From the chaos and destruction of World War II, there emerged a victorious general who did nothing less than defeat the greatest threat to peace the world had ever known. And from the conflict, General Dwight D. Eisenhower forged his determination that such a nightmare could not and would not be repeated by the world in his lifetime.

After his presidential in 1953, Eisenhower personally visited United Nations forces in Korea in an effort to end the costly conflict. His proactive efforts were rewarded in March, when Chinese and North Korean forces agreed to an armistice, bringing their three-year long war to a close. When formulating policies, Eisenhower, already a general, chose to become a diplomat, ending the Korean War that killed so many on both sides through face to face interaction.

It was this opening overture to peace that fostered Russian acquiescence in Europe, where Communist forces voluntarily withdrew from Austria. Thus, by taking the first step on the road to peace in Korea, he showed a willingness to negotiate, and encourage a thawing of the Cold War. Eisenhower’s desire to improve America’s relationship with Russia in the Cold War led to a peace summit at Geneva, Switzerland. At Geneva, Eisenhower negotiated with the Soviet premier Nikolai Bulganin, proposing that both Russia and America open their air space for aerial reconnaissance to elevate fears of a surprise nuclear attack. Although Eisenhower’s proposal was rejected, it was an unprecedented effort to calm hostilities between the two Cold War superpowers.

Forgotten by many in the perilous Cold War era of the 1950’s were the fates of newly independent nations who had thrown off imperialist rulers after WWII. Preservation of peace being of paramount importance to President Eisenhower, he gave financial and humanitarian aid to these nations which stabilized their political institutions and developed their industries. Eisenhower’s efforts on their behalf, from Ghana to Indonesia, assisted Third World nations in their efforts to modernize and resist communist invasion. Eisenhower understood that peace within a country, stable governments and prosperous industries, promoted peace throughout the world.

Further examples of Eisenhower’s commitment to world peace are visible in his response to the Israeli-Egyptian conflict in July of 1965. At this regional flash point, Israeli forces aided by Britain and France launched a devastating sneak attack against Egypt, taking control of the Suez Canal. Originally, Egyptian forces had seized the canal, owned by Britain and France. Rather than back longtime allies in a victorious war, Eisenhower sponsored a UN resolution condemning the invasion. Going even further, he cut importation of oil to the aggressor nations, preventing a British/French taskforce from supporting the assault, and eventually forcing Israeli troops to withdraw. Without Eisenhower’s mutable character, willing to compromise, yet decisive and firm in his commitment to peace, the Suez Crisis might have precipitated a worldwide conflagration.

Yet while using negotiations to preserves the peace, Eisenhower also understood in some cases one must go beyond words to prevent conflict. One such example of Eisenhower’s peacekeeping methods was in Lebanon, where U.S. Marines ere deployed to prevent civil war between Christians and Muslims. However, the mark of a good pragmatic peacemaker is the ability to judge when not to keep the peace. Eisenhower’s discretion in that regard led to his decision not to send U.S. troops into Vietnam to support a revolt in Communist held Hungry in October of 1956, Eisenhower showed an unwillingness to expand America’s conflict with Communism into a larger war. As a result, it was as much Eisenhower’s keen judgment as his readiness to compromise that made him an effective peacemaker and kept the United States out of war.

In the face of bellicose threats and Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev’s efforts “to bury capitalism” and force the West to evacuate Berlin, Eisenhower displayed superb diplomacy. Forced into a position of diplomatic weakness by the launch of the Soviet’s Sputnik satellite, Eisenhower still managed to diffuse the crisis while retaining the West’s base in Berlin. Eisenhower still managed to diffuse the crisis while retaining the West’s base in Berlin. Eisenhower’s peace summit at Camp David, in which he invited Khrushchev, delayed the conflict until a proposed second conference in Paris.

Additionally, Eisenhower sagely labored to reduce the miniaturization of the Cold War and prevent nuclear conflict between the East and West. Eisenhower’s work produced the first nuclear arms limitation in 1958, when he voluntarily suspended aboveground nuclear weapons testing. He also refused to militarize outer space by developing satellites capable of launching nuclear strikes against the world. And most important of all, Eisenhower urged America to guard against “the military-industrial complex” and never lose hope in the twin ideals of freedom and peace.

In 1956, the President Eisenhower created, People-to-People. This citizen ambassador program opened the doors of governments and the homes of private citizens to cultural exchange and international understanding in the belief that people play a significant role in keeping world peace. In 1963 the program was extended to students. Today ambassadors, including middle and high school students, educators, ordinary private citizens and governmental leaders, embrace the belief that people are a valuable resource in promoting understanding, maintaining cultural and educational exchanges, and keeping peace alive. The People To People organization is President Eisenhower’s lasting legacy, while created in the 20th century extends into the 21st century promoting world peace through the people of the world.

Dwight David Eisenhower is the general who beat his sword into a plowshare. He is the president who kept peace in our nation, and worked to keep peace in the rest of the world. And for his pragmatic leadership that preserved us from a Third World War, I believe his the greatest peacemaker of the 20th century, for he has been by far the most effective. Willing to compromise, yet steadfast in crisis. Few men can say they saved the world once. Yet he has done it twice over.