WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.359 Welcome, curious minds, to the deep dive. Today, 00:00:03.459 --> 00:00:06.540 we're diving into a life that, well, it saw some 00:00:06.540 --> 00:00:09.439 incredible changes. Absolutely. Imagine a world 00:00:09.439 --> 00:00:11.859 shifting from horse -drawn convoys all the way 00:00:11.859 --> 00:00:14.160 to the space age. And the person we're talking 00:00:14.160 --> 00:00:17.160 about wasn't just watching. No, he was right 00:00:17.160 --> 00:00:19.500 in the thick of it, commanding the biggest invasion 00:00:19.500 --> 00:00:22.140 ever, leading a nation through the Cold War. 00:00:22.879 --> 00:00:25.960 It's quite a story. It really is. So today, our 00:00:25.960 --> 00:00:28.559 mission is to unpack the extraordinary journey 00:00:28.699 --> 00:00:32.159 of Dwight D. Eisenhower. Yep, good old Ike. We'll 00:00:32.159 --> 00:00:34.759 explore pretty much everything. His beginnings, 00:00:35.060 --> 00:00:38.020 his military career across two huge wars. His 00:00:38.020 --> 00:00:41.020 two terms as the 34th president, which were really 00:00:41.020 --> 00:00:42.939 transformative. And the legacy he left behind, 00:00:42.979 --> 00:00:46.399 which is frankly enormous. And to guide us. We've 00:00:46.399 --> 00:00:49.020 dug into a lot of material biographies, military 00:00:49.020 --> 00:00:50.759 accounts, presidential records. We've pulled 00:00:50.759 --> 00:00:53.119 out the key insights, the stuff that really helps 00:00:53.119 --> 00:00:55.359 you understand the man. Our goal is to give you 00:00:55.359 --> 00:00:58.219 a solid but easy to graph picture of how this 00:00:58.219 --> 00:01:00.920 one person navigated these huge challenges to 00:01:00.920 --> 00:01:04.060 find an era and made a lasting mark. And we've 00:01:04.060 --> 00:01:06.280 found some genuinely surprising things along 00:01:06.280 --> 00:01:10.659 the way. Ike wasn't always the quiet figure people 00:01:10.659 --> 00:01:12.980 sometimes imagine. Definitely not. Get ready 00:01:12.980 --> 00:01:15.959 to uncover some hidden depths. Let's jump right 00:01:15.959 --> 00:01:18.980 in. Okay, so where do we start? Humble beginnings, 00:01:19.099 --> 00:01:22.239 really. Right. He was born David Dwight Eisenhower 00:01:22.239 --> 00:01:26.579 down in Denison, Texas, October 1890. Third of 00:01:26.579 --> 00:01:28.560 seven boys, but here's a little detail right 00:01:28.560 --> 00:01:31.200 off the bat his mom Ida She actually swapped 00:01:31.200 --> 00:01:34.959 his first and middle names. Oh Why was that? 00:01:35.319 --> 00:01:38.140 Well, his dad was also named David So to avoid 00:01:38.140 --> 00:01:40.700 confusion, David Dwight became Dwight David. 00:01:41.079 --> 00:01:43.480 A small thing, but kind of sets the stage for 00:01:43.480 --> 00:01:46.000 his unique identity. Makes sense. And they didn't 00:01:46.000 --> 00:01:47.819 stay in Texas long, did they? No, they moved 00:01:47.819 --> 00:01:50.459 to Abilene, Kansas when he was very young. And 00:01:50.459 --> 00:01:52.459 Abilene was always the place he considered his 00:01:52.459 --> 00:01:54.379 hometown. And the family atmosphere. I understand 00:01:54.379 --> 00:01:56.840 it was quite religious. Very much so. His mother 00:01:56.840 --> 00:01:59.219 became a Genova's witness, actually. Their home 00:01:59.219 --> 00:02:01.859 even served as the local meeting place for years, 00:02:01.920 --> 00:02:06.090 from about 1896 to 1915. Wow. Did Dwight join? 00:02:06.290 --> 00:02:08.849 No, interestingly, he never formally joined that 00:02:08.849 --> 00:02:11.610 denomination or any church really until much 00:02:11.610 --> 00:02:14.490 later in 1952. That's fascinating given his later 00:02:14.490 --> 00:02:17.590 public profile. And his mother, Ida, she was 00:02:17.590 --> 00:02:20.530 against war, wasn't she? Strongly pacifist, yes. 00:02:21.050 --> 00:02:22.669 Which is quite something when you think about 00:02:22.669 --> 00:02:24.969 her son becoming a five -star general. Absolutely. 00:02:25.629 --> 00:02:28.150 But she had these history books. Exactly. Full 00:02:28.150 --> 00:02:32.090 of military history, strategy, battles. And young 00:02:32.090 --> 00:02:34.930 Dwight just devoured them. That's where his interest 00:02:34.930 --> 00:02:40.430 really sparked. So this contrast, a pacifist 00:02:40.430 --> 00:02:43.449 mother, a son fascinated by military history, 00:02:43.870 --> 00:02:46.189 how do you think that shaped him? That's a key 00:02:46.189 --> 00:02:48.210 question, isn't it? I think it probably gave 00:02:48.210 --> 00:02:51.759 him a, well, a complex view of war. He understood 00:02:51.759 --> 00:02:55.219 strategy, the necessity perhaps, but also the 00:02:55.219 --> 00:02:57.800 terrible cost. You see that later, maybe with 00:02:57.800 --> 00:02:59.939 his hesitation about the atomic bomb. Precisely. 00:03:00.139 --> 00:03:02.580 That deep awareness of the human toll seems rooted 00:03:02.580 --> 00:03:05.159 in those early days. OK, so he goes through Abilene 00:03:05.159 --> 00:03:07.620 High School, graduates 1909. And then there's 00:03:07.620 --> 00:03:09.479 this pact with his brother Edgar, right? About 00:03:09.479 --> 00:03:11.879 college. Yeah, a classic deal. They take turns 00:03:11.879 --> 00:03:13.439 going to college while the other work to pay 00:03:13.439 --> 00:03:16.139 for it. Dwight worked first, night supervisor 00:03:16.139 --> 00:03:18.580 at a creamery. Showing that responsibility early 00:03:18.580 --> 00:03:22.520 on. But college plans changed. They did. A friend 00:03:22.520 --> 00:03:24.719 suggested applying to the military academy's 00:03:24.719 --> 00:03:27.639 no tuition fees, you see. Ah, practical thinking. 00:03:28.099 --> 00:03:30.539 He tried for Annapolis first, but he was actually 00:03:30.539 --> 00:03:32.520 just a bit too old for the Naval Academy. No 00:03:32.520 --> 00:03:34.819 kidding, so West Point it was. West Point, appointment 00:03:34.819 --> 00:03:38.020 in 1911. He apparently loved the traditions, 00:03:38.259 --> 00:03:40.759 the sports. Less keen on the hazing, though. 00:03:41.020 --> 00:03:43.960 Can't blame him there. And academics. Average, 00:03:44.439 --> 00:03:46.879 by his own account. Good at English, like the 00:03:46.879 --> 00:03:49.219 engineering side. But sports, that was his real 00:03:49.219 --> 00:03:51.599 passion. I read somewhere he said missing the 00:03:51.599 --> 00:03:54.000 baseball team was one of his biggest disappointments. 00:03:54.139 --> 00:03:57.219 He did. Maybe my greatest, he apparently said. 00:03:57.520 --> 00:03:59.620 It's quite humanizing, isn't it? It really is. 00:03:59.659 --> 00:04:01.659 He played football, though, right? Tackled Jim 00:04:01.659 --> 00:04:04.020 Thorpe? Yep. Played halfback, tackled Thorpe. 00:04:04.340 --> 00:04:07.500 But then a knee injury in a later game basically 00:04:07.500 --> 00:04:11.479 ended his football days. Tough break. So he pivoted. 00:04:11.860 --> 00:04:15.699 Fencing, gymnastics. Still competitive. Always 00:04:15.699 --> 00:04:17.920 competitive. That determination, you see it early. 00:04:18.279 --> 00:04:21.240 He graduated in 1915, middle of the pack. But 00:04:21.240 --> 00:04:23.600 from the class the stars fell on. Amazing number 00:04:23.600 --> 00:04:26.199 of generals came from that class. 59 general 00:04:26.199 --> 00:04:30.120 officers, including Omar Bradley. Just incredible. 00:04:30.439 --> 00:04:32.259 Ike wanted to go to the Philippines. But got 00:04:32.259 --> 00:04:35.759 sent to Texas instead. Fort Sam Houston. General 00:04:35.759 --> 00:04:38.699 Funston. The Mexican Revolution was simmering, 00:04:38.899 --> 00:04:40.839 just shows how chance assignments can change 00:04:40.839 --> 00:04:43.540 everything. Hashtags tag route war one and interwar 00:04:43.540 --> 00:04:46.660 period. Okay, so World War One breaks out, Europe's 00:04:46.660 --> 00:04:50.060 ablaze, Ike wants in on the action. Desperately 00:04:50.060 --> 00:04:52.500 wanted an overseas assignment, but nope, denied 00:04:52.500 --> 00:04:55.000 again. So what did he do instead? He ended up 00:04:55.000 --> 00:04:58.100 commanding a unit training tank crews. Camp Colt, 00:04:58.100 --> 00:05:02.300 Pennsylvania, brand new tech, tanks. So no combat 00:05:02.300 --> 00:05:05.879 experience in the Great War. Did that affect 00:05:05.879 --> 00:05:08.560 him? Deeply. He was apparently depressed and 00:05:08.560 --> 00:05:11.220 bitter for a time. And later on, rivals like 00:05:11.220 --> 00:05:13.879 Montgomery would sometimes bring it up, try to 00:05:13.879 --> 00:05:16.139 diminish his standing. Politics even then. But 00:05:16.139 --> 00:05:18.259 his stateside work was important. Hugely important. 00:05:18.339 --> 00:05:20.819 He showed incredible organizational skills, setting 00:05:20.819 --> 00:05:22.980 up this massive training camp, figuring out how 00:05:22.980 --> 00:05:25.160 to use these new tanks, assessing personnel. 00:05:25.600 --> 00:05:27.759 He even got a distinguished service medal for 00:05:27.759 --> 00:05:30.660 it. So he honed different skills maybe, logistics, 00:05:31.120 --> 00:05:34.439 leadership. Absolutely. Skills that proved crucial 00:05:34.439 --> 00:05:37.620 later. But after the war, things slowed down 00:05:37.620 --> 00:05:40.040 for him career -wise. Right. He went back to 00:05:40.040 --> 00:05:42.699 captain, then got promoted to major. And stayed 00:05:42.699 --> 00:05:46.259 a major for 16 years. A really long time at one 00:05:46.259 --> 00:05:50.180 rank. 16 years. Wow. But he wasn't just sitting 00:05:50.180 --> 00:05:53.180 still during that time, that 1919 convoy. Ah, 00:05:53.379 --> 00:05:56.769 yes. The Transcontinental Army Convoy. testing 00:05:56.769 --> 00:05:59.569 vehicles, but also highlighting just how bad 00:05:59.569 --> 00:06:01.810 America's roads were. They averaged, what, five 00:06:01.810 --> 00:06:04.170 miles an hour across the country? Something like 00:06:04.170 --> 00:06:07.170 that. A real slog. Washington, D .C. to San Francisco. 00:06:07.670 --> 00:06:10.730 And you have to think, that firsthand experience 00:06:10.730 --> 00:06:14.069 of crumbling infrastructure. Directly planted 00:06:14.069 --> 00:06:16.310 the seed for the interstate highway system decades 00:06:16.310 --> 00:06:18.449 later when he was president. That's an amazing 00:06:18.449 --> 00:06:20.850 long -term connection. It really is. He was also 00:06:20.850 --> 00:06:23.449 diving deep into tank warfare theory during this 00:06:23.449 --> 00:06:25.689 period. Working with Patton, right? Pushing new 00:06:25.689 --> 00:06:27.689 ideas. Yeah, they were advocating for faster, 00:06:27.829 --> 00:06:30.430 more offensive use of tanks. But the top brass? 00:06:30.629 --> 00:06:32.889 Well, they weren't having it. Too radical. Considered 00:06:32.889 --> 00:06:35.610 too radical, yeah. Tanks were supposed to just 00:06:35.610 --> 00:06:38.250 support infantry. Ike even got threatened with 00:06:38.250 --> 00:06:40.050 court martial for publishing articles about it. 00:06:40.250 --> 00:06:43.310 Seriously. So he had to back down. He did. A 00:06:43.310 --> 00:06:45.970 tough lesson probably in challenging the established 00:06:45.970 --> 00:06:48.170 way of doing things in a big institution like 00:06:48.170 --> 00:06:50.089 the Army. But he was learning from some incredible 00:06:50.089 --> 00:06:52.930 mentors too, right? Oh, definitely. Fox Connor 00:06:52.930 --> 00:06:56.050 in Panama, I called him the ablest man I ever 00:06:56.050 --> 00:06:58.819 knew. Studied Klosovitz with him. Served under 00:06:58.819 --> 00:07:00.959 Pershing, MacArthur, George Marshall. Pretty 00:07:00.959 --> 00:07:04.279 much a who's who of army leadership. He was soaking 00:07:04.279 --> 00:07:07.199 it all in. And he excelled academically too, 00:07:07.439 --> 00:07:09.399 graduating first in his class at the command 00:07:09.399 --> 00:07:12.540 and general staff college in 26. So even though 00:07:12.540 --> 00:07:15.540 promotions were slow, this was a period of intense 00:07:15.540 --> 00:07:17.920 learning and preparation. Absolutely, like a 00:07:17.920 --> 00:07:21.120 long intensive apprenticeship. In his time working 00:07:21.120 --> 00:07:23.779 for MacArthur in the Philippines, that was particularly 00:07:23.779 --> 00:07:26.110 formative. How so? I heard they didn't always 00:07:26.110 --> 00:07:28.990 see eye to eye. They definitely clashed philosophically. 00:07:29.449 --> 00:07:32.089 MacArthur was, well, MacArthur very autocratic. 00:07:32.490 --> 00:07:34.769 Ike disagreed on how to develop the Philippine 00:07:34.769 --> 00:07:37.889 army on leadership styles. The clash of personalities. 00:07:38.250 --> 00:07:41.399 And philosophies. Ike believed in more collaboration, 00:07:41.699 --> 00:07:43.860 independent thinking. Dealing with MacArthur's 00:07:43.860 --> 00:07:46.379 strong personality was probably invaluable practice 00:07:46.379 --> 00:07:48.800 for managing guys like Churchill, Patton, and 00:07:48.800 --> 00:07:51.899 Montgomery later on. Taught him patience, diplomacy, 00:07:52.319 --> 00:07:55.620 how to handle big egos, hashtag, tag, tag, personal 00:07:55.620 --> 00:07:57.899 life nuggets. OK, let's shift gears slightly. 00:07:58.519 --> 00:08:00.339 His personal life gives you a different angle 00:08:00.339 --> 00:08:03.600 on the man. He met Mamie Dowd in Texas. Yep, 00:08:03.740 --> 00:08:06.300 while stationed at Fort Sam Houston. Whirlwind 00:08:06.300 --> 00:08:08.920 romance, really. Proposed on Valentine's Day 00:08:08.920 --> 00:08:12.199 in 1916, married that July because war was looming. 00:08:12.519 --> 00:08:14.920 And like many military families, they moved around 00:08:14.920 --> 00:08:17.259 constantly. All the time. Must have been tough, 00:08:17.480 --> 00:08:19.500 but probably strengthened their bond. They also 00:08:19.500 --> 00:08:22.279 faced a terrible tragedy early on. Yes. Their 00:08:22.279 --> 00:08:25.060 first son, Dowd Dwight, they called him Icky, 00:08:25.279 --> 00:08:27.060 died of scarlet fever when he was just three. 00:08:27.379 --> 00:08:29.720 A huge blow. And Eisenhower didn't talk about 00:08:29.720 --> 00:08:31.980 it much. Very reluctant to discuss it, apparently. 00:08:32.399 --> 00:08:34.440 That private grief, maybe it connects back to 00:08:34.440 --> 00:08:36.980 his understanding of war's human cost. Later 00:08:36.980 --> 00:08:39.460 in life, though, he found outlets, hobbies. Oh, 00:08:39.460 --> 00:08:42.019 definitely. Golf became a huge thing for him. 00:08:42.059 --> 00:08:44.539 Joined Augusta National. Didn't he have his golf 00:08:44.539 --> 00:08:46.919 balls painted black for playing in the snow? 00:08:47.019 --> 00:08:50.419 He did. That's dedication. Or maybe just a general 00:08:50.419 --> 00:08:52.539 refusing to be stopped by conditions. He even 00:08:52.539 --> 00:08:54.460 put a little golf facility in at Camp David. 00:08:54.740 --> 00:08:56.480 And painting. I heard he was quite the artist. 00:08:56.600 --> 00:08:59.440 Looked up later in life. Did about 260 oil paintings, 00:08:59.679 --> 00:09:02.110 mostly landscapes, portraits. Though he wasn't 00:09:02.110 --> 00:09:04.590 a fan of modern art. Famously quipped it looked 00:09:04.590 --> 00:09:07.029 like a broken down car drove over the canvas. 00:09:08.049 --> 00:09:10.769 A traditionalist in art too. What about cards? 00:09:11.110 --> 00:09:16.070 Bridge. Yes. He was apparently a very sharp card 00:09:16.070 --> 00:09:19.090 player. Poker was a favorite from his Abilene 00:09:19.090 --> 00:09:21.850 days. And Bridge he was known as the Bridge Wizard 00:09:21.850 --> 00:09:23.879 of Manila. The Bridge Wizard, that's great. But 00:09:23.879 --> 00:09:26.039 it speaks to his mind, right? Strategy, reading 00:09:26.039 --> 00:09:29.100 people. Exactly. But skills are transferable. 00:09:29.600 --> 00:09:31.500 It's said that being able to play Bridge was 00:09:31.500 --> 00:09:35.279 almost a requirement for his WWII staff. He played 00:09:35.279 --> 00:09:37.740 constantly, even in the lead -up to D -Day. It 00:09:37.740 --> 00:09:39.600 wasn't just relaxation, then. It was part of 00:09:39.600 --> 00:09:41.200 how he thought, how he connected with his team. 00:09:41.399 --> 00:09:44.039 I think so. Strategy, focus, camaraderie, all 00:09:44.039 --> 00:09:45.659 wrapped up in those hobbies. All right, let's 00:09:45.659 --> 00:09:48.559 move into the war years. World War II erupts, 00:09:48.899 --> 00:09:51.059 and Eisenhower's career, which had been kind 00:09:51.059 --> 00:09:53.659 of slow. suddenly takes off like a rocket. He 00:09:53.659 --> 00:09:56.279 comes back to the U .S. in 39, promotions start 00:09:56.279 --> 00:09:59.259 coming fast. Brigadier General right before Pearl 00:09:59.259 --> 00:10:01.980 Harbor. And after Pearl Harbor. Big responsibilities, 00:10:02.200 --> 00:10:04.419 quick. Immediately assigned to the general staff 00:10:04.419 --> 00:10:07.379 in D .C., his job, figure out the grand strategy 00:10:07.379 --> 00:10:10.700 to beat both Japan and Germany. Huge. And George 00:10:10.700 --> 00:10:13.259 C. Marshall spotted his talent. Marshall had 00:10:13.259 --> 00:10:16.360 an incredible eye for talent. He saw Ike's organizational 00:10:16.360 --> 00:10:18.700 genius, promoted him to run the operations division. 00:10:19.220 --> 00:10:21.700 By June 42, Ike's back in London, commanding 00:10:21.700 --> 00:10:25.059 U .S. forces in Europe, A2SF. Getting ready for 00:10:25.059 --> 00:10:27.799 the invasion. Hashtag, tag, tag, the North African 00:10:27.799 --> 00:10:31.059 and Italian campaigns. Operations Torch and Avalanche. 00:10:31.279 --> 00:10:34.059 Then comes North Africa. Operation Torch, November 00:10:34.059 --> 00:10:37.320 42. He gets the top job Supreme Commander, Allied 00:10:37.320 --> 00:10:40.679 Expeditionary Force there. Natusa. A massive 00:10:40.679 --> 00:10:42.779 command. And significantly, he was the first 00:10:42.779 --> 00:10:44.580 non -British person the commander brought her 00:10:44.580 --> 00:10:47.419 in 200 years. Shows immense trust the Allies 00:10:47.419 --> 00:10:49.720 placed in him. But it wasn't smooth sailing initially, 00:10:49.799 --> 00:10:52.519 was it? The French situation. Oh, that was a 00:10:52.519 --> 00:10:55.679 nightmare. A preposterous situation, as one account 00:10:55.679 --> 00:11:00.220 puts it. Rival French factions. Vichy collaborators. 00:11:00.519 --> 00:11:02.519 And he made that deal with Darlin, the Vichy 00:11:02.519 --> 00:11:05.220 official. He did. A purely pragmatic move, he 00:11:05.220 --> 00:11:07.679 argued, to save lives and get troops moving into 00:11:07.679 --> 00:11:11.590 Tunisia. But politically. hugely controversial. 00:11:11.769 --> 00:11:14.809 Allied leaders were furious. A real baptism by 00:11:14.809 --> 00:11:17.470 fire in wartime politics and diplomacy. Absolutely. 00:11:17.549 --> 00:11:20.389 He had to make a tough, unpopular call for military 00:11:20.389 --> 00:11:23.629 reasons. Darwin was assassinated soon after anyway, 00:11:23.750 --> 00:11:26.309 and Ike appointed General Giroux. But Torch was 00:11:26.309 --> 00:11:28.289 also where he learned combat command, right? 00:11:28.509 --> 00:11:31.570 Made mistakes. He admitted it. Said he was indecisive 00:11:31.570 --> 00:11:33.570 during the Battle of Kasserine Pass, where Rommel 00:11:33.570 --> 00:11:35.750 gave the Allies a real drubbing. He interfered 00:11:35.750 --> 00:11:38.169 too much. So he learned fast. Very fast. Got 00:11:38.169 --> 00:11:40.500 better at delegating. moving under performers, 00:11:40.799 --> 00:11:43.399 adapting strategy, North Africa, then Sicily, 00:11:43.919 --> 00:11:46.039 then the invasion of mainland Italy, Operation 00:11:46.039 --> 00:11:48.700 Avalanche. Which was brutal. Germans outnumbered 00:11:48.700 --> 00:11:51.179 them initially. Yeah, the Germans reinforced 00:11:51.179 --> 00:11:54.320 Evoli. It was a tough, grinding campaign. But 00:11:54.320 --> 00:11:57.000 all of it, North Africa, Sicily, Italy, it was 00:11:57.000 --> 00:11:59.659 essential preparation for the main event. Hashtag 00:11:59.659 --> 00:12:02.100 tag Operation Overlord and the invasion of Normandy. 00:12:02.200 --> 00:12:06.490 The main event, D -Day. December 43, Roosevelt 00:12:06.490 --> 00:12:09.429 picks Ike Overmarshall for Supreme Allied Commander 00:12:09.429 --> 00:12:11.690 in Europe. An incredible responsibility. He's 00:12:11.690 --> 00:12:13.789 now in charge of planning and executing the Normandy 00:12:13.789 --> 00:12:16.850 landings, liberating France, invading Germany, 00:12:17.350 --> 00:12:18.990 everything. And the pressure wasn't just the 00:12:18.990 --> 00:12:21.769 enemy. Managing the Allies themselves sounds 00:12:21.769 --> 00:12:24.009 like a huge challenge. Maybe the biggest challenge. 00:12:24.169 --> 00:12:27.110 You had Roosevelt, Churchill, de Gaulle, Admiral 00:12:27.110 --> 00:12:31.350 King, Montgomery, Patton. Huge egos, national 00:12:31.350 --> 00:12:33.490 interests, strategic disagreements. He argued 00:12:33.490 --> 00:12:35.590 with Roosevelt, threatened to resign over air 00:12:35.590 --> 00:12:38.009 command. He did. He insisted on unified command 00:12:38.009 --> 00:12:39.830 of the air forces for the invasion. And when 00:12:39.830 --> 00:12:42.149 Churchill initially resisted, Ike basically said, 00:12:42.309 --> 00:12:44.389 fine, get someone else. Churchill backed down. 00:12:44.549 --> 00:12:46.990 Wow. And managing Patton. That was a constant 00:12:46.990 --> 00:12:49.830 balancing act. Patton was brilliant, but volatile. 00:12:50.210 --> 00:12:52.330 Ike had to reprimand him, sideline him at times, 00:12:52.370 --> 00:12:54.710 but knew he needed his fighting ability. So how 00:12:54.710 --> 00:12:56.870 did he keep it all together? How did he get these 00:12:56.870 --> 00:12:59.980 powerful figures? pulling in roughly the same 00:12:59.980 --> 00:13:02.440 direction. It was his unique skill, wasn't it? 00:13:02.620 --> 00:13:05.500 Part diplomacy, part firmness, part sheer force 00:13:05.500 --> 00:13:07.600 of personality, and the weight of his office. 00:13:08.179 --> 00:13:11.299 He listened, he persuaded, but when needed, he 00:13:11.299 --> 00:13:14.100 gave the order. Unity was everything. And he 00:13:14.100 --> 00:13:16.429 connected with the troops too, right? visited 00:13:16.429 --> 00:13:18.690 the divisions before D -Day. Made a point of 00:13:18.690 --> 00:13:21.490 it, shook hands, talked to them. He felt the 00:13:21.490 --> 00:13:24.350 human cost profoundly, which makes that note 00:13:24.350 --> 00:13:27.090 he drafted even more powerful. The in case of 00:13:27.090 --> 00:13:29.750 failure note. Yeah. Saying the decision to attack 00:13:29.750 --> 00:13:32.070 was his. The troops did everything they could. 00:13:32.210 --> 00:13:34.750 And if any blame or fault attaches to the attempt, 00:13:34.809 --> 00:13:36.990 it is mine alone. Just incredible ownership. 00:13:37.049 --> 00:13:39.610 Yeah. Hashtag liberation of France and victory 00:13:39.610 --> 00:13:42.429 in Europe. So D -Day is a success. They establish 00:13:42.429 --> 00:13:45.730 a beachhead. But then comes the long slog. across 00:13:45.730 --> 00:13:48.049 France. And more command challenges. Yeah. Monty 00:13:48.049 --> 00:13:50.409 wanting priority, Bradley wanting priority. Constant 00:13:50.409 --> 00:13:53.009 juggling. Ike insisted on retaining overall control 00:13:53.009 --> 00:13:56.110 of the land strategy, managing supplies, mediating 00:13:56.110 --> 00:13:58.929 between his ambitious field commanders. It was 00:13:58.929 --> 00:14:01.049 complex. Did it slow things down, that debate? 00:14:01.350 --> 00:14:04.950 Some argue it might have. But Ike's steady hand 00:14:04.950 --> 00:14:07.789 kept the Allied effort moving forward, eventually 00:14:07.789 --> 00:14:10.690 opening crucial ports like Antwerp, which was 00:14:10.690 --> 00:14:13.049 vital for supply. And he gets his fifth star 00:14:13.049 --> 00:14:16.919 in December 44. General of the Army. Recognition 00:14:16.919 --> 00:14:19.620 of his leadership, his diplomacy in holding that 00:14:19.620 --> 00:14:22.500 coalition together. He commanded respect, even 00:14:22.500 --> 00:14:25.220 from guys like Zhukov, the Soviet marshal. They 00:14:25.220 --> 00:14:27.259 apparently got on quite well. Then the Battle 00:14:27.259 --> 00:14:30.820 of the Bulge, Germany's last big gamble. A nasty 00:14:30.820 --> 00:14:34.100 surprise counteroffensive. But Ike reacted calmly, 00:14:34.519 --> 00:14:37.179 repositioned forces, used air power once the 00:14:37.179 --> 00:14:39.279 weather cleared and broke the German attack. 00:14:39.740 --> 00:14:42.149 As the end neared. There was pressure to race 00:14:42.149 --> 00:14:44.769 the Soviets to Berlin, wasn't there? Huge political 00:14:44.769 --> 00:14:46.690 pressure, especially from Churchill. But Eich 00:14:46.690 --> 00:14:49.509 refused. He stuck to the agreed -upon demarcation 00:14:49.509 --> 00:14:51.990 lines with the Soviets. Berlin was in their zone. 00:14:52.470 --> 00:14:54.970 Military objectives first, political glory second. 00:14:55.250 --> 00:14:57.490 A controversial decision, then, maybe, but probably 00:14:57.490 --> 00:15:00.029 strategically sound. He wanted to avoid unnecessary 00:15:00.029 --> 00:15:02.169 conflict with the Soviets and focus on defeating 00:15:02.169 --> 00:15:04.690 the remaining German forces. And then, as the 00:15:04.690 --> 00:15:06.669 concentration camps were liberated... He ordered 00:15:06.669 --> 00:15:10.120 them documented. Yes, extensively. Photos, films. 00:15:10.659 --> 00:15:13.000 He foresaw the possibility of Holocaust denial 00:15:13.000 --> 00:15:16.240 and wanted undeniable proof. He even made local 00:15:16.240 --> 00:15:19.460 Germans tour the camps, a powerful act of ensuring 00:15:19.460 --> 00:15:22.919 historical truth. Okay, VE Day. War in Europe 00:15:22.919 --> 00:15:26.149 is over. What's next for Ike? He becomes military 00:15:26.149 --> 00:15:28.649 governor of the American zone in Germany, based 00:15:28.649 --> 00:15:32.110 in Frankfurt, for about six months. Huge task 00:15:32.110 --> 00:15:34.710 dealing with the devastation, millions of displaced 00:15:34.710 --> 00:15:37.929 people, POWs. And he made some changes to policy 00:15:37.929 --> 00:15:41.860 there. regarding German POWs. He did. He reclassified 00:15:41.860 --> 00:15:44.440 them as disarmed enemy forces, which technically 00:15:44.440 --> 00:15:46.480 took them out from under the Geneva Convention 00:15:46.480 --> 00:15:49.419 protections. It sounds harsh, but paradoxically, 00:15:49.559 --> 00:15:52.039 it allowed for more flexibility. How so? Well, 00:15:52.039 --> 00:15:54.000 it bypassed some rules, but he also worked to 00:15:54.000 --> 00:15:56.179 bring in massive amounts of food aid for civilians 00:15:56.179 --> 00:15:58.960 and eased up on the strict non -fraternization 00:15:58.960 --> 00:16:01.620 rules. It reflected a shift towards seeing Germans 00:16:01.620 --> 00:16:03.980 more as victims of Nazism while still pursuing 00:16:03.980 --> 00:16:06.720 denazification efforts, a pragmatic approach. 00:16:07.139 --> 00:16:09.809 Interesting nuance. back to Washington. Yep. 00:16:10.289 --> 00:16:12.970 November 45 replaces Marshall as Army Chief of 00:16:12.970 --> 00:16:17.450 Staff. Big job. Oversee the massive demobilization. 00:16:17.690 --> 00:16:20.250 Millions of soldiers wanting to come home, not 00:16:20.250 --> 00:16:22.889 enough ships, logistical nightmare. And during 00:16:22.889 --> 00:16:25.210 this post -war period, we get that really striking 00:16:25.210 --> 00:16:28.330 insight about his view on the atomic bomb. Yes. 00:16:28.570 --> 00:16:30.929 He privately voiced his opposition to using it 00:16:30.929 --> 00:16:33.429 against Japan, said it wasn't necessary to win 00:16:33.429 --> 00:16:35.669 the war, and he hated for the U .S. to be the 00:16:35.669 --> 00:16:38.190 first to use such a weapon. Coming from the Supreme 00:16:38.190 --> 00:16:40.899 Allied Commander. That's incredibly significant. 00:16:41.200 --> 00:16:44.299 It speaks volumes about his perspective on warfare's 00:16:44.299 --> 00:16:47.779 limits. It really does. He initially hoped for 00:16:47.779 --> 00:16:50.080 cooperation with the Soviets, even visited Warsaw, 00:16:50.379 --> 00:16:53.639 was shocked by the destruction. But by mid -47, 00:16:54.000 --> 00:16:56.820 with tensions rising over Germany, Greece? The 00:16:56.820 --> 00:16:59.379 Cold War is setting in. Exactly. He reluctantly 00:16:59.379 --> 00:17:01.379 accepts the containment policy as necessary. 00:17:01.600 --> 00:17:03.899 A big shift from hopeful collaborator to Cold 00:17:03.899 --> 00:17:06.339 War strategist, hashtag tag the reluctant candidate, 00:17:06.480 --> 00:17:08.319 the call to politics. So he's a national hero, 00:17:08.519 --> 00:17:10.700 hugely popular. Politics must have come calling 00:17:10.700 --> 00:17:13.759 early. Oh yeah. As early as 43, people were suggesting 00:17:13.759 --> 00:17:15.680 he run for president. He apparently threw one 00:17:15.680 --> 00:17:17.930 guy out of his office for suggesting it. believed 00:17:17.930 --> 00:17:21.069 soldiers shouldn't seek political office. Strongly. 00:17:21.190 --> 00:17:24.190 He turned down appeals from both parties repeatedly. 00:17:24.410 --> 00:17:27.250 In 48, he flatly said he wasn't available, couldn't 00:17:27.250 --> 00:17:29.410 accept a nomination. Even Truman offered to help 00:17:29.410 --> 00:17:32.930 him run as a Democrat. Truman did, or offered 00:17:32.930 --> 00:17:35.369 to run with him if MacArthur got the Republican 00:17:35.369 --> 00:17:38.430 nod. But Ike stayed unaffiliated. People thought 00:17:38.430 --> 00:17:40.470 he'd missed his chance, assuming Dewey would 00:17:40.470 --> 00:17:43.250 win and serve two terms. But the pressure didn't 00:17:43.250 --> 00:17:46.460 stop. What changed his mind for 52? Two main 00:17:46.460 --> 00:17:49.720 things, I think. First, the growing draft Eisenhower 00:17:49.720 --> 00:17:52.259 movement, a genuine grassroot swell of support 00:17:52.259 --> 00:17:54.640 that made him feel it was a duty. And second, 00:17:54.920 --> 00:17:58.079 his opposition to Senator Robert Taft's isolationist 00:17:58.079 --> 00:18:01.220 foreign policy. I deeply believed in NATO and 00:18:01.220 --> 00:18:04.140 international cooperation. He saw Taft as a threat 00:18:04.140 --> 00:18:06.839 to that and felt he had to step in to offer an 00:18:06.839 --> 00:18:08.779 alternative for the Republicans. So it was a 00:18:08.779 --> 00:18:11.240 sense of duty and a specific policy concern. 00:18:11.390 --> 00:18:13.430 Pretty much. He declared himself a Republican 00:18:13.430 --> 00:18:16.589 in 51, resigned from NATO in June 52, and hit 00:18:16.589 --> 00:18:18.950 the campaign trail. With that killer slogan. 00:18:19.509 --> 00:18:23.190 Hmm. I like Ike. Simple, effective, unbeatable, 00:18:23.349 --> 00:18:26.910 really. He won in a landslide against Adlai Stevenson 00:18:26.910 --> 00:18:29.829 in 52, first Republican president in 20 years, 00:18:30.329 --> 00:18:33.309 won again easily in 56, last president born in 00:18:33.309 --> 00:18:36.250 the 19th century, and the oldest elected since 00:18:36.250 --> 00:18:39.579 Buchanan. Way back. Quite a unique path to the 00:18:39.579 --> 00:18:41.339 presidency. Before the White House, though, there 00:18:41.339 --> 00:18:43.660 was that interesting detour. President of Columbia 00:18:43.660 --> 00:18:48.039 University. Right. 1948 to 1953. Not exactly 00:18:48.039 --> 00:18:50.880 a natural fit, was it? The five -scar general 00:18:50.880 --> 00:18:53.119 and the Ivy League academics. Reports suggest 00:18:53.119 --> 00:18:55.859 it was not a good fit for either party. He apparently 00:18:55.859 --> 00:18:57.799 didn't have much common ground with the liberal 00:18:57.799 --> 00:18:59.660 faculty. It must have been some awkward faculty 00:18:59.660 --> 00:19:01.940 meetings. I can imagine. But he wrote his memoir 00:19:01.940 --> 00:19:04.460 then, Crusade in Europe. He did. And it was a 00:19:04.460 --> 00:19:06.980 huge bestseller. And he got this incredible tax 00:19:06.980 --> 00:19:09.420 ruling. Oh yeah? What was that? The Treasury 00:19:09.420 --> 00:19:11.099 Department ruled he wasn't a professional writer 00:19:11.099 --> 00:19:13.440 just selling his unique life experiences. So 00:19:13.440 --> 00:19:16.359 he paid capital gains tax, not income tax, on 00:19:16.359 --> 00:19:19.200 the Massive Advance. Saved him a fortune. Wow. 00:19:19.579 --> 00:19:22.359 Only Ike could get a deal like that. But Columbia 00:19:22.359 --> 00:19:24.940 wasn't just a holding pattern. No. He used it 00:19:24.940 --> 00:19:27.809 for what he called political education. started 00:19:27.809 --> 00:19:30.309 study groups, founded the American Assembly to 00:19:30.309 --> 00:19:33.450 discuss policy issues, and crucially, the fundraising, 00:19:33.490 --> 00:19:35.690 he did put him in touch with influential people 00:19:35.690 --> 00:19:38.009 who later backed his presidential run. So kind 00:19:38.009 --> 00:19:40.250 of accidental political groundwork. In a way. 00:19:40.630 --> 00:19:43.329 Then in late 1950, he takes leave from Colombia 00:19:43.329 --> 00:19:45.549 to become the first supreme commander of NATO. 00:19:45.990 --> 00:19:48.650 Back in uniform, back in Europe, building up 00:19:48.650 --> 00:19:50.930 the alliance. Turning it into a real military 00:19:50.930 --> 00:19:54.230 force, a credible deterrent. So, Columbia and 00:19:54.230 --> 00:19:56.950 NATO, they were this unexpected but vital bridge 00:19:56.950 --> 00:20:00.009 from military leader to statesman, ready for 00:20:00.009 --> 00:20:02.490 the Oval Office. All right. Into the White House. 00:20:03.329 --> 00:20:06.250 January 1953. What was his core philosophy? He 00:20:06.250 --> 00:20:09.670 had a name for it. Dynamic conservatism. Or sometimes 00:20:09.670 --> 00:20:12.940 the middle way. He saw himself as a progressive 00:20:12.940 --> 00:20:14.799 conservative. Meaning? What did that look like 00:20:14.799 --> 00:20:17.400 in practice? It meant he wasn't an ideologue 00:20:17.400 --> 00:20:19.819 looking to dismantle the New Deal, for instance. 00:20:20.180 --> 00:20:22.880 He was fundamentally conservative fiscally, wanted 00:20:22.880 --> 00:20:25.240 balanced budgets, but accepted popular programs. 00:20:25.319 --> 00:20:27.059 Like Social Security, he expanded that, right? 00:20:27.299 --> 00:20:30.039 He did, adding about 10 million more workers 00:20:30.039 --> 00:20:32.259 to the rolls, rolled it into the new Department 00:20:32.259 --> 00:20:35.440 of Health, Education, and Welfare, and he privately 00:20:35.440 --> 00:20:37.539 warned Republicans that trying to abolish it 00:20:37.539 --> 00:20:40.559 would be political suicide. Very pragmatic. He 00:20:40.559 --> 00:20:42.859 also beefed up the National Security Council's 00:20:42.859 --> 00:20:45.279 role. Yes, made it much more central to Cold 00:20:45.279 --> 00:20:48.339 War planning. And he used press conferences extensively, 00:20:48.740 --> 00:20:51.460 nearly 200 of them, saw it as talking directly 00:20:51.460 --> 00:20:54.619 to the people. Hashtag tag tag key domestic achievements 00:20:54.619 --> 00:20:57.880 and challenges. OK, domestic policy. What stands 00:20:57.880 --> 00:21:01.049 out for me, it has to be the highways. The Interstate 00:21:01.049 --> 00:21:03.690 Highway System absolutely championed it, pushed 00:21:03.690 --> 00:21:06.089 it through Congress, signed the Federal Aid Highway 00:21:06.089 --> 00:21:08.970 Act in 56. And the justification was national 00:21:08.970 --> 00:21:11.799 defense. That was the key argument, yes. needed 00:21:11.799 --> 00:21:14.460 for moving troops, equipment, evacuating cities 00:21:14.460 --> 00:21:17.019 in a nuclear war scenario. But the real roots 00:21:17.019 --> 00:21:20.220 go back further, don't they? To that 1919 convoy 00:21:20.220 --> 00:21:22.940 and seeing the German autobahn during the war. 00:21:23.339 --> 00:21:25.599 It's amazing how those experiences coalesced 00:21:25.599 --> 00:21:27.980 into this massive project. It truly reshaped 00:21:27.980 --> 00:21:30.339 America's landscape and economy, a monumental 00:21:30.339 --> 00:21:32.759 achievement. Then there's the response to Sputnik. 00:21:33.460 --> 00:21:36.359 The Soviets launched that satellite in 57. Huge 00:21:36.359 --> 00:21:38.759 propaganda win for them. And Eisenhower reacts 00:21:38.759 --> 00:21:42.569 decisively. Creates NASA in 58. Signs the National 00:21:42.569 --> 00:21:44.750 Defense Agitation Act. Pumping money into science 00:21:44.750 --> 00:21:47.930 education? Math. Exactly. He understood national 00:21:47.930 --> 00:21:50.289 security wasn't just missiles, it was brains, 00:21:50.470 --> 00:21:53.829 technology. He also created ARPA, which eventually 00:21:53.829 --> 00:21:56.549 led to the internet. Quite the scientific legacy 00:21:56.549 --> 00:21:59.549 for a general. What about civil rights? This 00:21:59.549 --> 00:22:02.019 was a period of growing tension. He made his 00:22:02.019 --> 00:22:05.160 opposition to segregation clear early on, finished 00:22:05.160 --> 00:22:07.400 the desegregation of the armed forces that Truman 00:22:07.400 --> 00:22:09.859 had started, used the power of the purse government 00:22:09.859 --> 00:22:11.980 contracts to push it through. Signed the first 00:22:11.980 --> 00:22:14.960 civil rights act since Reconstruction II. 1957 00:22:14.960 --> 00:22:17.819 and 1960, they established a civil rights division 00:22:17.819 --> 00:22:20.220 in the Justice Department, gave the federal government 00:22:20.220 --> 00:22:22.940 more power to fight voting discrimination. Modest 00:22:22.940 --> 00:22:25.380 steps by later standards, but significant at 00:22:25.380 --> 00:22:29.450 the time. And then Little Rock. 1957. Governor 00:22:29.450 --> 00:22:33.089 Faubus blocking integration. And Eisenhower sends 00:22:33.089 --> 00:22:36.250 in the hundred and first airborne federal troops 00:22:36.250 --> 00:22:38.490 enforcing a court order in the South for the 00:22:38.490 --> 00:22:41.910 first time since Reconstruction. A huge symbolic 00:22:41.910 --> 00:22:44.029 moment. Martin Luther King Jr. thanked him for 00:22:44.029 --> 00:22:47.470 it. He did. Called it courageous. But it's important 00:22:47.470 --> 00:22:49.710 to balance this with the darker side. A lavender 00:22:49.710 --> 00:22:54.599 scare. Yes. His executive order 10450 in 1953 00:22:54.599 --> 00:22:57.799 fueled the persecution of gay and lesbian federal 00:22:57.799 --> 00:23:00.680 employees. Thousands lost their jobs based on 00:23:00.680 --> 00:23:02.740 sexual orientation, which was conflated with 00:23:02.740 --> 00:23:06.519 being a security risk, a communist traitor, a 00:23:06.519 --> 00:23:08.859 very dark chapter reflecting the prejudices of 00:23:08.859 --> 00:23:10.640 the era. Definitely important to acknowledge. 00:23:11.039 --> 00:23:13.480 What about his relationship with Congress and 00:23:13.480 --> 00:23:16.039 McCarthy? Well, he only had a Republican Congress 00:23:16.039 --> 00:23:18.299 for his first two years. Dealing with McCarthy 00:23:18.299 --> 00:23:21.539 was tricky. Ike initially avoided direct confrontation, 00:23:22.160 --> 00:23:24.019 worried it would just give McCarthy more oxygen. 00:23:24.220 --> 00:23:26.259 But he did eventually act. When McCarthy went 00:23:26.259 --> 00:23:28.299 after the Army and threatened White House staff, 00:23:28.720 --> 00:23:31.000 Eisenhower invoked executive privilege in 54, 00:23:31.299 --> 00:23:34.059 denying McCarthy access. That was a major blow 00:23:34.059 --> 00:23:35.980 that helped bring McCarthy down. Though some 00:23:35.980 --> 00:23:38.059 criticized him for not defending George Marshall 00:23:38.059 --> 00:23:40.920 earlier from McCarthy's attacks. Yes, that was 00:23:40.920 --> 00:23:43.609 a point of criticism. On the courts, he appointed 00:23:43.609 --> 00:23:46.890 five Supreme Court justices, most notably Chief 00:23:46.890 --> 00:23:49.630 Justice Earl Warren. Who ended up leading a very 00:23:49.630 --> 00:23:53.369 activist liberal court on civil rights. Not quite 00:23:53.369 --> 00:23:55.890 what Ike expected, maybe. Probably not entirely, 00:23:56.190 --> 00:23:58.829 but Ike respected Warren's integrity. His presidency 00:23:58.829 --> 00:24:01.869 also saw Alaska and Hawaii become states. And 00:24:01.869 --> 00:24:03.960 then there were his health scares. Yeah. Pretty 00:24:03.960 --> 00:24:06.619 serious ones. Very serious. He quit smoking cold 00:24:06.619 --> 00:24:09.519 turkey in 49 but suffered a major heart attack 00:24:09.519 --> 00:24:12.319 in 55. And the doctor initially misdiagnosed 00:24:12.319 --> 00:24:15.480 it. Tried to cover it up. Yes. Dr. Snyder downplayed 00:24:15.480 --> 00:24:17.779 it. Even altered records to make Ike seem fit 00:24:17.779 --> 00:24:20.400 enough to run again in 56. Then came surgery 00:24:20.400 --> 00:24:23.559 for Crohn's disease in 56 and a mild stroke in 00:24:23.559 --> 00:24:27.220 57. Wow. Running the country through all that. 00:24:27.259 --> 00:24:29.740 Must have been. Incredibly stressful. Immense 00:24:29.740 --> 00:24:31.500 pressure. And it certainly factored into his 00:24:31.500 --> 00:24:33.640 decisions, his energy levels, maybe even his 00:24:33.640 --> 00:24:36.220 choice not to seek a third term, though the amendment 00:24:36.220 --> 00:24:38.180 prevented it anyway. OK, let's turn to foreign 00:24:38.180 --> 00:24:40.559 policy. Top priority coming in was Korea, right? 00:24:40.900 --> 00:24:44.720 Absolutely. The war was stalemated, costly. Ike 00:24:44.720 --> 00:24:47.200 visited Korea after being elected, saw the mess 00:24:47.200 --> 00:24:49.960 firsthand. And he ended it pretty quickly once 00:24:49.960 --> 00:24:53.470 in office. How? He basically made it clear through 00:24:53.470 --> 00:24:55.730 diplomatic back channels, mostly to the Chinese, 00:24:56.230 --> 00:24:58.589 that if an armistice wasn't reached soon, the 00:24:58.589 --> 00:25:01.390 U .S. might expand the war, possibly even use 00:25:01.390 --> 00:25:03.809 nuclear weapons. A credible threat. Apparently 00:25:03.809 --> 00:25:07.349 so. An armistice was signed July 53. Divided 00:25:07.349 --> 00:25:09.529 Korea roughly where it started, still in effect 00:25:09.529 --> 00:25:12.289 today, a huge achievement for his administration. 00:25:12.569 --> 00:25:15.809 His broader Cold War strategy was the new look. 00:25:16.470 --> 00:25:18.490 Yes. Less reliance on expensive conventional 00:25:18.490 --> 00:25:21.650 forces, more on nuclear terms, massive retaliation, 00:25:21.910 --> 00:25:24.309 and using the CIA for covert actions. Like in 00:25:24.309 --> 00:25:27.710 Iran and Guatemala. Exactly. CIA backed coups 00:25:27.710 --> 00:25:30.349 in Iran, 53, to restore the Shah and protect 00:25:30.349 --> 00:25:33.049 royal interests, and Guatemala, 54, to overthrow 00:25:33.049 --> 00:25:35.250 a government seen as too leftist and threatening 00:25:35.250 --> 00:25:37.759 U .S. companies. Controversial then, even more 00:25:37.759 --> 00:25:40.079 so now, but standard Cold War practice at the 00:25:40.079 --> 00:25:43.500 time. Then the Suez Crisis in 56. Big test. Huge 00:25:43.500 --> 00:25:46.200 test. Britain, France, and Israel invade Egypt 00:25:46.200 --> 00:25:48.980 after Nasser nationalizes the canal. And Ike 00:25:48.980 --> 00:25:52.099 comes down hard on his allies. Condemn the invasion, 00:25:52.559 --> 00:25:54.859 force them to withdraw using economic pressure, 00:25:55.160 --> 00:25:57.099 while the Soviets were crushing the Hungarian 00:25:57.099 --> 00:25:59.660 uprising. Right. He condemned the Soviets too, 00:25:59.680 --> 00:26:02.319 but took no action there. It was a principled 00:26:02.319 --> 00:26:05.180 stand against aggression by his allies, upholding 00:26:05.180 --> 00:26:07.660 international law, but it strained relationships. 00:26:07.779 --> 00:26:10.779 And led to the Eisenhower Doctrine. Yes. Pledging 00:26:10.779 --> 00:26:14.059 U .S. aid, even military force, to stop communism 00:26:14.059 --> 00:26:16.759 spreading in the Middle East. He used it to send 00:26:16.759 --> 00:26:19.660 aid to Jordan and troops briefly to Lebanon in 00:26:19.660 --> 00:26:22.500 58 to stabilize the government. What about Southeast 00:26:22.500 --> 00:26:25.440 Asia? Vietnam. He continued aid to the French 00:26:25.440 --> 00:26:27.900 against the Viet Minh, but crucially refused 00:26:27.900 --> 00:26:30.700 direct U .S. military intervention at Diem Bien 00:26:30.700 --> 00:26:33.859 Phu in 54. Said it would just suck U .S. troops 00:26:33.859 --> 00:26:37.299 into an unwinnable war. Prophetic. But he did 00:26:37.299 --> 00:26:39.819 form Seattle and increased support, including 00:26:39.819 --> 00:26:42.740 advisors, to South Vietnam after the French left. 00:26:42.920 --> 00:26:44.700 Yes, he deepened the U .S. commitment, setting 00:26:44.700 --> 00:26:46.819 the stage for later escalation. It was all about 00:26:46.819 --> 00:26:48.940 containment. Same with the Taiwan Strait crises. 00:26:49.099 --> 00:26:50.940 Threatened nuclear use against China there, too. 00:26:51.079 --> 00:26:54.279 Implied it, yes. Maintained strategic ambiguity 00:26:54.279 --> 00:26:57.480 to deter a PRC invasion of Taiwan or the offshore 00:26:57.480 --> 00:27:00.700 islands. Kept the peace, but ratcheted up tensions. 00:27:00.920 --> 00:27:04.460 And the space race. Started slow, but Sputnik 00:27:04.460 --> 00:27:08.380 changed things. Dramatically. Led to NASA, NDEA, 00:27:08.500 --> 00:27:11.119 the focus on science. He also established the 00:27:11.119 --> 00:27:14.680 nuclear triad bombers, ICBMs, submarines for 00:27:14.680 --> 00:27:17.079 deterrence. Though privately, he thought the 00:27:17.079 --> 00:27:19.579 race to the moon was nuts. Way too expensive. 00:27:19.720 --> 00:27:21.960 Always the fiscal conservative underneath until 00:27:21.960 --> 00:27:25.519 the U -2 incident blew up. May, 1960. U .S. spy 00:27:25.519 --> 00:27:27.940 planes shot down over Russia. Ike initially denied 00:27:27.940 --> 00:27:30.299 it, then had to admit it. Hugely embarrassing. 00:27:30.559 --> 00:27:33.079 Torpedo to plan summit with Khrushchev. A sour 00:27:33.079 --> 00:27:35.559 note near the end. So his second term ends. He's 00:27:35.559 --> 00:27:37.619 the first president affected by the 22nd Amendment. 00:27:37.839 --> 00:27:40.359 Can't run again. Endorsed Nixon in 1960, though 00:27:40.359 --> 00:27:42.640 not always enthusiastically in public. That famous 00:27:42.640 --> 00:27:44.460 gaffe about needing a week to think of a Nixon 00:27:44.460 --> 00:27:47.140 idea he'd adopted. Ouch. Kennedy's campaign loved 00:27:47.140 --> 00:27:49.299 that one. But his most impactful moment leaving 00:27:49.299 --> 00:27:52.059 office was arguably his farewell address. January 00:27:52.059 --> 00:27:54.779 1961. The warning about the military industrial 00:27:54.779 --> 00:27:58.700 complex. Yes. We must guard against the acquisition 00:27:58.700 --> 00:28:02.460 of unwarranted influence by the military -industrial 00:28:02.460 --> 00:28:05.519 complex. Coming from him, the five -star general, 00:28:05.619 --> 00:28:08.200 the war hero president. It carried immense weight. 00:28:08.519 --> 00:28:10.559 And it's only become more relevant over time, 00:28:10.660 --> 00:28:13.839 hasn't it? Absolutely. A profoundly prescient 00:28:13.839 --> 00:28:16.220 warning from someone who understood the system 00:28:16.220 --> 00:28:19.839 intimately. After leaving office, Congress actually 00:28:19.839 --> 00:28:22.900 reactivated his five -star rank. Unique honor. 00:28:25.849 --> 00:28:28.950 So he retires. Where did he spend his time? Split 00:28:28.950 --> 00:28:31.349 his time mostly between his farm in Gettysburg, 00:28:31.369 --> 00:28:32.890 Pennsylvania, right next to the battlefield, 00:28:33.069 --> 00:28:35.630 and a home in Palm Desert, California. Stayed 00:28:35.630 --> 00:28:38.089 out of limelight mostly. Relatively, yes. Although 00:28:38.089 --> 00:28:40.529 he did address the 64 Republican Convention, 00:28:40.609 --> 00:28:42.789 supported Goldwater, albeit perhaps with some 00:28:42.789 --> 00:28:44.509 reservations. And he lived for another eight 00:28:44.509 --> 00:28:48.009 years after leaving office. Until March 28, 1969, 00:28:48.490 --> 00:28:50.430 he passed away from congestive heart failure 00:28:50.430 --> 00:28:53.210 at Walter Reed Hospital, age 78. His last words 00:28:53.210 --> 00:28:55.420 were quite moving. Reportedly, I've always loved 00:28:55.420 --> 00:28:57.819 my wife, my children and my grandchildren, and 00:28:57.819 --> 00:29:00.640 I've always loved my country. I want to go. God 00:29:00.640 --> 00:29:04.160 take me. He lay in state at the Capitol Rotunda, 00:29:04.839 --> 00:29:07.579 then buried back in Abilene. In a simple government 00:29:07.579 --> 00:29:11.579 issue casket wearing his WWII uniform alongside 00:29:11.579 --> 00:29:15.079 Icky, his son who died young and later Mamie. 00:29:15.740 --> 00:29:18.319 A soldier's burial, really. Hashtag, tag, legacy 00:29:18.319 --> 00:29:20.819 and historical assessments. How do we view Ike 00:29:20.819 --> 00:29:24.240 now? His reputation has shifted, hasn't it? Massively. 00:29:24.599 --> 00:29:27.400 While president, he was incredibly popular approval 00:29:27.400 --> 00:29:30.240 ratings consistently in the 60s, sometimes 70s. 00:29:30.339 --> 00:29:32.420 But right after he left office, the view soured 00:29:32.420 --> 00:29:35.019 a bit compared to Kennedy. He seemed, I don't 00:29:35.019 --> 00:29:38.200 know, less dynamic. Exactly. Critics called him 00:29:38.200 --> 00:29:40.880 inactive, uninspiring, the golf playing president. 00:29:41.099 --> 00:29:43.259 Faulted him for not doing more on civil rights 00:29:43.259 --> 00:29:46.180 sooner, not confronting McCarthy publicly, the 00:29:46.180 --> 00:29:49.160 U -2 mess, letting the Soviets seem ahead in 00:29:49.160 --> 00:29:51.319 space. But then historians got access to his 00:29:51.319 --> 00:29:53.619 papers, took a longer view. And the assessment 00:29:53.619 --> 00:29:55.799 changed dramatically. Revisionist historians 00:29:55.799 --> 00:29:57.680 started highlighting his hidden hand leadership, 00:29:57.900 --> 00:29:59.839 his effectiveness behind the scenes. Now he's 00:29:59.839 --> 00:30:03.059 ranked pretty highly, right? Top 10 often. Consistently 00:30:03.059 --> 00:30:06.079 praised for ending the Korean War, avoiding new 00:30:06.079 --> 00:30:09.019 wars, managing the Cold War without blowing everything 00:30:09.019 --> 00:30:11.940 up, strengthening alliances, keeping the economy 00:30:11.940 --> 00:30:15.319 stable, balancing budgets, rescuing the Republicans 00:30:15.319 --> 00:30:17.980 from isolationism, getting the interstate system 00:30:17.980 --> 00:30:21.000 built, pushing science and yes, making crucial, 00:30:21.099 --> 00:30:24.000 if sometimes cautious steps on civil rights. 00:30:24.400 --> 00:30:26.640 And that military industrial complex warning 00:30:26.640 --> 00:30:29.539 looms large. One historian called him a political 00:30:29.539 --> 00:30:31.440 genius for making incredibly difficult difficult 00:30:31.440 --> 00:30:34.400 things look easy, keeping the public calm during 00:30:34.400 --> 00:30:36.880 very tense times. He also left some practical 00:30:36.880 --> 00:30:38.839 legacies in government structure. Formalized 00:30:38.839 --> 00:30:40.660 the White House chief of staff role, modeled 00:30:40.660 --> 00:30:42.579 on the military system, that's standard practice 00:30:42.579 --> 00:30:45.559 now, and the up or out policy in the military. 00:30:45.779 --> 00:30:47.920 And his name is literally stamped on the landscape. 00:30:48.099 --> 00:30:50.140 The interstate system officially bears his name. 00:30:50.460 --> 00:30:53.440 The Eisenhower dollar coin, tunnels, buildings, 00:30:53.940 --> 00:30:56.980 Fort Eisenhower now. A national memorial in D 00:30:56.980 --> 00:31:00.259 .C. finally dedicated in 2020. It's quite a turnaround 00:31:00.259 --> 00:31:03.440 from being seen as slightly dull to being recognized 00:31:03.440 --> 00:31:06.440 for these profound lasting contributions. A complex 00:31:06.440 --> 00:31:09.059 legacy, but one that looks stronger and more 00:31:09.059 --> 00:31:12.180 significant as time goes on. Hashtag tag outro. 00:31:12.680 --> 00:31:14.500 Well, that was quite a journey through the life 00:31:14.500 --> 00:31:17.279 of Dwight D. Eisenhower. from Abilene to West 00:31:17.279 --> 00:31:20.140 Point, through World War II, Columbia, NATO, 00:31:20.660 --> 00:31:22.619 the White House. He really was at the center 00:31:22.619 --> 00:31:24.799 of so much 20th century history. What stands 00:31:24.799 --> 00:31:27.859 out most to you, looking back? For me, it's that 00:31:27.859 --> 00:31:30.279 ability to manage immense complexity. Whether 00:31:30.279 --> 00:31:32.799 it was Allied generals or Cold War crises or 00:31:32.799 --> 00:31:36.240 domestic politics, he had this capacity to synthesize, 00:31:36.440 --> 00:31:39.950 to find a path forward, often quietly. That hidden 00:31:39.950 --> 00:31:42.190 hand approach, balancing strength and diplomacy, 00:31:42.609 --> 00:31:44.789 pragmatism alongside principle, it left a huge 00:31:44.789 --> 00:31:47.609 mark. It really did. So for you listening, what's 00:31:47.609 --> 00:31:49.950 your key takeaway about Ike's leadership? And 00:31:49.950 --> 00:31:52.390 here's a final thought to chew on. OK. Eisenhower, 00:31:52.670 --> 00:31:55.210 the ultimate military man, warned us about the 00:31:55.210 --> 00:31:57.349 military industrial complex, given everything 00:31:57.349 --> 00:32:00.529 he knew, everything he saw. What deeper insights 00:32:00.529 --> 00:32:03.349 might he offer us today about balancing security 00:32:03.349 --> 00:32:05.900 and liberty? about managing that complex he knew 00:32:05.900 --> 00:32:07.799 so well. That's a powerful question to ponder. 00:32:07.940 --> 00:32:10.079 Thanks for joining us on this deep dive. Until 00:32:10.079 --> 00:32:13.180 next time, keep exploring, keep questioning, 00:32:13.619 --> 00:32:14.519 and keep digging deeper.