Wednesday, November 19, 2014

What did President Eisenhower accomplish?

President Eisenhower is probably most remembered for the Interstate Highway System, an infrastructure spending program that upgraded and greatly expanded the United States's roadways. We travel the country with ease today on multi-lane highways because of Eisenhower. He supported this project in part because he was concerned that, as the first Republican president since Hoover, his party would oversee another depression. Spending on the highways stimulated the economy and kept employment high.
Also, as a former general with hands-on experience of war and its devastation, Eisenhower kept the country out of hot wars during his presidency. He negotiated a settlement with Korea that allowed the US to withdraw its troops. He avoided getting dragged into Viet Nam. He managed to use diplomacy to sidestep a full-scale confrontation with the Soviet Union, although the Cold War continued.
Eisenhower was seen at the time as a "do-nothing" president, but as more papers and information about his administration have emerged, historians realize he was deeply engaged in events behind the scenes and was attempting to steer the country on a peaceful and prosperous course. Today, we would probably call him "chill" rather than do-nothing.

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