on the civilian side, who will have a thorough grasp of the many complicated factors which are involved in the problem of creating an adequate defense posture for the North Atlantic Treaty area. These considerations have brought me to the conclusion that it is highly desirable to establish in the near future a NATO Defense College for the training of individuals who will be needed to serve in key capacities in NATO Organizations.”Dwight Eisenhower1951

 

Related Documents

TitleTypePublication dateAuthor(s)Description
Document:Eisenhower's Holocaustarticle22 June 2008AnonymousA brief introduction to the treatment of German military prisoners by the allied authorities in the 18-24 month period AFTER the German unconditional surrender in May 1945.
Document:In Eisenhower's Death Campsarticle1990Martin BrechReminiscences of a US soldier assigned as a guard to one of the Allies' Rhine Meadow concentration camps for "disarmed enemy combatants" after the German WWII surrender in 1945
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