On this day in history, November 5, 1952:
General Dwight D Eisenhower has won a landslide victory in the U.S. presidential elections, racking up the highest number of popular votes in American history. He received 31,552,768 popular votes and 431 electoral college votes, many more than the 266 needed for a majority.
Ike's popularity with the American people is due to his experience as a military hero in World War II, when he was the supreme Allied commander and led the D-Day invasion of the Normandy beaches, turning the tide of the war on the Western Front. His 40-year military career culminated in his appointment as commander-in-chief of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1951.
At the Commodore Hotel in New York, the president-elect told the American people in his victory speech: "I recognize clearly the weight of the responsibilities that you have placed upon me and I assure you that I shall never in my service in Washington give short weight to those responsibilities."
Stevenson Concedes Defeat
The election results come after months of a hard-fought campaign against Illinois Democratic Governor Adlai E Stevenson, who won 25,409,335 votes, 10 states and 100 electoral college votes. Most commentators had expected a much closer contest. Many Southern states, traditionally Democratic, swung to the Republicans for the first time in 35 years. Eisenhower's campaign slogan. "I like Ike," proved to be a winner everywhere.
Stevenson issued a statement, saying "The people have rendered their verdict, and I gladly accept it. General Eisenhower has been a great leader in war. He has been a vigorous and valiant opponent in the campaign. These qualities will now be dedicated to leading us all through the next four years."
President Truman sent a telegram congratulating Eisenhower on his "overwhelming victory" and has invited him to the White House for talks. One of the new president's most pressing challenges will be to deal with the war in Korea. During the campaign, he promised to visit that nation and is planning to do so within the next 10 days.
West Point Graduate
Dwight David Eisenhower, nicknamed "Ike," grew up in Abilene, Kansas on a farm with six brothers. His education was rudimentary. He attended Abilene High School and graduated in 1909. Then, he landed a job as a night foreman at the Belle Springs Creamery. After he worked for two years to support one brother's college education, a friend urged him to apply to the Naval Academy. He passed the entrance exam, but was over the age of eligibility for admission.
A Kansas senator recommended him for an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1911. Eisenhower graduated in the upper half of the class of 1915, known as “the class the stars fell on” because 59 members eventually became officers.
Eisenhower long wanted to play professional baseball. At West Point, he tried out for the team, but failed to make it. He would later say that "not making the baseball team at West Point was one of the greatest disappointments of my life, maybe my greatest.” But he made the football team, and played on the varsity as a running back and linebacker.
