Was Eisenhower a Jehovah's Witness?

Rumors have long circulated that President Eisenhower had some close personal connection to Jehovah's Witnesses. This video examines the historical evidence, and especially looks at a fascinating Jehovah's Witness woman, his mother Ida Eisenhower.

Major References:

Bergman, Jerry. Steeped in religion: President Eisenhower and the influence of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. 1998, Autumn. Kansas History. https://www.kshs.org/publicat/history/1998autumn_bergman.pdf

Holmes, David L. The faiths of the postwar presidents: From Truman to Obama. 2012. University of Georgia Press. https://books.google.com/books?id=zRIze-r8KdIC&pg=PA31&lpg=PA31&dq=west+point+academy+jehovah&source=bl&ots=HaTV3Y-Vuf&sig=ACfU3U3q-p5jYJKB4SJ9ada9FhZ7Ynu5zg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjb7PGh4brjAhWNLc0KHeaRBGM4ChDoATACegQIBhAB#v=onepage&q=west%20point%20academy%20jehovah&f=false

Other Useful References:

Alderfer, Owen H. Concern for holiness in the Brethren in Christ. The Asbury Seminarian. https://place.asburyseminary.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1645&context=asburyjournal

Cole, Marley. Jehovah’s Witnesses: The new world society. 1955. Vantage Press. https://archive.org/details/JehovahsWitnessesTheNewWorldSocietyByMarleyCole/page/n213/mode/2up?q=eisenhower

Dodd, Gladys. The religious background of the Eisenhower family. 1959. Nazarene Theological Seminary. https://nyi.whdl.org/sites/default/files/EN_Dodd_Thesis_compressed_0.pdf

Eisenhower Library. Jehovah’s Witnesses Abilene Congregation: Records and related materials, 1912-1943. Eisenhowerlibrary.gov https://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/finding-aids/pdf/jehovah-witnesses-records.pdf

Eisenhower Library. The Eisenhower brothers. 2020, May 11. Eisenhowerlibrary.gov https://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/eisenhowers/eisenhower-brothers

Irish, Kerry. Hometown support in the midst of war: Dwight Eisenhower’s wartime correspondence with Abilene friends. 2002, Spring. Kansas History. https://www.kshs.org/publicat/history/2002spring_irish.pdf

Medina, Dennis. The Eisenhower family home in Abilene, Kansas. 2007. White House Historical Association. https://www.whitehousehistory.org/the-eisenhower-family-home-in-abilene-kansas

Other:
Getty Images also has a few nice photos of Ida at https://www.gettyimages.com/photos/ida-eisenhower?family=editorial&phrase=ida%20eisenhower&sort=mostpopular

Видео Was Eisenhower a Jehovah's Witness? канала The Blue Envelope