Three days from now, after half a century in the service of our country, I shall lay down the responsibilities of office as, in traditional and solemn ceremony, the authority of the Presidency is vested in my successor.
His farewell address was a warning to his successors of one of the many things they would have to be wary of in the coming years. A new, younger generation was rising to national power that would set a more youthful, vigorous course. The end of Eisenhower’s term as President not only marked the end of the 1950s, but also the end of an era in government.
The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience.Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications.
But now we can no longer risk emergency improvisation of national defense we have been compelled to create a permanent armaments industry of vast proportions. American makers of plowshares could, with time and as required, make swords as well. Our arms must be might, ready for instant action, so that no potential aggressor may be tempted to risk his own destruction. A vital element in keeping the peace is our military establishment. He eventually described it as a necessary evil.
Though he did not say so explicitly, his standing as a military leader helped give him the credibility to stand up to the pressures of this new, powerful interest group. Eisenhower thought this growth was needed to counter the Soviet Union, but it confounded him. Nonetheless, the American military services and the defense industry had expanded a great deal in the 1950s. Douglas MacArthur's, were surprised at his strong warnings about the dangers of the "military-industrial complex."Īs President of the United States for two terms, Eisenhower had slowed the push for increased defense spending despite pressure to build more military equipment during the Cold War’s arms race. Those who expected the military leader and hero of World War II to depart his Presidency with a nostalgic, "old soldier" speech like Gen. In a speech of less than 10 minutes, on January 17, 1961, President Dwight Eisenhower delivered his political farewell to the American people on national television from the Oval Office of the White House.
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