‘Now the “Elder Statesman”, photographed in retirement at his Gettysburg farm, Eisenhower still retained the same geniality and warmth that had made him an allied military hero and subsequently President of the United States. ’ (Karsh)
During World War II, General Eisenhower was Commander-in-Chief of Allied Forces in North Africa and Italy (1942–1943) and Supreme Commander of Allied Expeditionary Forces in Western Europe (1943–1945). In 1951 he assumed supreme command over the new NATO forces being assembled. Republican emissaries to his headquarters near Paris persuaded him to run for president in 1952. He won a landslide victory in 1953. Early in his presidency, with tensions arising from the Cold War, un-American activities became a major issue leading to the formation of the US Senate Un-American Activities Committee, chaired by Senator Joseph McCarthy. Eisenhower won a second term in 1956 and retired to his farm after two terms in 1961.