The President Who Saved the World

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Mr. Beat tells the story of Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower, one of the greatest generals and presidents in American history.

Produced by Matt Beat. All images and video by Matt Beat, used under fair use guidelines, or found in the public domain. Music by @ElectricNeedleRoom, @theminivandals1840, @badsnacks, @kingcanyon, and the U.S. Army Band.

Here's an annotated script with footnotes:

Sources/further reading:
Eisenhower: Becoming the Leader of the Free World by Louis Galambos
Purchase here:
How Ike Led: The Principles Behind Eisenhower’s Biggest Decisions by Susan Eisenhower
Purchase here:
Eisenhower in War and Peace by Jean Edward Smith
Purchase here:
Eisenhower Volume 1: Soldier, General of the Army, President-Elect, 1890-1952 by Stephen Ambrose
Purchase here:
Eisenhower Volume 2: The President by Stephen Ambrose
Purchase here:

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#ike #eisenhower #presidents

Before the release of his private papers in the 1970s, historians generally viewed Ike as too hands-off, as someone who’d rather play golf than run the country. However, after that suddenly historians viewed Eisenhower in a new light, and his reputation dramatically got better. Today, he is often considered not only one of the greatest generals in American history, but one of the greatest Presidents in American history.

Dwight Eisenhower is now my second favorite President in American history. The more I learn about him, the more I’m impressed. I mean, the dude freaking saved the world. In my opinion, he had all the attributes that make a great leader. Courage, integrity, humility, pragmatism, flexibility, and vision. Not only did he know how to work with all types of personalities, he actively learned from working with all types of personalities. Above all, he valued relationships, the Constitution, and American democracy. We haven’t had a leader like him since. (turn) So yeah, you bet your butt I like Ike.

Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:46 2019
3:22 YouGov
4:32 1890
7:07 1910
9:18 1915
11:22 1919
14:24 1933
25:14 1952
36:39 1962
37:48 2022
39:56 Channel Memberships

[iammrbeat]

Which President should I cover next?
Also, not only do I take YouGov polls all the time, I've been taking their polls for several years. Imagine my delight when they approached me to sponsor! In particular, I dig the political polls since no one ever calls me to poll me.
#YouGovPartner

[TheMasonK]

Not talked about in the video; during the Cuban Missile Crisis JFK called Eisenhower and they talked about how to handle the situation. JFK fondly referred to him as general and both of their concerns were squarely on resolving the crisis. That kind of respect between political rivals is unheard of today. A time when being American was more important than being Republican or Democrat.

[kumarg]

I met a soldier who went on d-day. He told me ike was holding back tears the night before when he went to visit the troops. Ike knew he was sending a lot of soldiers to die and couldnt take the guilt.

[comradepetri]

Eisenhower was definitely right about the dangers of the military industrial complex and the monetization of brutal wars, sadly many of his successors didn’t heed his warning.

[bonnieamirault]

My dad was one of the brave soldiers of D-Day. Those young men experienced things no person should witness. I am in awe of my dad's strength and bravery. He lived through it and came home to Worcester Mass where he met and married my mom, and raised a wonderful family. He lived 96 incredible years.

[DerreckPressley]

Your kids are precious and don't worry, one day they'll develop an appreciation for history and all the trips you took them on...just not on this day. Keep up the good work Mr. Beat!

[BenjaminRothove]

I think it is interesting that Grant was elected President after the Civil War, then Eisenhower was elected after WWII. I wonder if a military general could ever be elected again. In the political landscape of today, I'm not so sure.

[jessicafournerat]

Dwight was also correct in the fact that there would eventually be holocaust deniers who denied that the holocaust happened and he showed those pictures to prove that the holocaust did really happen.

[secondavenger]

"I Like Ike" is quite a wholesome slogan for a tough, war veteran president. I wasn't alive for the 1950s elections, but I've always liked to imagine crowds of people with signs chanting it. I'll bet it was a lot nicer than how candidates and their supporters act in today's election seasons...

[howardcitizen]

I saw a clip a couple years back of Eisenhower being interviewed by several reporters shortly after the Kennedy assassination. I was struck that all the reporters addressed him as "General" rather than "Mr. President".

[MrThejboeoh]

It is insane how many people don't comprehend the "military industrial complex " as he states how important it is to "comprehend it"in his farewell speech.Just a tiny hint...it doesn't always pertain to the "military" 😉

[poesc]

At first I thought 40 minutes was too long to watch a video on Eisenhower, but I loved every minute of it. You’ve definitely convinced me he was a top president.

[FourEyedFrenchman]

Washington set the standard for the office, Lincoln upheld and preserved it, and Eisenhower cemented it as the most powerful office on the planet.

[hunterhobday]

"You always want to go to 'History Things, ' "
"Yeah, they're fun!"
"Stop it, " -- "No they're NOT!"
Hilarious

[penndawt]

Imagine if Richard Nixon used the "I like Ike" campaign", using "I like Dick".

[Awww]

Eisenhower is easily one of my favorite historical figures. Men like him make me proud to be an American. 🗽

[NPGA]

I'm not an American but I can't no express my admiration and respect for Dwight Eisenhower the guy saved the world at least three times, not a lot of people can say the same

[kenhenderson]

In early 1952 a group of prominent Republicans, led by Thomas Dewey, visited Eisenhower at NATO headquarters. They assured him that, without doubt, 1952 would be a Republican year and the leading Republican candidate for the nomination was Robert Taft, an isolationist who questioned US participation in NATO. This horrified Eisenhower who was a huge supporter of NATO. Eisenhower agreed to become a Republican candidate - to stop Taft.

[peterfox]

I hate Eisehower for what he did in Central America with the banana republics and I hate his domino theory which got the US into vietnam.

[lexus]

A fun fact: Eisenhower was a close friend of Gregori Zhukov, the main general of the red army, he even organised unmarked undyed Coke to be shipped of to the soviet union disguised as vodka for Zhukov since he loved the beverage. Had Zhukov gotten the chair of General secretary instead of Krushcev tensions between the US and USSR would have normalised mutch faster.