As early as 1959, Dwight D. Eisenhower, the sole general to be elected president in the 20th century, began to work with his younger brother Milton, president of Johns Hopkins University, and Malcolm Moos, his chief speechwriter, to create his final statement as he left public life. | AFP/Getty Images this day in politics Eisenhower warns of ‘military-industrial complex,’ Jan. 17, 1961

On this day in 1961, Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th president, delivered a farewell address in which he warned the nation about the corrupting influence of the “military-industrial complex.” (In 1944, during World War II, Eisenhower, as a five-star general, had led the Allied invasion of the Nazi-occupied European continent.)

As he put it in his final televised speech:


“Until the latest of our world conflicts, the United States had no armaments industry. American makers of plowshares could, with time and as required, make swords as well. But we can no longer risk emergency improvisation of national defense.

“We have been compelled to create a permanent armaments industry of vast proportions. Added to this, 3½ million men and women are directly engaged in the defense establishment. We annually spend on military security alone more than the net income of all United States corporations.

“Now this conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence — economic, political, even spiritual — is felt in every city, every statehouse, every office of the federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet, we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved. So is the very structure of our society.

“In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.”

As early as 1959, Eisenhower, the sole general to be elected president in the 20th century, began to work with his younger brother Milton, president of Johns Hopkins University, and Malcolm Moos, his chief speechwriter, to create his final statement as he left public life. According to Susan Eisenhower, his granddaughter, the 1,800-word speech went through at least 21 drafts, marking “a solemn moment in a decidedly unsolemn time,” warning a nation “giddy with prosperity, infatuated with youth and glamour, and aiming increasingly for the easy life.”

Eisenhower had served in the White House for two full terms. He was the first president to be limited by an amendment to the U.S. Constitution from seeking reelection. The 1960 election had resulted in the defeat of Richard M. Nixon, his vice president, by Sen. John F. Kennedy (D-Mass.). In three days’ time, the oldest American president in a century would hand the reins of presidential power to the youngest one ever elected.

SOURCE: “This Day in Presidential History,” by Paul Brandus (2018)

