Description
All of us remember Dwight Eisenhower. We know he led the D-Day invasion and served as president for eight years. Most of us remember attitudes that developed around Ike’s presidency. Now that 76 years have passed since D-Day and 60 years have passed since he left office, there has been time to appraise Ike and his leadership of the D-Day invasion and his presidency. Not surprisingly, books have been written in the last 20 years which do just that. Ike served during a crucial period which included World War II, the recovery of Europe, the dominance and robust economy of the U.S. and early days of the Cold War.
The principal purposes of this SDG will be to (1) study Ike’s background, family, education and time at West Point, (2) look at the difficulties inherent in the D-Day invasion and how crucial it was and how it was conducted, (3) study Ike’s leadership of the invasion and how he made the tough decisions, (4) see how Ike decided to run for president and (5) view the actions of Ike and his administration on important domestic and international issues of the day. We will try to look at the issues Ike faced with the information he had, as well as appraising his decisions and actions with the benefit of hindsight. It is impossible to understand the years since Ike’s presidency without understanding how Ike’s presence and actions prepared the way for them. It will be interesting to see how the impressions of Ike which all of us carry jibe with recent scholarship.
We will use two core books: (A) "Eisenhower in War and Peace" by Jean Smith, an excellent biography, particularly on the years through the end of World War II and (B) "Eisenhower: The White House Years" by Jim Newton, an excellent account of Ike's presidency. Both books offer sufficient detail to get a good "feel" for the subject, as well as conclusions (both positive and negative) on Ike's actions. Other works, including Ike's own books, are cited below. In addition, there are literally hundreds of other sources, including books, on line articles and documentaries, and consulting them will be encouraged
Weekly Topics
Background: Family, education, West Point, early army years
Rising through the ranks, including serving with MacArthur, Bradley, Marshall and other important officials
Participation in World War II before being selected to lead D-Day invasion, including North African landing and Italian invasion
Ike's leadership of the planning of D-Day, resolving disputes with Allies as to place, date and methods
D-Day invasion, liberation of France
Participation in the War after liberation of France, leadership of NATO, Presidency of Columbia University
Presidential election of 1952: Decision to run, political advisors, selection and retention of Nixon, selection of cabinet officers and other important officials
East Asian policies, including ending Korean War, Indo China and Formosa (Quemoy & Matsu)
Middle East policies, including Suez, Lebanon and Eisenhower Doctrine
Domestic policies, including, civil rights and and school integration (Little Rock), Interstate Highway System, space program, National Defense Education Act, St. Lawrence Seaway
Domestic disputes, including defeat of McCarthy, defeat of Bricker Amendment, attempts to reform GOP
Cold War actions and decisions to avoid military actions, including Guatemala and Iran
Dealings with USSR and China, including protection of Europe, nuclear diplomacy, covert actions U-2 crisis
Farewell Address on military industrial complex and appraisal of Ike’s presidency
Bibliography
Core Books
Jean Smith, Eisenhower in War and Peace
Jim Newton, Eisenhower: The White House Years
Good References (among many)
Dwight Eisenhower, Waging Peace
Dwight Eisenhower, Crusade in Europe
Dwight Eisenhower, The White House Years
Jesse Smith (Basementia Publications), The Military Industrial Complex (full text of Farewell Address with commentary)
Theatlantic.com—long article on the Eisenhower presidency
Millercenter.org—summaries of important events in Eisenhower’s career
Wikipedia—long article on the Eisenhower presidency
