Speech · 1961

Farewell Address

In a televised address from the Oval Office three days before leaving office, Eisenhower observed that a permanent armaments industry of vast proportions, joined to an immense military establishment, was new in the American experience, and warned the nation to guard against the “military-industrial complex.” He also cautioned that public policy could become “the captive of a scientific-technological elite” and urged Americans not to mortgage the material assets of their grandchildren.

“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.”

Dwight D. Eisenhower, January 17, 1961

Why it matters

Coming from the five-star general who had led Allied forces in Europe, the warning carried unusual weight and remains one of the most cited presidential statements on defense spending and the balance of national priorities.

Read the full text at archives.gov

Primary Source

The original record, reproduced or linked from the institution that holds it. Primary sources show what people said and did in their own words.

Subjects

national security cold war defense spending fiscal responsibility

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