U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Farewell Address is a legendary piece of writing, filled with wishes, hopes, dreams, and concerns. He looked into the future and it troubled him, during the speech he relayed his concerns as well as his dreams to the U.S. Congress, Senate, the American people, the incoming president, and the rest of the world.
Before we look at the address let’s first take a look at the man himself. “Ike” as he was fondly known, was not only a man of superior intelligence and bravery, he was also a visionary who seemed to sense what challenges and obstacles our nation would be facing in the very near future. As current historians look back it has become clearer that Ike was a better president than some who had thought otherwise. His current popularity ranking has continued to soar to new heights, ranking him near the top in several polls. During Eisenhower’s eight year presidency his administration managed to balance the national budget three times as excessive spending pressures were a constant issue. Most of Eisenhower’s presidency peace had been stable, our nation’s economy was growing, and there was a good feeling of a better life here in the U.S. Eisenhower’s desire was that he wanted the entire world to come together and get to know something about each other, create friendships that will lead to everlasting peace. He also had the vision to know to that in order for our nation to be respected we needed to have a powerful military. Our country was building a strong military, which in turn lead to a hefty military budget, something Eisenhower accepted painfully and knowingly. President Eisenhower accomplished many great things including supporting the building of interstate highways which lead to more travel and national business progress that boosted our economy. However, one of his most desirable goals was to end the Cold War with the Soviet Union, which he did not accomplish because he ran out of time.
During the address he would talk about the Cold War, government spending, and the U.S. Military and its role and position in the world. He also emphasized his concern about influence by military-industrial complex.

Eisenhower was about to turn over the presidency to the youngest elected president, John F. Kennedy, and this address would be the final time he would speak as President of the United States.
The speech took at least twenty one drafts before the final piece was completed and there were several issues that the president addressed. One issue left Eisenhower with much concern, complacency, and he expressed it by saying: “We must avoid the impulse to live only for today, plundering for our own ease and convenience the precious resources of tomorrow. We cannot mortgage the material assets of our grandchildren without risking the loss also of their political and spiritual heritage. We want democracy to survive for all generations to come, not to become the insolvent phantom of tomorrow.” Eisenhower wanted our nation to be strong in the future and our society would determine our strength. The Fifties were a prosperous time for our nation, this was the post war era, job opportunities were opening up, and people started buying homes, cars, and televisions. The music was changing and most Americans were living better and feeling more confident that the future would be even brighter. But the 1960’s had brought about change with important events happening throughout the world. Our neighbor Cuba, a country just 60 miles away from the Florida coastline, underwent a Communist revolution in which a radical tyrant named Fidel Castro was declared President. Another happening during this time, the arms race between the Capitalist West and the Communist East was beginning to take off, and also the Soviet Union had the perfect base of operations just minutes away from the Florida Keys. Nuclear war was a distinct possibility, the world was holding its breath and our future was uncertain. It was extremely vital to Eisenhower that our country and our new leaders were prepared to deal with whatever was thrown at us, and most importantly to succeed during the transition that was about to take place. His vision of our nation going forward was projecting a positive image throughout the world, and also to attract the support of other peaceful nations.

Another issue that concerned Eisenhower was the tremendous amount of growth and the overwhelming budget of the military establishment. Although Eisenhower wasn't particularly happy with the overwhelming amount of money our government was spending on military defense, he was also a realist who accepted the fact that in order for our nation to be strong, our military had to be powerful.
He stated in his address that the United States “can no longer risk emergency improvisation of national defense,” Eisenhower also stated: “A vital element in keeping the peace is our military establishment. Our arms must be mighty, ready for instant action, so that no potential aggressor to risk may be tempted his own destruction.” But he also warned against unwarranted influence of the military-industrial complex and the “potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power.” He warns the audience again saying “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.” The author of “National Power”, David Jablonsky wrote about the subject of power and it is very similar to Eisenhower’s words, he says: “National power is relative, not absolute. Simply put, a nation does not have abstract power in and of itself, but only power in relation to another actor or actors in the international arena. To say that the United States is the most powerful nation on earth is to compare American power with that of all nations as they currently exist. Nevertheless, leaders of a nation at the peak of its power can come to believe that such power has an absolute quality that can be lost only through stupidity or neglect.”
The disarming of nuclear weapons was another issue that was on the mind of Eisenhower as he states: “We cannot mortgage the material assets of our grandchildren without risking the loss also of their political and spiritual heritage.” He then went on to say “We must avoid becoming a community of dreadful fear and hate, and be, instead a proud confederation of mutual trust and respect.”
Eisenhower believed that we as a nation should use intellect and communication, instead of war as a way to solve differences, and that the future of our nation depended on the respect that we give and receive. We must remember that Eisenhower helped lead our country as a general during World War II, so he was no stranger to the savagery of battle, and he addressed this by saying “As one who has witnessed the horror and the lingering sadness of war, as one who knows that another war could utterly destroy this civilization which has been so slowly and painfully built over thousands of years I wish I could say tonight that a lasting peace in sight is.”
War is not something to be taken into lightly, and the use of our military might should be used when only necessary. Eisenhower was a great general, but he believed war should only be a last resort. In a writing from the author Edwin J. Arnold of “The Use of Military Power in Pursuit of National Interests.” he shared particular feelings when he wrote: “First, generally speaking, the intensity of the national interest being pursued should have little effect on the decision. The obvious exception is the situation in which the survival of the nation is at stake and the nation must fully apply all aspects of national power--military, economic, political, and social--to insure the welfare of its citizens and continuation of the state. In most other cases, once policymakers decide that the United States must use some element of its national power to achieve a foreign policy objective, they can decide on the use of military force if it offers the best benefit-to-cost/risk option for the situation. The first consideration calls for the selective use of force for selective purposes.”
Eisenhower longed for a world filled with peace, opportunity, dignity, integrity, freedom, less poverty, starvation, disease and ignorance. “To all the peoples of the world, I once more give expression to America's prayerful and continuing aspiration: We pray that peoples of all faiths, all races, all nations, may have their great human needs satisfied; that those now denied opportunity shall come to enjoy it to the full; that all who yearn for freedom may experience its spiritual blessings; that those who have freedom will understand, also, its heavy responsibilities; that all who are insensitive to the needs of others will learn charity; that the scourges of poverty, disease and ignorance will be made to disappear from the earth, and that, in the goodness of time, all peoples will come to live together in a peace guaranteed by the binding force of mutual respect and love.”

Dwight D. Eisenhower was a great leader of men, from his time in the U.S. Military, as a general leading his troops to war, and as the President of the United States and Commander in Chief. Here was a man who truly loved his country, a man who was proud to be an American, a man who cared about the people of this nation as well as the entire world.
During his farewell speech he addressed issues that he thought were important and he delivered his message to audiences young and old, including the American people, U.S. Congress and Senators, as well as other nations around the world. Eisenhower wanted it to be clear and to leave no doubt about how he felt, and what he felt our country needed to do to keep and build our integrity throughout the world.
Eisenhower wanted the United States of America to be a shining symbol of peace, and he wanted other countries to know that we were a country that they could rely on. We can say without a bit of doubt that Dwight D. Eisenhower did everything within his power during his adult life to make the world a safer and more harmonious place to live.

References

Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Farewell Address, January 17, 1961
Jablonsky, David. “National Power.” Parameters (Spring 1997): pp 34–54
Arnold, Edwin J. “The Use of Military Power in Pursuit of National Interests.” Parameters (Spring 1994):
www.whitehouse.gov/1600/presidents/dwightdeisenhower