DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER (R) - 1953-1961
The military hero of World War II wasn't the first general to become president, and being a general hasn't ever been a good indication of how effective a president one can be (see Washington, George or Grant, Ulysses for varied results).
It was his foreign policy where he left his mark. The Cold War 1950's could have easily escalated into World War III, and Ike was determined to make it not so. He ended "Truman's War" in Korea and found Russia easier to deal with once Stalin died in 1953. He suffered a little embarrassment over the U2 incident but refused to apologize for it. He also, as a general, was suited to warn the nation about the military-industrial complex.
Domestically, the 34th President's biggest accomplishment was the interstate highway system. He also had escalating racial issues to deal with. Brown v. the Board of Education happened on his watch, and his own civil rights legislation was the first successful reform since Grant.
He was also the first President affected by the term limits of the 22nd Amendment, though he likely wouldn't have run for a third term. He had a heart attack during his second term and later died of another heart attack in 1969.
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