Dwight D. Eisenhower

Dwight David Eisenhower commanded Allied forces in western Europe during the Second World War and became NATO’s first supreme commander before serving as president from 1953 to 1961. His administration sought to sustain American power and contain communism without repeating the costs of a major conventional war. An armistice in Korea in 1953 ended the fighting there but left the peninsula divided. ^{1, 2}

The “New Look” placed greater emphasis on nuclear deterrence, air power, and alliances. Eisenhower also authorized covert action, including operations that helped overthrow governments in Iran in 1953 and Guatemala in 1954. American support for South Vietnam increased after the French defeat in Indochina. These policies extended containment beyond Europe and tied the United States to governments facing powerful domestic opposition. ²

Eisenhower sometimes restrained allies as well as adversaries. During the Suez crisis in 1956, he opposed the British, French, and Israeli attack on Egypt and pressed for withdrawal. He pursued talks with Soviet leaders, but the 1960 U-2 incident disrupted summit diplomacy. The growth of Soviet missile and space capabilities intensified strategic competition even as he warned in his farewell address about the influence of the military-industrial complex. ^{2, 1}

Domestically, Eisenhower preserved much of the New Deal framework, supported the interstate highway system, and sought fiscal restraint. His civil rights record was cautious, but he sent federal troops to enforce school desegregation at Little Rock in 1957 and signed civil rights legislation. The prosperity associated with his presidency existed alongside entrenched racial inequality and persistent arguments over the size and responsibilities of the federal government. ³