What was dwight eisenhowers first political office

You have JavaScript disabled. Please enable JavaScript to use this feature. Toggle High Contrast. Grant Rutherford B. Hayes James Garfield Chester A. Roosevelt Harry S. Truman Dwight D. Eisenhower John F. Kennedy Lyndon B. Johnson Richard M. Nixon Gerald R. Bush William J. Clinton George W. Bush Barack Obama Donald J. Trump Joseph R. Last Name. Share this page. Follow Ballotpedia. Click here to follow election results! Dwight D. Eisenhower b. He served from to He was a member of the Republican Party , and his vice president was Richard Nixon.

Eisenhower died on March 28, , at the age of During his presidency, Eisenhower continued both the New Deal and Fair Deal programs, launched the space race, and created the interstate highway program. He oversaw the start of U. Eisenhower also ordered the complete desegregation of the U. Armed Forces stating, "there must be no second-class citizens in this country. Prior to serving as president, Eisenhower served in the U. Armed Forces as a Second Lieutenant stationed in Texas.

He served under Generals John J. Below is an abbreviated outline of Eisenhower's professional and political career: [2]. He grew up in Abilene, Kansas. Miliary Academy at West Point in Eisenhower graduated from West Point in and served as a second lieutenant in the U.

Army during World War I. At the time of his victory, Eisenhower was the first Republican president to occupy the White House in 20 years. He was also the oldest president to have never held elected office prior to the presidency. He then directed the amphibious invasion of Sicily and the Italian mainland in that led to the fall of Rome in June Made a full general in early , Eisenhower was appointed supreme commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in December of that year and given the responsibility of spearheading the planned Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe.

On D-Day June 6, , more than , Allied forces crossed the English Channel and stormed the beaches of Normandy; the invasion led to the liberation of Paris on August 25 and turned the tide of the war in Europe decisively in the Allied direction.

His brief return to civilian life ended in , however, when President Harry S. In that position, Eisenhower worked to create a unified military organization that would combat potential communist aggression around the globe. After mixed results in primary elections against the Republican front-runner, Senator Robert A. Nixon of California as his running mate, Eisenhower then defeated Adlai Stevenson to become the 34th president of the United States.

Eisenhower would beat Stevenson again four years later in a landslide to win reelection, despite health concerns after suffering a heart attack in As a moderate Republican, Eisenhower was able to achieve numerous legislative victories despite a Democratic majority in Congress during six of his eight years in office. In addition to continuing most of the New Deal and Fair Deal programs of his predecessors Franklin Roosevelt and Truman, respectively , he strengthened the Social Security program, increased the minimum wage and created the Department of Health, Education and Welfare.

In , Eisenhower created the Interstate Highway System, the single largest public works program in U. Eisenhower was even more hesitant, however, in the realm of civil rights for African Americans.

In , in the case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, the U. Supreme Court had ruled that school segregation was unconstitutional. Eisenhower did sign civil rights legislation in and providing federal protection for black voters; it was the first such legislation passed in the United States since Reconstruction.

Soon after taking office, Eisenhower signed an armistice ending the Korean War. Aside from sending combat troops into Lebanon in , he would send no other armed forces into active duty throughout his presidency, though he did not hesitate to authorize defense spending.

He also authorized the Central Intelligence Agency CIA to undertake covert operations against communism around the world, two of which toppled the governments of Iran in and Guatemala in In , Eisenhower decided against authorizing an air strike to rescue French troops from defeat at Dien Bien Phu, avoiding a war in Indochina, though his support for the anti-communist government in South Vietnam would sow the seeds of future U.

Eisenhower sought to improve Cold War-era relations with the Soviet Union , especially after the death of Josef Stalin in Though U.

His warnings would go unheeded, however, amid the ongoing tensions of the Cold War era. While weathering criticism from both left and right, Eisenhower enjoyed high approval ratings throughout his administration. After leaving office in January , he retired to his farm in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.