University of North Texas

War hero and presidential candidate Dwight D. Eisenhower attracted a crowd in downtown Denton during a campaign trip. What year did Eisenhower visit?

A. 1944

B. 1955

C. 1960

D. 1952

The correct answer is D: 1952. The Yucca yearbook noted that “a crowd of several thousand stood by to greet the Big Man himself” on June 21, 1952, five months before his election. “If every citizen does his duty every day in our electoral and political process, the term ‘politician’ will become the most honored one among us," he said.

Eisenhower visited his birthplace, Dension, before arriving in Denton, and then campaigned in Dallas. The slogan "I Like Ike" was popular, and the 1952 party conventions and campaign were the first to extensively use the relatively new medium of television.

Enter to win a UNT T-shirt gift pack by sending an e-mail to InHouse with “Ike” in the subject line by 5 p.m. Oct. 29. Winners will be selected at random from all responses.

It's not a presidential election year, but Texans will select Congressional representatives, a governor, state officials, legislators and judicial officials Nov. 2.

Faculty commentators and student reporters will broadcast election news from Denton County from 7 to 10 p.m. Nov. 2 in the University Union on student-operated ntTV. The TV station won a Lone Star Emmy for a similar broadcast on election night 2008, and for the 2010 Republican gubernatorial debate Jan. 14.

Eisenhower was a five star general in the U.S. Army who served as Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces during World War II. As commander, he was responsible for the Normandy invasion, the largest amphibious assault in world history, and the invasion of France and Germany in 1944-45. After the war, he was the president of Columbia University, and then the first commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO.  

Eisenhower was elected 34^th president, defeating Democratic candidate Adlai Stevenson, governor of Illinois. Eisenhower was re-elected in 1956, again defeating Stevenson.

Another two-term Republican president, George W. Bush, right, will speak at 8 p.m. Nov. 17 in the Coliseum. Bush is the first president to speak at UNT.

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