Ike Eisenhower - After World War II

After World War II, Eisenhower served briefly as President of Columbia University and then as Supreme Commander of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) in Europe. He was asked by Republicans to run for president.

"I like Ike" was the theme of 1952, and the wildly popular war hero was elected. Stalin died in March, 1953. President Eisenhower ended the Korean Conflict in July, 1953 by signing a ceasefire that recognized South Korea's sovereignty.

The Republicans won the House and Senate in the 1952 elections, but during the next two years nine Senators died or committed suicide, and control of the Senate passed four times.

The McCarthy hearings on alleged communist subversion were conducted in 1953-1954. These hearings were a notorious blight on the country and caused a reaction at the polls. The Democrats regained control of both the House and the Senate in the 1954 elections.

After the Supreme Court ordered desegregation of public schools, President Eisenhower sent federal troops to Little Rock, Arkansas to enforce the order. After the Soviets launched Sputnik, he signed the law that created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Ike had been a chain smoker during the war and though he had quit, his health started failing him. In 1955 he suffered a heart attack, and in 1956 he had emergency ileitis surgery. In 1957 he suffered a mild stroke.

To the end, Eisenhower was an honest man. He showed his honesty in his Farewell Address when he informed the country of what he termed, "The Military-Industrial Complex":
"A vital element in keeping the peace is our military establishment. Our arms must be mighty, ready for instant action, so that no potential aggressor may be tempted to risk his own destruction.

"Our military organization today bears little relation to that known by any of my predecessors in peacetime, or indeed by the fighting men of World War II or Korea.

"Until the latest of our world conflicts, the United States had no armaments industry. American makers of plowshares could, with time and as required, make swords as well. But now we can no longer risk emergency improvisation of national defense; we have been compelled to create a permanent armaments industry of vast proportions. Added to this, three and a half million men and women are directly engaged in the defense establishment. We annually spend on military security more than the net income of all United States corporations.

"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 State house, 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."

With characteristic candor, Eisenhower outlined the problem of the military industrial complex, which is related to the problem of a standing army. The latter was well known to the American Founders. With characteristic strength, he outlived both Hitler and Stalin. He passed away March 28, 1969, only after seeing many of the launches of the space agency he created, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.