Talk:Dwight D. Eisenhower/GA1

GA Review
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Hey all, I'll be reviewing this article for possible GA status. Cheers, Nikkimaria (talk) 18:38, 20 July 2009 (UTC)


 * I'm going to put this on hold to allow contributors time to address my concern. Once you feel it's ready, contact me on my talk page and I'll re-evaluate the article. Cheers, Nikkimaria (talk) 22:09, 20 July 2009 (UTC)

Writing and formatting

 * Per WP:Lead, articles of this size should have a 3-4 paragraph lead
 * There are a lot of one- and two-line paragraphs; these would be better off expanded or combined.
 * "Eisenhower's mother, Ida E. Stover Eisenhower, previously a member of the River Brethren sect of the Mennonites, joined the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society which would evolve into what is now known as Jehovah's Witnesses between 1895 and 1900, when Eisenhower was a child" - run-on sentence, revise or split.
 * "He is the only president known to have undertaken these rites while in office. Eisenhower was instrumental in the addition of the words "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance in 1954, and the 1956 adoption of "In God We Trust" as the motto of the US, and its 1957 introduction on paper currency" - a bit run-on, which muddles the meaning somewhat. Please revise.
 * "The next week however, Eisenhower would hurt his knee after being tackled around the ankles, which he would soon worsen and permanently damage on horseback and in the boxing ring" - unclear, should be revised
 * The information about his football experience is in both "early life" and "early military career"
 * Citations should be placed after punctuation, not before
 * The 3rd paragraph in "World War II" has a intra-article link to a section that no longer exists
 * There are a few run-on sentences - these should be revised or split
 * "and given operational" -> "and was given operational"
 * Instead of Arms race, the article should link to nuclear arms race.
 * "Other awards" and "United States awards" would probably be better off as prose
 * "See also" should generally not contain links found in the body text
 * Your "Further reading" system has Ambrose listed 3 times, and several sources don't fit neatly into one category or the other - is there a better way to organize this?
 * The tag on "External links" needs to be addressed
 * External links 8, 10, 13, 15 are broken
 * The external link to Wikisource is covered by the interwiki link
 * Some of the external links are covered by references

Accuracy and verifiability

 * "Citations needed" tags must be addressed before this article can achieve GA status
 * Citations needed for the following:
 * the first president born in that state
 * John, coincidentally, graduated from West Point on D-Day, June 6, 1944
 * At his death in 1942, Eisenhower's father was given a funeral service as though he remained one of Jehovah's Witnesses
 * Despite their differences in religious beliefs, Eisenhower enjoyed a close relationship with his mother.
 * He is the only president known to have undertaken these rites while in office
 * Eisenhower was instrumental in the addition of the words "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance
 * The chapel at his presidential library is intentionally inter-denominational.
 * Eisenhower was sworn into office with his personal West Point Bible, open to Psalm 33:12, at both his 1953 and 1957 inaugural ceremonies
 * After Dwight worked for two years to support his brother Edgar's college education, a friend urged him to apply to the Naval Academy.
 * Controversy persists over whether Eisenhower played minor league (semi-professional) baseball for Junction City in the Central Kansas League the year before he attended West Point and played amateur football there.
 * His parents were against militarism, but did not object to his entering West Point because they supported his education
 * Eisenhower was a strong athlete and enjoyed notable successes in his competitive endeavors
 * Under Conner's tutelage, he studied military history and theory (including Karl von Clausewitz's On War), and later cited Conner's enormous influence on his military thinking
 * During the late 1920s and early 1930s Eisenhower's career in the peacetime Army stagnated; many of his friends resigned for high-paying business jobs
 * It is sometimes said that this assignment provided valuable preparation for handling the challenging personalities of Winston Churchill, George S. Patton and Bernard Law Montgomery during World War II
 * Although his administrative abilities had been noticed, on the eve of the U.S. entry into World War II he had never held an active command and was far from being considered as a potential commander of major operations
 * The word "expeditionary" was dropped soon after his appointment for security reasons (and you should explain what is meant by "security reasons". Why is the word "expeditionary" important?)
 * Although he had never seen action himself, he won the respect of front-line commanders. He dealt skillfully with difficult subordinates such as Omar Bradley and Patton, and allies such as Winston Churchill, Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery and General Charles de Gaulle. He had fundamental disagreements with Churchill and Montgomery over questions of strategy, but these rarely upset his relationships with them
 * such was the confidence that President Franklin D. Roosevelt had in him, he sometimes worked directly with Stalin, much to the chagrin of the British High Command who disliked being bypassed. During the advance towards Berlin, he was notified by General Bradley that Allied forces would suffer an estimated 100,000 casualties before taking the city.
 * the alternate BBC speech - source?
 * He made the decision to reclassify German prisoners of war (POWs) in U.S. custody as Disarmed Enemy Forces
 * It is widely regarded as one of the finest U.S. military memoirs.
 * After his many wartime successes, Eisenhower was a great hero in the U.S. He was unusual for a military hero as he never saw the front line in his life
 * Not long after his return in 1952, a "Draft Eisenhower" movement in the Republican party persuaded him to declare his candidacy
 * Eisenhower promised during his campaign to go to Korea himself and end the war there. He also promised to maintain both a strong NATO commitment against Communism and a corruption-free frugal administration at home
 * Eisenhower was the only general to serve as President in the 20th century, and the most recent President to have never held elected office prior to the Presidency.
 * Eisenhower won his second term in 1956 with 457 of 531 votes in the Electoral College, and 57.6% of the popular vote.
 * It was believed that large cities would be targets in a possible future war, and the highways were designed to evacuate them and allow the military to move in.
 * "prepared to use armed force...[to counter] aggression from any country controlled by international communism."
 * he sent just under 15,000 soldiers to Lebanon
 * However, Chief of Staff Matthew Ridgway dissuaded the President from intervening by presenting a comprehensive estimate of the massive military deployment that would be necessary.
 * Eisenhower became the first U.S. president to be "constitutionally forced" from office
 * "If you give me a week, I might think of one."
 * quotes in "End of presidency"
 * he was seen as having been a "do-nothing" President
 * In recent surveys of historians, Eisenhower often is ranked in the top 10 among all US Presidents.
 * Eisenhower was the first President to hire a White House Chief of Staff or "gatekeeper"
 * A tree overhanging the 17th hole that always gave him trouble at Augusta National Golf Club


 * Links 2, 14, 15, 18, 19, 46, 55, 56, 71 in References are broken
 * Use the multi-ref format for repeated references
 * All web references need access dates

Broad

 * More emphasis is placed on his military career over his presidency, but his presidency is arguably what he was best known for
 * The entrance of Hawaii and Alaska is worth more than two short bullet points

Neutrality

 * Check the article against WP:WTA - certain words add editorial bias to the article and should be avoided
 * Avoid WP:Weasel words - be precise in meaning and in sources for statements
 * Avoid WP:Peacock terms - if Eisenhower is known as the "greatest" at something, source that and phrase it so it's clear that this is someone's opinion

Stable
No issues noted

Images

 * The Khrushchev image uses a deprecated image tag that needs to be replaced

Additional comment
I'd just like to add that the "Legacy" section needs further referencing and content. The contrast between liberal historians of the 60s and 70s and contemporary historians needs references, and preferably also names and quotes to back it up. I also agree that the awards sections need to be put into prose. The same goes for "Tributes and memorials", which is essentially a list. Wikipedia is not a directory, such a list needs not be comprehensive; a prose section describing the most important ones is enough. Lampman (talk) 20:54, 29 July 2009 (UTC)