# Dwight Eisenhower *34th president of the United States (1953–1961); the president who nominated Warren Burger and Harry Blackmun to federal appellate courts.* Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969) was the 34th president of the United States and held office from 1953 to 1961. He was the nominee of the [[Republican Party (United States)]]. Before the presidency he was an Army general who commanded Allied forces in the Second World War and later became the first supreme commander of NATO.[^1] In the [[Minnesota]] record he appears as the president who placed two Minnesotans on the federal appellate bench. He nominated Warren Burger to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on January 12, 1956.[^2] He nominated [[Harry Blackmun]] to the Eighth Circuit on August 18, 1959.[^3] Before the first of these nominations, Burger had led the Minnesota delegation's switch from [[Harold Stassen]] to Eisenhower at the 1952 Republican National Convention, and he had then served in Eisenhower's Department of Justice.[^4] As president, Eisenhower signed the Civil Rights Act of 1957 and the [[Civil Rights Act of 1960]].[^5][^6] In September 1957 he sent the 101st Airborne to Little Rock, Arkansas.[^7] The record documents the dates, offices and signatures. It does not establish his reasons for any appointment. ## Who Eisenhower was born on October 14, 1890, in Denison, Texas. His family moved to Abilene, Kansas, in 1892.[^1] He finished at West Point in 1915. In the Second World War he oversaw the Allied landings in North Africa and Sicily and supervised the invasions of France and Germany. He was promoted to the five-star rank of General of the Army in 1944.[^1] His postwar posts were Army Chief of Staff (1945–1948), president of Columbia University (1948–1953) and NATO's first supreme commander (1951–1952).[^1] He ran for president as a Republican in 1952.[^1][^8] He defeated Adlai Stevenson II in the 1952 general election and again in 1956.[^1][^9] His average approval in the Gallup poll over the two terms was 63 percent, which the Wikipedia article ranks second-highest in history.[^1] Assessments after he left office faulted him on several points. Critics said he was reluctant to back the civil rights movement as far as activists sought, even though he had used Army troops at Little Rock. They also faulted him for not publicly opposing McCarthyism.[^1] ## In the at-issue record The project's at-issue catalogue carries one pair on Eisenhower (AI-Ramsey-016). It concerns the 1952 Republican National Convention. According to the project's validated Warren E. Burger dossier, Burger led the Minnesota delegation to switch its votes there from Harold Stassen to Eisenhower. The dossier's source credits that move with securing the nomination.[^4] Burger was Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice from 1953 to 1956. The project's Time Table dates his service under Eisenhower from January 1953.[^4] Eisenhower nominated him to the D.C. Circuit on January 12, 1956, and he sat on that court from 1956 to 1969.[^2][^4] The dossier further records the following: - Burger was sworn in as Chief Justice of the United States on June 23, 1969, after a 74–3 confirmation vote. - On March 8, 1971, he wrote the opinion in [[Griggs v. Duke Power]] (*Griggs v. Duke Power Co.*, 401 U.S. 424), an 8–0 decision.[^4] The catalogue pairs this appointment chain with a January 2025 White House presidential action on federal DEI programs.[^10] The record shows a sequence: the convention vote, then the appointments, then the opinion. It does not establish that any appointment was made in return for the 1952 vote. ## In the Minnesota record ### Who - On October 30, 1953, Eisenhower formally appointed Warren, and Warren took the judicial oath, according to the project's Time Table.[^11] - From 1953 to 1956, Warren Burger served as Assistant Attorney General, Civil Division, in Eisenhower's Justice Department.[^4] - On January 12, 1956, Eisenhower nominated Burger to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.[^2] - On August 18, 1959, Eisenhower nominated Harry Blackmun to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.[^3] - The Eisenhower Library's online documents include materials on Harold Stassen as Mutual Security Administrator and as disarmament advisor in the Eisenhower administration.[^12] ### What - **Civil Rights Act of 1957.** Eisenhower signed it on September 9, 1957. The Act created the Civil Rights Commission.[^5] - **[[Communist Control Act of 1954]].** Eisenhower signed it in 1954 and issued a presidential statement on signing.[^13] - **Civil Rights Act of 1960.** Eisenhower signed it on May 6, 1960. The Act created federal voting referees.[^6] The record identifies all three as signed by a Republican president. The pack does not carry the congressional votes by party. ### Where - **Little Rock, Arkansas.** On September 24, 1957, Eisenhower ordered the 101st Airborne to Little Rock to enforce desegregation.[^7] - The deployment enforced a federal desegregation order at Central High School. The Wikipedia article on Eisenhower describes this use of Army troops as without precedent.[^1] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia, *Dwight D. Eisenhower* (revision 1382136609, retrieved 2026-10-27) — establishes his birth, career, presidency, elections, Gallup average, and the assessments of his record on civil rights, Little Rock and McCarthyism. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwight_D._Eisenhower [^2]: Federal Judicial Center, *Burger, Warren Earl* (Biographical Directory of Federal Judges) — establishes Eisenhower's nomination of Burger to the U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit, January 12, 1956 (Time Table row TL-0073). https://www.fjc.gov/history/judges/burger-warren-earl [^3]: Federal Judicial Center, *Blackmun, Harry Andrew* (Biographical Directory of Federal Judges) — establishes Eisenhower's nomination of Blackmun to the Eighth Circuit, August 18, 1959 (Time Table row TL-0098). https://www.fjc.gov/history/judges/blackmun-harry-andrew [^4]: Wikipedia, *Warren E. Burger*, read with the project's validated *Warren E. Burger Apex Dossier* (2026-09-02) §III — establishes the 1952 delegation switch from Stassen to Eisenhower, Burger's service as Assistant Attorney General 1953–56 (Time Table row TL-0051: from January 1953), his D.C. Circuit service 1956–69, his June 23, 1969 swearing-in as Chief Justice (74–3), and his authorship of *Griggs v. Duke Power Co.*, 401 U.S. 424 (March 8, 1971, 8–0). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_E._Burger [^5]: Eisenhower Presidential Library, *Civil Rights Act of 1957* (online documents) — establishes that Eisenhower signed the Act on September 9, 1957, and that it created the Civil Rights Commission (Time Table row TL-0085). https://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/research/online-documents/civil-rights-act-1957 [^6]: Wikipedia, *Civil Rights Act of 1960* — establishes that Eisenhower signed the Act on May 6, 1960, and that it created federal voting referees (Time Table row TL-0106). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Rights_Act_of_1960 [^7]: Wikipedia, *Little Rock Nine* — establishes the deployment of the 101st Airborne to Little Rock, Arkansas, on September 24, 1957, to enforce desegregation (Time Table row TL-0087). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Rock_Nine [^8]: Eisenhower Presidential Library, *1952 Election Campaign* — establishes the Library's account of Eisenhower's 1952 campaign. https://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/eisenhowers-presidential-years/1952-election-campaign [^9]: Eisenhower Presidential Library, *1956 Election Campaign* — establishes the Library's account of Eisenhower's 1956 campaign. https://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/eisenhowers-presidential-years/1956-election-campaign [^10]: The White House, *Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing* (presidential action, January 2025) — the anchor document for at-issue pair AI-Ramsey-016. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/ending-radical-and-wasteful-government-dei-programs-and-preferencing/ [^11]: Justia, *347 U.S. 483* (U.S. Supreme Court case page) — the source cited by Time Table row TL-0056 for Eisenhower's formal appointment of Warren and Warren's judicial oath, October 30, 1953. https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/347/483/ [^12]: Eisenhower Presidential Library, *Online Documents* — establishes the Library's materials on Harold Stassen as Mutual Security Administrator and disarmament advisor (claim S-189). https://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/research/online-documents [^13]: The American Presidency Project, *Statement by the President Upon Signing the Communist Control Act of 1954* (1954) — establishes Eisenhower's signing of the Act and his statement upon signing (claim S-190). https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/statement-the-president-upon-signing-the-communist-control-act-1954