Dwight D. Eisenhower

Dwight Eisenhower grew up in a large religious family in Kansas. Against the wishes of his mother, Eisenhower attended West Point Academy, after which he joined the military. Eisenhower became a five-star U.S. Army general during WWII, serving as Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe and later becoming NATO’s first supreme commander. From 1953 to 1961, Eisenhower, a Republican, served as the 34th president of the United States. At 62, he was the oldest person to be elected President since James Buchanan in 1856. A major achievement Eisenhower’s presidency was signing the bill that authorized the Interstate Highway System in 1956.