Process Paper
Why did we choose Dwight D Eisenhower as our topic?
Being at two opposite ends of the political spectrum, we began our research by looking for a representative of leadership (in political science specifically since we narrowed our topic down to that last summer) that bridged the gap between our political differences. After conducting research on a few selected U.S presidents that would primarily be a well-rounded, non-polarized individual, we eventually came across one that stood out to us as a perfect match: Dwight David Eisenhower. He had accomplished many successes in his lifetime without enforcing his political background onto too many of them. He had an incredibly successful military career as Supreme Allied Commander which we found incredibly interesting as we furthered our research. We began conducting our research at the Eisenhower Archives knowing that we would find many primary sources and secondary that would be substantially.
Challenges we came across…
We chose the website category to represent Eisenhower since we wanted to take the challenge of portraying such a heroic figure through the use of multimedia, images etc. With the word limit, we knew that we could not portray his legacy merely through words so we had to overcome what we were used to and branch out to different means of communicating ideas.
As we are at opposite ends of the political spectrum (or, as we prefer to use for our numerous political debates, the Nolan Political Chart), we came across, naturally, conflicts concerning how to not make our historical website bias. What we did not realize at the time was that these “conflicts and the fact that we had researched such a non-polarized president such as Eisenhower really bridged our political differences greatly. There is no doubt that the research that we conducted will benefit our knowledge in the long run.
The Life, Leadership and Legacy of President Eisenhower…
Dwight David Eisenhower’s life was full of giving back to the nation he was raised in and loved unconditionally. Seeing as he not only led the United States as President but he held the position of Supreme Allied Commander and kept America at peace during the toughest of times, his leadership skills are very prominent. As we drive past interstate signs on the way out of Frankfort, a spark of excitement always floods us as we rush to tell our parents about why Eisenhower took it upon himself to make an executive order that should’ve been dealt by state governments. Because of President Eisenhower, travel is at ease for millions of travelers each day. America would not be at its tranquil state if it weren't for his heroic actions that he did as Supreme Allied Commander. Representing and analyzing this man’s early life transition to an ambitious, influential leader that has changed the U.S significantly has been, by far, the greatest experience we have ever had with National History Day.