The Role of Eisenhower

Introduction
Eisenhower was born in America in1890 and died on March 28th 1969. Eisenhower was the President and the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of United States of America from 1953 to 1961. He became the 34th president of the United States of America. Before his election to the presidency, he had served in the army as a five-star general majorly in World War II. He was also the supreme commander of the allied group of forces that fought in Europe. He was the chief of staff during the reign of Harry Truman. He later became the president of the University of Columbia. In addition, he planned and executed the operation torch that invaded North Africa between 1942 and 1943 . He also planned successful operations that attacked Germany and France between 1944 and 1945 . Eisenhower is remembered as the first person to be appointed to the position of supreme commander of North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Reared in a family of six, Eisenhower attended West point school from which he also graduated. He married Mamie Geneva and had two sons: Doud and John . President Eisenhower played a key role in ending the Korean War and in the eight years of peace during his presidency. Eisenhower was the first military general to become a president in United States of America. He is also remembered for his role in economic growth in the United States during his tenure. His landmark legacy was the construction of interstate highway system that connected almost all states in the United States of America.

Military Career
Eisenhower graduated in 1915 after which he served with infantry supplies department in Texas. He was also a football coach in St. Louis College at St. Mary University . He was later promoted to lieutenant colonel when he worked with tank corps in 1918 . He was a trainer and a battle ground commander of the tank crew during the Pennsylvania civil war. It is during this war that Eisenhower role was noted. He had an ability to make replacements for optimum performance . His home service was honored when he received the Distinguished Service Medal.
When the war ended Eisenhower received another promotion to a major. He had been holding this position for 16 years . He played a major role in the transcontinental Army in the convoy to test the need for improving of roads in the United States in 1919. He later went to camp Maede as a battalion commander of tankers. After that, he was promoted to executive officer for general corner in Canal Zone of Panama. He served in this rank until 1924 when corner recommended him to join General Staff and command College in Kansas. According to Bender and Mark (1990), Eisenhower became the first out of 245 officers . He went out to serve in the capacity of commander of battalions in Georgia. He joined American battle monuments commission and later published the American battlefields guide in Europe. He served as the executive officer for General Mosley, as a deputy war secretary up to 1933. While here, he planned for the next war. Later he was appointed to the post of chief military aide of General MacArthur who was the chief of staff in the army. He advised his senior McArthur against actions that would hurt the veterans especially in the public domain . He also played a key role in helping the Philippine government develop an army in 1935. In 1936, he was promoted to the position of permanent lieutenant. In 1939, he returned to the United States where he was later appointed as a chief of staff and third army commander in Texas. In 1941, he was appointed brigadier general after his successful role in Louisiana maneuvers.
Eisenhower was positioned as a General Staff in Washington until 1942. His role was to create war strategies to bring down Germany and Japan following Japanese assault at Pearl Harbor. He was later promoted to deputy chief of pacific defenses and later to chief of war plans division. Eisenhower also commanded the operation Torch and operation Avalanche successfully . Besides, he served as a supreme allied commander and led the operation overlord. In addition, he played a key role in liberation of France and victory in Europe after which he was promoted to the rank of General of the Army. According to Jean (2012), Eisenhower’s diplomatic tactics made him rarely upset by difference in opinion with Churchill, Montgomery, and he even became a friend to Marshal Zhukov of Russia .
When Germany surrendered, he was appointed the military governor in U.S. occupational zone. He also played a crucial role in supplying food aids to the devastated Germany. In 1945, he was appointed the chief of staff army in Washington where he played a major role in demobilization of soldiers.
He was also instrumental in prevention of another war when he supported the United Nations peaceful relations. Eisenhower was appointed the president at University of Columbia in 1948 where he was instrumental in building a cultural center for the business professionals and political leaders.
Presidency
In 1952, he rejected the offer by President Truman to run for presidency under the Democratic Party ticket. He appointed Richard Nixon to appease the youth and the old members of the Republican Party. This promoted equality of the old and the youth in leadership. He eventually defeated Aldlai Stevenson with a 442 to 89 win.
Eisenhower was elected to presidency in 1952 under the Republican Party after the end of term for his predecessor President Harry Truman. In his presidential campaigns, Eisenhower promised to bring to an end the war in Korea, corruption, and communism. According to him, these were the three things that Truman’s government had been unable to do for the Americans.
Major Achievements in Fight for Equality
Eisenhower was determined to eliminate communism, which was prominent in the world. It is this conviction to fight communism made him appoint Richard Nixon as his vice-president due to his strong opposition of communism and its activities. In addition, he did so to ensure the composition of the youth into his leadership. This was because he was aged and people would disregard his government to be that of old people.
As a President, he appointed corporate leaders and executives but included a labor leader. This was a great show of equality since there were no his friends or even former administrators in the cabinet. Moreover, he ensured enactment of policies that balanced the United States’ budget and ended the wage and price control . This would promote the equality of the business tycoons and the small-scale traders. It would also equate wages for the laborers in the same wage group. Eisenhower’s repeatedly use of the mass media to brief the citizenly on major government undertakings is also viewed as a step in promoting equality of all citizens in accessing government information.
In addition, according to Ambrose (1983), in the run for his second term of presidency, Eisenhower did not openly give his choice of a vice president but left the matter to the party to decide . This is also an indication of his pursuit for equality. Moreover, he fought for equality of all citizens. He was against segregation in allocation of government funds.
According to Nichol and David (2007), he even declared segregation a national security threat. He ensured entry of black students in white public schools . This certainly promoted equality of American citizens to a great extent .
In conclusion, Eisenhower was a vibrant military person who rose through the ranks to become the Commander in Chief in the U.S. He was instrumental in many military expeditions, both within his country and outside. He is also remembered for his diplomatic ability in relating with his opponents both internally and in foreign nations. When he became the President of the U.S., he helped to promote equality, end segregation policies, wars in foreign nations and maintain a leveled economy amidst recession.

References
Ambrose, Stephen E. (1983). Eisenhower: Soldier, General of the Army, President-Elect, 1890–1952.
D’Este, Carlo. (2002). Eisenhower: A Soldier’s Life, p. 58.
Bender, Mark C. (1990). “Watershed at Leavenworth”. U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. http://www-cgsc.army.mil/carl/resources/csi/bender/bender.asp.
Jean Edward Smith. (2012). Eisenhower in War and Peace, p. 451.
Mayer, Michael S. (1989). “The Eisenhower Administration and the Civil Rights Act of 1957”. Congress & the Presidency 16 (2): 137–154.
Nichol, David. (2007). A Matter of Justice: Eisenhower and the Beginning of the Civil Rights Revolution. New York: Simon & Schuster.