The Soviet threat continued to loom, propelling Eisenhower squarely into a second term. He had endeared himself to the American public as a strong anti-communist president, a decorated war hero who would keep America strong, prosperous, and triumphant. Eisenhower's fiscal and domestic policies reflected his rather un-Republican belief in social services. Eisenhower expanded the Social Security program, raised the minimum wage, supported low-income housing projects, and created the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. Among his most significant domestic legacies was his commissioning of the nationwide highway system. Eisenhower was truly a Car Culture president who helped make American culture into what it is today.

In spite of his support for social programs, Eisenhower failed to become a civil rights leader. He was "at best a tepid supporter of civil rights" who actually opposed school integration (Miller Center of Public Affairs). Eisenhower's stagnation and lack of leadership in this primary area of domestic policy remains one of his key failures as president. Just as he half-heartedly supported McCarthy's rabid anti-communist policies, Eisenhower also hedged his bets on Civil Rights. The President could have stood firmly behind the landmark Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision but instead he avoided any comment on the ruling. Most likely "his silence encouraged resistance to school desegregation," (Miller Center of Public Affairs).

Eisenhower's leadership skills seemed their strongest during the early half of his career, when he slowly rose through the ranks of the American military to become the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces and the Supreme Commander of NATO. For a man from Texas whose performance at West Point was mediocre, his achievements seem even more significant. Eisenhower's tenure...

First, Eisenhower was adept at foreign relations. The strength of his two terms was his involvement in foreign affairs. He was a worldly president who had lived abroad representing the United States during his military career. Aiding the Allied forces and commanding NATO also allowed Eisenhower to prove his communication and negotiation skills. Moreover, his foreign relations and diplomacy record reveals Eisenhower's problem solving abilities. Eisenhower also knew the keys to transformational leadership, capitalizing on anti-communist rhetoric to fuel the space race, engender patriotism, and keep foreign affairs at the forefront of American policy. The United States had gone from being a rather isolationist nation to a superpower with interventionist tendencies.
Eisenhower's military and political achievements helped position the United States as a world superpower. His leadership skills can be based just as much on the consequences of his decisions as on his motives. One of the most remarkable features of Eisenhower's career was the way he steadily transformed from an ordinary military officer into a man who held numerous strategic posts on several continents. His decorated military and political career led Army officials to declare that "the name Eisenhower is synonymous with dynamic leadership in a complex international environment," (Vuono & Stone 1990).

References

Miller Center of Public Affairs. University of Virginia. Retrieved June 30, 2007 at http://www.millercenter.virginia.edu/index.php/academic/americanpresident/eisenhower

Simkin, J. "Dwight D. Eisenhower." Spartacus Educational. Retrieved June 30, 2007 at http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAeisenhower.htm#cooliris

Vuono, C.E. & Stone, M.P.W. (1990). Dwight David Eisenhower: The Centennial. Retrieved June 30, 2007 at http://www.army.mil/cmh/brochures/Ike/ike.htm

The White House. "Dwight D. Eisenhower." Retrieved June 30, 2007 at http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/de34.html