The
presidency of General Dwight David Eisenhower, from 1953 to 1961, was a
Republican interlude during the
Fifth Party System, following 20 years of Democratic control of the White House. It was a period of peace and prosperity, and interparty cooperation, even as the world was polarized by the
Cold War. His main legacy is the
Interstate Highway System. He also signed the
Civil Rights acts of 1957 and
1960, completed desegregation of the
United States Military, sent the National Guard to Arkansas to enforce racial integration, created
NASA, and made the space race against Russia a high priority. Ike, as he was popularly known, expanded the Social Security program but otherwise did not try to change the surviving "
New Deal" welfare programs. A
liberal Republican, President Eisenhower warned against the
military-industrial complex. He is consistently ranked by scholars and political historians as one of the ten greatest American presidents.