Dwight Eisenhower Accomplishments

 

Patricia Truslow, Contributor

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dwight eisenhower accomplishmentsThe accomplishments of Dwight D. Eisenhower were many. Not only was he one of the greatest military generals in American history, he is also well known for his accomplishments as president. Some of his most notable accomplishments are:

  • Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956: Also known as the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act, this act came into effect on June 29, 1956, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed it. It authorized $25 billion for 41,000 miles of interstate highways to be constructed in the United States.
  • Armistice that ended the Korean War: Eisenhower used his formidable military reputation to imply a threat of nuclear attacks if North Korea, China and South Korea didn't sign an Armistice to end the three-year-old bloody war. It was signed on July 27, 1953.
  • Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and 1960: After declaring that "There must be no second class citizens in this country," President Dwight Eisenhower told the District of Columbia to use their schools as a model of integrating black and white public schools. He proposed the Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and 1960 to Congress, which he signed into law. The 1957 Act created a civil rights office within the U.S. Justice Department and the Civil Rights Commission; both departments had the authority to prosecute discriminatory cases and voting rights intrusions. They were the first significant civil rights laws since the late 19th Century.

Domestic Policy: President Eisenhower accomplished many things on the domestic front:

  • Ended McCarthyism by refusing to release notes of a meeting between Eisenhower and McCarthy during which the latter had requested preferential favors for his assistant, David Shrine. Eisenhower would not allow administration personnel to testify at the McCarthy hearings regarding communists in American society, which reduced the hearings to rhetoric and ended McCarthy's attack on American citizens.
  • Launched the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which ultimately led to the development of the Internet.
  • Authorized the creation of NASA: On July 29, 1958, President Eisenhower signed the Act that created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) which provided for the peaceful and collaborative exploration of space.
  • Desegregated the Armed Forces: Within his first two years as president, Eisenhower forced the desegregation of the military by reinforcing Executive Order #9981 issued by President Harry Truman in 1948.

The achievements of President Dwight D. Eisenhower were as impressive as his accomplishments. Eisenhower's major achievements were:

  • Becoming a five-star general in the United States Army
  • Serving as Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe during World War II
  • Serving as the supervisor and planner of North Africa's invasion in Operation Torch in 1942-43
  • Successfully invading France and Germany in 1944-45, attacking from the Western Front
  • Becoming the first Supreme Commander of NATO
  • Becoming the 34th President of the United States for two terms, 1953 until 1961

Aside from these personal achievements, President Eisenhower also achieved the confidence of the American people and a popularity rating as president that few men have since accomplished.