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Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower. Dwight Eisenhower - biography, information, personal life. US policy in Latin America

The name of Dwight David Eisenhower - the 34th President of the United States - became world famous long before he took office as head of state. He was a talented commander, general of the army, and at the time - the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe.

Childhood. Youth. Education

Dwight Eisenhower was born in Denison (Texas) on 10/14/1890. Soon his father and mother - David and Ida Eisenhowers - moved to Abilene (Kansas) in the hope of finding a high-paying job. Dwight's adolescence and early youth passed there. First - an ordinary high school, then - he went to study at the most prestigious military academy in the world, namely, at West Point.

Start of military service

In April 1917, when America had to enter the First World War, Eisenhower, who had naively boyish dreams of a front and real battles, was sent to a camp where he had to train American volunteers for combat operations.

Military experience

Eisenhower's further career was marked by the following events: - Service in the Panama Canal area; - work at the army headquarters with General D. MacArthur; - work as chief of staff for General V. Kruger. It was under the command of Krueger that Eisenhower rose to the rank of colonel, and then to brigadier general.

The Second World War

In December 1941, America was forced to intervene in the course of World War II, unable to stand aside, and this military intervention gave a powerful impetus to the growth of Eisenhower's military career. Under the command of General J. Marshall, he worked at the headquarters, where he planned military operations. Then he became the commander of the Anglo-American forces in the Allied offensives in northern Africa, Sicily and Italy. And after America opened a second front, Eisenhower was appointed Supreme Commander of the Special Military Forces.

Personal achievements

Eisenhower himself most highly appreciated his military actions in the Anglo-American landing in Normandy (06/06/1944) and the Rhine stage of the war in February-March 1945. In addition, Eisenhower became the first Commander-in-Chief of the NATO Armed Forces, and it was he who played the main role after the end of the war in the renewal of the armaments of West Germany with a view to its entry into this alliance.

The president

In January 1953, Eisenhower became the 34th President of America. First of all, he ended the war in Korea and took up the strengthening of national security in his country, developing the doctrine of “massive retaliation”, according to which the number of strategic aviation with nuclear warheads increased. Convinced of the reality of the threat from the USSR, he wanted the United States to be ready for a nuclear attack against the Soviet Union and the PRC.

Doctrines The policy of the President and his Secretary of State Dulles was to ensure that America retained world leadership. In this regard, two more doctrines were developed: the "doctrine of liberation" and the "doctrine of Eisenhower". The first belonged to the countries of Eastern Europe, the second - to the countries of the third world. Second term in office In 1956, Eisenhower was re-elected for a second term. These years were not marked by global events in his political career, with the exception of military intervention in the affairs of Lebanon.

There was another episode that can even be called scandalous, as it caused a certain kind of diplomatic collapse, disrupting a pre-scheduled meeting with the leader of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and head of state - Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev (1960). The reason for this was a U-2 reconnaissance aircraft shot down over the territory of the Soviet Union.

After resignation

At the end of his presidential term, Eisenhower gradually retired from political affairs and was finally able to rest. He died in the hospital (03/28/1969), when he reached the respectable age - seventy-eight years. His grave is in Abilene.

125 years ago, the 34th President of the United States, Dwight David Eisenhower, was born - holder of the highest Soviet military order "Victory" and one of the architects of the Cold War

The future army general and president, born October 14, 1890, came from the bottom of American society. Dwight Eisenhower had five brothers, and his parents struggled to maintain a minimum income in the house. However, the general himself later said that in this friendly family with traditional foundations he was taught responsibility, independence, work and order.

Perhaps thanks to this, Ike, as he was called at school, passed the competitive exam and was enrolled in the most prestigious US military academy - West Point in the state of New York. He graduated from it in 1915. Second Lieutenant Dwight Eisenhower was known as a diligent, capable officer, and was in good standing. Nevertheless, his career growth was very slow: only in March 1941 he received the coveted rank of colonel, and soon - brigadier general. Career began to develop rapidly with the entry of the United States into World War II in December of that year. In June 1942, Eisenhower was appointed commander-in-chief of allied forces in Europe and entered the circle of the American and British political and military elite.

In 1943, he proved himself in North Africa: under his leadership, the Anglo-American troops defeated the Germans and Italians in Tunisia. Then, in the same year, Eisenhower again achieved great success in the operation to liberate Sicily.

First on the second front

In November 1943, at the Tehran Conference, Joseph Stalin finally managed to get his partners in the anti-Hitler coalition to discuss the issue of opening a second front in Europe. US President Franklin Roosevelt then announced that the United States and Great Britain were actively preparing for a joint operation called "Overlord" to land troops on the coast of France, in Normandy. Stalin reacted to the president's words in his usual direct manner: "If possible, I would like to receive an answer to the question of who will be appointed commander of Operation Overlord." Hearing from Roosevelt: "This issue has not yet been resolved," the head of the Soviet delegation declared: "Then nothing will come of Operation Overlord." And he repeated his question: “Who bears the moral and military responsibility for the preparation and execution of Operation Overlord? If this is not known, then Operation Overlord is just talk." The somewhat tense situation was saved by Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, who hastened to announce: “We fully agree with what Marshal Stalin said, and I think that the president will agree with me that in two weeks we will appoint the commander in chief and announce his name ". Already on December 7, 1943, Joseph Stalin received a message from Roosevelt: "It was decided to immediately appoint General Eisenhower as commander of operations to force the Canal."

Victorious May 1945 in Berlin. British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, US Army General Dwight Eisenhower, Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Zhukov and French General Jean Marie de Latre de Tassigny (left to right)

After becoming Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces in Europe, Eisenhower set to work energetically. For several months, he carefully planned in every detail this gigantic operation, in which the air, naval and land formations of American, British and Canadian troops were involved. The general constantly inspected various military units, trying to instill confidence in the soldiers and officers preparing for D-Day - landing on the coast of France and storming powerful fortifications, which German propaganda praised as Hitler's impregnable Atlantic Wall.

Allied landings in Normandy 6 June 1944

“I DO NOT SEE ANYTHING IN THE FUTURE WHICH WOULD STOP RUSSIA AND THE UNITED STATES BECOME CLOSE FRIENDS”, - said General Dwight Eisenhower in 1945 at a press conference in Moscow

On the night of June 6, 1944, Eisenhower ordered the start of Operation Overlord. With the support of aviation and naval forces, hundreds of transport ships with amphibious assaults crossed the English Channel. In general, 156,000 troops took part in the Allied landings in Normandy, and General Eisenhower firmly held the entire control of the operation in his hands. She passed successfully.

His contribution to the opening of a second front in Europe was also noted by the Soviet Union: the general became a holder of the Order of Victory and the only US citizen to be awarded one of the highest state awards of the USSR.

Favor of Stalin

By the beginning of 1945, it became obvious that the defeat of Nazi Germany would be completed within a few months. At the Yalta Conference, it was decided that the capital of Germany, Berlin, would be in the Soviet occupation zone.

Nevertheless, Churchill made incredible efforts, trying to push the American military leadership to ensure that not the Red Army, but the Anglo-American troops took the German capital. The British Prime Minister was especially active in trying to influence Eisenhower.

Army General Eisenhower, for his part, requested an expert assessment of the possible losses of the Anglo-American troops if they stormed the over-fortified Berlin. He was given a figure: about 100 thousand people. He understood that this was the price for the city, which the allies would still be forced to leave in accordance with the agreements reached at Yalta. And Eisenhower considered that it would be more advantageous for the Anglo-American troops to advance on Dresden in order to join the Red Army by the shortest route.

Having learned about this decision from a telegram sent by Eisenhower directly to the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the USSR, Stalin, according to Marshal Georgy Zhukov, spoke of the general as a person who was faithful to his obligations. But in London and Washington, many raised a fuss, claiming that Eisenhower was handing over Berlin to the Russians. However, all these insinuations were suppressed by Eisenhower's immediate boss, US Army Chief of Staff General George Marshall: "Only Eisenhower knows how to wage this war and how to adapt to a changing situation."

At the end of World War II in Europe, the Allies decided to create a Control Council to govern Germany. The USSR was represented by Marshal Zhukov, the USA by Army General Eisenhower. Soon they first met in defeated Berlin. “I liked his simplicity, ease and sense of humor,” Zhukov wrote in his memoirs.

Among other things, the Soviet marshal also raised the issue that American and British troops should liberate those territories of Germany that were part of the occupation zone of the USSR in accordance with the decisions of the Yalta Conference. British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery tried to object, but Eisenhower immediately interrupted him: “Monty, don't argue! Marshal Zhukov is right. You need to get out of Wittenberg as soon as possible, and we should get out of Thuringia.” When Zhukov reported this episode to Stalin, he laughed and said: “We must somehow invite Eisenhower to Moscow. I want to get to know him."

And already in August 1945, Eisenhower flew to the USSR. During this trip he was accompanied by Zhukov. In Moscow, the general was shown the Kremlin and the metro, he was also taken to a collective farm, a state farm and an aircraft factory. High faces visited Leningrad. Eisenhower and Zhukov even went to a football match.

The culmination of his stay in the Soviet Union was the parade of athletes on the occasion of the Athlete's Day on Red Square in Moscow. Joseph Stalin invited the general to go up to the podium of the Lenin Mausoleum and stand next to him - as a sign of special respect for his comrade-in-arms in the fight against Nazi Germany. In those days, Eisenhower told reporters that everywhere he felt "an atmosphere of sincere hospitality," and at a press conference in Moscow said: "I see nothing in the future that would prevent Russia and the United States from becoming close friends."

Returning to civilian life in the US, Eisenhower found himself an extremely popular figure. In November 1945, from President Harry Truman, he received an offer to take the post of Chief of Staff of the US Army and soon succeeded George Marshall in this post. And on October 1, 1950, he accepted Truman's new proposal - to become the Supreme Commander of the armed forces of NATO, headquartered in Paris.

Dwight Eisenhower campaign

HE WANTED TO MAKE HISTORY AS A PEACEKEEPING PRESIDENT who achieved real steps to limit arms and reduce the threat of a world nuclear war, but he failed

He again traveled to Europe, where he energetically urged European governments to increase defense spending and advocated the creation of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany.

And in his own country, the political card has been played for a number of years around the idea of running a popular general for president. At first, Dwight Eisenhower strongly denied attempts to drag him into party politics. But after numerous appeals to his sense of duty to the country, he nevertheless agreed to nominate his candidacy from the Republican Party in the next presidential election. Many saw in Eisenhower the embodiment of common sense, the election campaign was under the slogan I like Ike! (“I like Ike!”), and on November 4, 1952, he won the election by a wide margin, becoming the 34th President of the United States.

By this time, the United States was already the world's largest economy and the largest military and political potential. The flywheel of the American economy, spurred on by gigantic military orders, was constantly gaining momentum. In the spirit of classic American conservatism, Eisenhower once proclaimed: "The slogan of true democracy is not 'let the government do it', but 'let us do it ourselves'." However, one of his biographers, Stephen Ambrose, noted: "Deeply conservative in his own convictions, he nevertheless instinctively sought a middle position in every political problem."

Interestingly, Eisenhower...

1 ... became one of five foreigners awarded the highest Soviet military order "Victory".
2 ... refused the offensive of the Allied troops on Berlin, thereby not becoming an obstacle to the capture of the capital of the Third Reich by the Red Army.
3 …fought the spread of communism by every possible means.
4 ... was the first to receive the official visit of the Soviet leader to the United States.
5 ... actively sanctioned the overthrow of objectionable regimes

Cabinet of hawks

Eisenhower's cabinet consisted almost entirely of very wealthy people with close ties to the business community. When the cabinet was formed, the New Republic, an American liberal magazine, scathingly dubbed it "a government of eight millionaires and one plumber," referring to the fact that the job of secretary of labor went to the president of the plumbers' union.

And John Foster Dulles, who previously represented the interests of many of the largest American companies in their operations abroad and was a militant ideologist of the total fight against communism, was appointed to the key position of US Secretary of State in charge of directing foreign policy. For the sake of achieving this goal, he did not even reject such a method as the use of nuclear weapons. And Eisenhower, although he did not follow every suggestion of his Secretary of State, always listened to his assessments and judgments.

The Eisenhower administration and the CIA paid special attention to the actions of American intelligence services in Eastern Europe. Hungarian uprising of 1956

In his inaugural address, the President-elect emphasized that the greatest challenge the United States now faces is the danger of a new war and communist aggression. Already in February 1953, at the suggestion of Eisenhower, the US Senate adopted a resolution condemning the USSR for violating the agreements of the Yalta Conference and enslaving the free peoples of Eastern Europe, including the Baltic states.

Soon, an event occurred that could not but affect the general tone of relations between the Soviet Union and the United States: on March 5, 1953, Stalin died. Ten days later, the new chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, Georgy Malenkov, declared to the whole world: “At present, there is no such controversial or unresolved issue that could not be resolved peacefully on the basis of mutual agreement between the countries concerned. This concerns our relations with all states, including our relations with the United States of America.”

"Atoms for the World"

Already on April 16, Dwight Eisenhower announced that he was ready to conclude an arms limitation agreement with Moscow. Moreover, the President proposed to establish international control under the auspices of the UN over the production of atomic energy. But at the same time, he stressed that he would believe in the sincerity of the new approaches on the part of the USSR only if they were backed up by concrete deeds, to which the president attributed, in particular, the conclusion of an honorable truce in the civil war between North and South in Korea, the signing of an agreement about a free and united Germany and ensuring the complete independence of the peoples of Eastern Europe.

For the then Soviet leadership, such proposals by the Americans, which implied, among other things, the withdrawal of the USSR from the countries of Eastern Europe, were clearly unacceptable. To agree to them meant, in fact, to abandon one of the most important achievements of the Soviet Union following the Second World War - the creation of a socialist system in Eastern Europe.

Georgy Zhukov presents Dwight Eisenhower with the Soviet military order "Victory"

This position of Washington and the general atmosphere of the Cold War with its mutual distrust in the sphere of Soviet-American relations prevented the conclusion of an agreement between the USSR and the USA on arms limitation, and, on the contrary, during the years of Eisenhower's presidency, both powers only steadily increased them.

And yet Eisenhower did not leave his initiative, called "Atoms for Peace." He suggested that the nuclear powers - the USA, Great Britain and the USSR - contribute part of their stocks of fissile materials to some kind of international fund, which should be created under the auspices of the UN. According to the American president, these nuclear resources could be used to generate electricity in developing countries and for other peaceful purposes. This initiative of his after some time received support from the Soviet Union, and in 1957 the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was formed.

Ambrose S. Eisenhower. Soldier and President. M., 1993
Ivanov R.F. Dwight Eisenhower. Man, politician, commander. M., 1998
Eisenhower D. Crusade to Europe. Smolensk, 2000

CIA vs USSR

However, Eisenhower's peace initiatives did not prevent the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from constantly and steadily conducting covert operations aimed at undermining the positions of the USSR and its allies. Consider the conspiracy against the Iranian government led by Mohammed Mosaddegh, who dared to nationalize the oil industry, which was controlled by British and American companies; the overthrow of the President of Guatemala, Jacobo Arbenz, who swung at the lands owned by the American corporation United Fruit; an attempt to overthrow and physically eliminate Fidel Castro, who came to power in Cuba.

The Eisenhower administration and the CIA paid special attention to the actions of American intelligence agencies in Eastern Europe, which the United States officially promised to liberate from communism. They certainly contributed to the organization and conduct of the anti-communist uprising in Hungary in 1956. But when Soviet tanks entered Budapest, Dwight Eisenhower refused to follow the CIA's proposals to drop weapons and food to the Hungarian rebels from the air. He also did not send American troops to Hungary, remembering that not the United States, but the USSR with its powerful army borders on this country - a member of the Warsaw Pact.

And a year earlier, the US President took part in the summit meeting held in Geneva - the first meeting of the leaders of the USSR and Western countries after the Potsdam Conference. The Soviet delegation also included the Minister of Defense of the USSR Georgy Zhukov. So they met each other once again, but now there was no longer the warmth of camaraderie between them. Nevertheless, the negotiations themselves gave rise to the hope that the world powers could negotiate among themselves in solving the urgent problems of mankind, and for some time the “spirit of Geneva” soared in international relations.

In the 1956 presidential election, Eisenhower again defeated his rival by a wide margin and was re-elected to another term. And I must say that in the second half of the 1950s, there were some positive changes in relations between the USSR and the USA. In 1958, the first in the history of the two countries was signed an agreement on exchanges in the field of science, technology, education and culture. And the following year, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR Nikita Khrushchev arrived in the United States on an official visit. Eisenhower received an offer to pay a return visit to the Soviet Union. But everything changed dramatically in May 1960.

downed pilot

Following his predecessor, Harry Truman, President Eisenhower authorized reconnaissance flights of American military aircraft over the territory of the USSR.

The next such flight took place on May 1, 1960, the day when festive demonstrations took place throughout the Soviet Union. Early in the morning of that day, a Lockheed U-2 reconnaissance aircraft, piloted by pilot Gary Powers, took off from an American base in Pakistan and was supposed to, having circled a vast part of the territory of the USSR, land at an American base in Norway. Quite quickly, this aircraft was discovered by Soviet air defense systems, which the military immediately reported to the country's leadership. Three hours later, the U-2, which was in the Sverdlovsk region (now Yekaterinburg), was shot down by a Soviet missile on the personal instructions of Khrushchev. Powers, who managed to leave the plane and landed with a parachute, was detained by local residents, who handed him over to state security officials.

Gary Powers - American pilot, his plane was shot down over the territory of the USSR on May 1, 1960

The Soviet leader realized that the detained American pilot, who was on a reconnaissance mission, was an excellent trump card in the propaganda war against the United States. He ordered that the very fact of Powers's capture be carefully classified, and for several days the Americans were sure that he was dead.

On May 5 Khrushchev made his first move. He announced that an American reconnaissance aircraft had been shot down by Soviet forces in the skies over the USSR and angrily denounced the United States for "aggressive provocation." At the same time, he did not say a word about the fact that the pilot remained alive and was detained by our special services. President Eisenhower was forced to respond somehow to the speech of the Soviet leader, and at his direction, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) issued a statement that an American research aircraft, flying to study meteorological conditions at high altitudes, possibly from - due to technical problems, he lost his route and accidentally flew into the territory of the USSR.

The failure of the Paris summit

And then the Soviet leader made a decisive move. On May 7, he told the whole world that not only the wreckage of an American aircraft and the reconnaissance equipment found in them were at the disposal of the USSR special services, but also the pilot himself, who confessed to performing a spy mission and was already testifying. And on May 16 in Paris, at the opening of a meeting between the leaders of the USSR, the United States, Great Britain and France, Khrushchev burst out into an even sharper diatribe about the aggressive espionage actions of the United States directed against the Soviet Union. He called for the leaders of the four powers to commit themselves to abandoning the practice of reconnaissance flights over the territories of each other's countries.

Then Eisenhower took the floor. He stated that the flights of American reconnaissance aircraft over the territory of the USSR were not an act of aggression, but a defensive measure necessary to ensure the security of the United States. And in continuation of the topic, not for the first time, he proposed legalizing all reconnaissance flights under the auspices of the UN so that it would be possible to prevent the danger of military preparations of one country or another. This did not suit the Soviet side at all, and Khrushchev left the meeting room. The summit meeting in Paris was cancelled.

5. Konstantin Rokossovsky No. 6
6. Rodion Malinovsky No. 8
7. Fedor Tolbukhin No. 9
8. Leonid Govorov No. 10
9. Semyon Timoshenko No. 11
10. Alexey Antonov No. 12
11. Dwight Eisenhower (USA) No. 13
12. Bernard Montgomery (UK) No. 14
13. Mihai I (Romania) No. 16
14. Michal Rola-Zhymerski (Poland) No. 17
15. Kirill Meretskov No. 18
16. Josip Broz Tito (Yugoslavia) No. 19

According to American researchers, Eisenhower was very upset because of the disruption of the Paris meeting. It was he who wanted to go down in history as a peacemaker president who achieved real steps to limit arms and reduce the threat of a world nuclear war. And when, a few days before the end of his presidential term, he was offered to send a farewell message to the country, he jumped at the opportunity.

On January 17, 1961, Eisenhower made his last speech on American television as President of the United States. As he left, he allowed himself the luxury of declaring: “In our government structures, we must be on the alert to prevent the unwarranted influence of the military-industrial complex. We must never allow this alliance to jeopardize our freedoms or democratic processes." At the same time, the general kept silent about the fact that he himself, as president, to a large extent contributed to the strengthening of this very military-industrial complex.
Dwight Eisenhower died in 1969. After leaving the White House, he was no longer involved in politics.

Nikolai SAKHAROV, Doctor of Political Science

The campaign to invade Nazi-occupied Europe was led by Eisenhower, who served as commander-in-chief of the troops on the European continent. The Normandy operation, which began at sunrise on June 6, 1944, brought success to the general. In 1952, representatives of the Republican Party convinced Eisenhower, who at that time commanded the waxes of the North Atlantic Alliance, to participate in the presidential election. Dwight defeated Adlai Stevenson, a Democrat, by the number of votes, and then re-elected for a second term (1953-1961).

During his reign, Eisenhower, in the face of a real threat of the use of atomic weapons, established fragile relations with the USSR, ended the war with Korea and authorized a number of covert international CIA operations against the communist regime.

At home, in the States, the people enjoyed prosperity, and Eisenhower introduced social programs, created a system of highways and maneuvered behind the scenes to discredit Senator Joseph McCarthy, who expressed anti-communist views. The president, although he had public recognition, slipped on the protection of the rights of African Americans, failing to fully fulfill the mandate of the Supreme Court to merge schools (1954).

Childhood and youth

Eisenhower Dwight was born in Denison, Texas on October 14, 1890. The boy grew up in a poor family, where he became the third of seven sons, in the city of Abilene, Kansas. The biography is silent about the parents of the young man. To the dismay of his mother, a pious Protestant and pacifist, young Ike (as his relatives called him) became a student at the New York military academy at West Point.

The young man planned to go to Europe, but the end of hostilities caused the disappointment of the young officer. But soon he managed to enroll in the command headquarters of the college in Fort Leavenworth (Kansas), as an assistant to John Pershing, who led the American troops during the First World War, and then to Douglas MacArthur, commander of the US Army headquarters. For four years, Eisenhower lived in the Philippine Islands.

Dwight returned to his homeland shortly after the attack of Nazi Germany on Poland, which caused the outbreak of World War II on the European part of the mainland. Eisenhower led the Torch Campaign in the fall of 1942, and also sent troops into the countries of North Africa, and then to the island of Sicily and mainland Italy, which led to the fall of Rome in the summer of 1944.

In 1943, Eisenhower, who had the rank of colonel general, was appointed commander in chief, and in December of that year he initiated the invasion of troops into German-occupied Europe. At sunrise on June 6, 1944, the Allies crossed the strait between Britain and France and stormed the beaches of Normandy. The result of the invasion was the liberation of Paris on August 25, which decided the outcome of the war in Europe. Rising from lieutenant colonel to supreme commander in five years, Eisenhower returned to the US as a hero to serve as Chief of Staff of the US Army.

Political career

In 1948, Dwight left the military and took over as president of Columbia University. A brief return to civilian life in 1950 ended when the President asked Eisenhower to take command of new NATO troops on the European continent. In this position, Eisenhower planned to create a unified military organization that could deal with potential communist aggression around the world.

In 1952, with Truman's popularity waning due to the ongoing war with Korea, Eisenhower ran for president under Republican pressure.

At the party's national caucus in July, Dwight was voted nominated for the first round of the election. Under the slogan "I like Ike", as a Californian aide, Eisenhower defeated Adlai Stevenson to become President of the United States (and re-defeated Stevenson four years later, resulting in a re-election despite health problems following a heart attack). attack).

President of the U.S.A

The years of Eisenhower's rule (01/20/1953-01/20/1961) are characterized by the end of the military mission in Korea, warm relations with Russia and the beginning of the American policy of "governing the world".

Eisenhower's main areas of work:

Ending persecution for displaying leftist views (especially against McCarthy);
Construction of highways throughout the country;
Growth of state monopoly in the economy;
The Eisenhower Doctrine, which said that every state should count on the help of the US army in the event of an attack by other countries.

Although U.S.-Russian relations remained relatively cordial, including a meeting in 1959, the Soviet shooting of an American U-2 aircraft in the spring of 1960 shattered Eisenhower's hopes for peace.

In his farewell speech in the winter of 1961, Eisenhower spoke of the dangers of the military-industrial complex. Combining the needs of the defense sector with advances in technology, the ex-president warned of a partnership between the military complex and business that threatened to have an undue influence on the course of international politics. However, the warnings fell on deaf ears, despite the Cold War era.

Domestic politics

Despite holding Democratic majorities in Congress during six of his eight years in office, Eisenhower (a moderate Republican) achieved numerous legislative victories. In addition to continuing the New Deal and Fair Deal programs of his predecessors (and Truman, respectively), he strengthened social programs, raised the minimum wage, and created the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. In 1956, Eisenhower created the Interstate Highway System, building 41,000 miles of roads across the country.

During Eisenhower's first term, the anti-communist policies of Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy violated the civil liberties of citizens, leading to a series of sensational television statements in the spring of 1954. To preserve party unity, Eisenhower refrained from publicly criticizing McCarthy, although he disliked the senator as a person, but worked behind the scenes to reduce McCarthy's influence and ultimately discredit the Republican.

However, Eisenhower is even more hesitant on the issue of civil rights for African Americans. In 1954, in Oliver Brown v. Topeka Board of Education, the US Supreme Court ruled that school segregation was unconstitutional. In Eisenhower's view, desegregation must be slow, and he was reluctant to use the presidency to support the execution of the court's sentence, although he sent federal troops to Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957 to secure the merger of the high school there. Eisenhower signed civil rights legislation in 1957 and 1960 providing federal protection for black voters, the first such legislation passed in the United States since the Reconstruction of the South.

Foreign policy

Shortly after his inauguration, Eisenhower signed the armistice that ended the Korean War. Apart from sending troops to Lebanon in 1958, the armed forces were no longer deployed outside the US, although the president did not hesitate to authorize defense spending. He authorized the CIA to carry out covert operations against communism in foreign countries, two of which overthrew the rulers of Iran and Guatemala in 1953-1954. In 1954, Eisenhower decided not to allow an air strike to save French troops from defeat in Dien Bien Phu, avoiding a war in the Indochina Peninsula, although such support for the government of South Vietnam, which had an anti-communist regime, provoked US involvement in the Vietnam War.

Eisenhower tried to improve relations with the Soviet Union, especially in 1953, after his death. In the summer of 1955, at a meeting with world leaders in Geneva, Switzerland, he proposed an "open skies" policy in which the US and the Soviet Union would cross-check military programs in the air. The USSR rejected the proposal, despite its international approval. Under the growing threat of Soviet nuclear weapons technology, Eisenhower and Secretary of State John Foster Dulles succeeded in strengthening the North Atlantic Alliance and establishing the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization to combat communist expansion in the region.

Personal life

After graduating, Eisenhower met Mamie Geneva Dood in San Antonio, whom he proposed on February 14, 1916. After the wedding, the couple gave birth to two sons - Dood Dwight (who died of scarlet fever at the age of three) and John.

Dwight's granddaughter Susan married a Russian physicist, symbolically continuing the period of warm relations between his grandfather and the Soviet government, and his grandson married President Nixon's daughter.

Death of Dwight Eisenhower

Eisenhower enjoyed consistently high ratings among voters who could not be swayed by criticism of his regime. After leaving the office in the winter of 1961, he went to a country house in Gettysburg, where he worked mainly on a book of memoirs. The President of the United States died on March 28, 1969, after a long illness.

Quotes

"A diplomat is a person who is paid a lot to think for a long time before saying nothing"
"The slogan of true democracy is not "Let the government do it" but "Let us do it ourselves"
"We will achieve peace, even if we have to fight to achieve it"
“What we call foreign affairs is no longer such. This is now an internal matter ... "

Memory

It is little known that in Potsdam, in 1945, Eisenhower opposed the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He argued that Japan was already on the verge of surrender, and the first to use such a dangerous new weapon could damage US prestige in the international arena, which had barely reached its highest point.
During a meeting between Eisenhower and the American, the Marshal was treated to Coke. Zhukov liked the taste so much that he asked Eisenhower to supply the drink exclusively for Zhukov's headquarters, but the drink should be discolored. The factory employees complied with the request of the Russian marshal and sent 50 cases of the drink to Moscow.

The opening of the second front brought Eisenhower the Order of Victory.
Eisenhower wrote a book about the role of the United States in the events of World War II called "Crusade in Europe".
In memory of the 34th President of the United States, Dwight's profile is carved on a one-dollar coin, a portrait is applied to the postage stamps of Kyrgyzstan and the United States.

Eisenhower Dwight David (1890-1969), 34th President of the United States (1953-1961).

In 1915 he graduated from the military academy at West Point and was assigned to an infantry regiment. During World War I, he formed the first tank corps in the American army.

After serving in Panama (1922-1924), he was sent to study at the Leavenworth Staff College, and then transferred to the military college in Washington.

From 1935 he served in the Philippines on the staff of General D. MacArthur. Returning to the United States (1940), Eisenhower was in staff positions, received the rank of brigadier general.

During World War II, he served in the headquarters of J. Marshall, commanded American troops in Europe, led the landing of allied troops in North Africa and the invasion of allied troops into Sicily and Italy.

In December 1943 he was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Expeditionary Forces in Europe and led the landing in Normandy (June 6, 1944). After the end of the war, he participated in the work of the commission on Germany; returned to the United States in November 1945. He was appointed to the post of chief of staff of the ground forces, became rector of Columbia University (1948), headed the armed forces of NATO (1951).

In June 1952, he resigned, began campaigning for the Republican presidential nomination, and won the election.

Eisenhower sought to actively fight the USSR and the entire system of socialist states by removing trade barriers between capitalist and socialist countries, as well as by providing the latter with international assistance and creating defensive alliances.

The president and his cabinet sought to balance the budget, cut taxes, and return some of the functions of the federal government to the states. In September 1955, Eisenhower suffered a heart attack, but ran for a second term and won the election with an overwhelming majority of votes.

His popularity declined at the start of his second presidential term, helped by the economic downturn of 1957-1958.

Born in Denison (Texas) October 14, 1890. Shortly after his birth, the family moved to Abilene (Kansas), where he graduated from high school. In October 1910 he passed the exams at the military academy at West Point and became a student in June 1911. After graduating in 1915, he was assigned to the 19th Infantry Regiment stationed near San Antonio, Texas.

During the First World War, he commanded the base of the tank corps at Camp Colt (Pennsylvania). After the war, he led various units in the tank corps, in 1922 he was appointed assistant commander of the 20th infantry battalion, stationed in the Panama Canal zone. In 1924 he graduated from the command and staff school of the ground forces. Having received an appointment to the commission on military monuments, he compiled a guide to the battlefields in France. Attended classes at the Higher Military College of the Army.

In the late 1920s, Eisenhower was appointed to the apparatus of the assistant secretary of war, where he worked for three years, after which he became assistant to the chief of staff of the ground forces, General D. MacArthur. From 1935 he served with him in the Philippines. Upon his return to the United States in 1940, he headed the headquarters of the 3rd Division and the 9th Army Corps, and then the 3rd Army. He was promoted to colonel and then to brigadier general.

After the US entered World War II, Eisenhower served in the office of Chief of Staff J. Marshall, where he headed the planning department and received the rank of major general. After a study trip to the UK, he was appointed commander of American troops in Europe. He led Operation Torch in French North Africa. The landing of Allied troops there on November 8, 1942, met only short-term resistance, and agreements with the Vichy led to the establishment of control over all of French North Africa. This was followed by the Allied invasion of Sicily (July 10, 1943) and the Italian mainland (September 3, 1943).

In December 1943, Eisenhower was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Expeditionary Forces in Europe. He led the largest offensive operation of the Allies - the invasion of France, which began with an amphibious landing in Normandy on June 6, 1944. Overcoming fierce resistance, the armed forces under his command made a breakthrough to Saint-Lô on July 18, and on August 15 an assault was landed in southern France. It seemed that the liberation of Paris on August 25 promised an early end to the war, but the German counteroffensive in the Ardennes on December 16 caught the Allies by surprise. Only on March 6, 1945, the Allied forces were able to cross the Rhine.

After the end of the war, Eisenhower participated in the work of the commission on Germany and returned to the United States in November 1945. He was appointed chief of staff of the ground forces. In June 1948 he was elected rector of Columbia University. In 1951, on the initiative of President G. Truman, he headed the armed forces of NATO. In June 1952, he resigned and began campaigning for the Republican presidential nomination. At the July Republican convention in Chicago, he was nominated on the first ballot. Eisenhower and vice-presidential candidate R. Nixon received almost 34 million votes, defeating Democrats E. Stevenson and J. Sparkman. Fulfilling his campaign promise, Eisenhower went to Korea to get acquainted with the situation there. The death of Stalin on March 5, 1953, as well as the greater freedom of action of the new American administration, facilitated the conclusion of an armistice on July 27, 1953, and the exchange of prisoners of war with Korea.

In July 1955, the president held a summit meeting in Geneva with the leaders of Great Britain, France, and the USSR. During this meeting, he proposed a system of aerial inspections to monitor general disarmament. Eisenhower and Secretary of State John Dulles sought to contain communist expansion by removing trade barriers, providing international aid, and building defensive alliances.

Eisenhower and his cabinet sought to balance the budget, cut taxes, and return some of the functions of the federal government to the states. However, rising prices, international commitments, and political and social pressures on the government continued to dictate increased federal spending. A law passed in 1954 introduced some changes in the structure of taxation, but did not bring significant tax cuts.

In 1954, Republican Senator J. McCarthy challenged the president, declaring that the federal government and army were swarming with communists. Eisenhower ignored the attacks of McCarthy, who was censured in the Senate in late 1954. As a result of the 1954 elections, the Democrats gained control of both houses of Congress.

The president suffered a heart attack while vacationing in Denver, Colorado, in September 1955. He was able to return to office in January and announced in February that he would run for a second term, health permitting. In June, the president's condition worsened again due to an operation on the intestines. However, he was renominated by the Republican convention and won the election with an overwhelming majority.

Eisenhower's popularity declined at the start of his second term. Among the factors contributing to this were the successes of the USSR in launching space satellites, the economic downturn of 1957–1958, and numerous accusations against the president's chief aide, S. Adams. In the South, his popularity waned in September 1957 when he sent a contingent of federal troops to enforce the racial desegregation of a school in Little Rock, Arkansas.

During the November 1958 congressional elections, the Republican Party was defeated, losing 13 seats in the Senate, 41 seats in the House of Representatives, and 9 governorships to the Democrats, who gained almost double the advantage over the Republicans in both houses of Congress. The 1959–1961 Congress was expected to be oriented toward passing liberal laws, and the president even called it the "Waste Congress." Using every opportunity to cooperate with the leaders of the Democrats, Eisenhower was able to continue his political course. In 1959, the problem of admitting Alaska and Hawaii to the United States as states was resolved. Agreement with the Democratic Congress was nevertheless violated in June 1959, when the Senate refused to approve the candidacy of L. Strauss for the post of Minister of Commerce.

After a record peacetime budget deficit in 1959, the President took a firm stand, pushing for a balanced budget in 1960. He strongly opposed attempts to spend more than revenue allowed, and made this issue, as well as the prevention of further inflation, the central domestic political issues of the last years of his administration.

In May 1959, the Foreign Ministers of the USA, Great Britain, France, and the USSR met to discuss the Berlin problem. After 10 weeks of meetings in Geneva, it became clear that the continuation of the meetings did not promise practical results. However, contacts between the USSR and the USA were strengthened as a result of visits to the USA by deputies of the Soviet Prime Minister and a visit to the USSR by Vice President R. Nixon in July 1959. These visits were considered as harbingers of serious changes in US foreign policy and a decrease in tension in American-Soviet relations. . In August 1959, it was announced that N.S. Khrushchev would visit the United States, and President Eisenhower would visit the USSR. The visit of the Soviet leader to the United States took place in September 1959. In May 1960, a summit meeting in Paris was to take place, but the Soviet side demanded an apology for the intrusion of the American U-2 aircraft into the airspace of the USSR. Khrushchev canceled Eisenhower's return visit and called the top-level talks meaningless in view of the imminent end of his presidential term.

On July 27, 1960, the Republican National Convention in Chicago nominated Vice President Nixon as a candidate for the presidency. However, on January 20, 1961, Democratic candidate John F. Kennedy became the new president. Eisenhower died in Washington on March 28, 1969.