January 17, 1961: With 3 days before his Presidency ends, Dwight D. Eisenhower issues a Farewell Address. It is the best-remembered speech of his Presidency.
This was the same day as the execution of the imprisoned founding father of the Republic of the Congo, Patrice Lumumba, an even for which I have a separate entry.
A Farewell Address was, to that point, rare. In fact, it had never before been a public speech. On September 19, 1796, the American Daily Advertiser, a Philadelphia-based newspaper, published The Address of Gen. Washington to the People of America on His Declining the Presidency of the United States. After 7 1/2 years as President, George Washington was announcing his refusal to run for a 3rd term, setting a precedent that lasted until 1940, and was made law in 1951 by the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
He had the letter published in what was then America's largest newspaper, formerly known as the Pennsylvania Packet, before the electors for the next Presidential election could meet, so they would not choose him. He'd had enough. He also wanted to warn Americans of the political dangers that he thought should be avoided if the country was to remain true to its values. But this was a letter. He never delivered it as a speech.
Most Presidents had delivered a message to Congress, equivalent to a State of the Union message, right before leaving office. But, again, not as a public speech. Presidents had broadcast on radio since Warren Harding in 1922. But he, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, had died in office, which took the opportunity to deliver a farewell address out of their hands. And Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover declined the chance to deliver a final message to the people over radio. Harry Truman did take advantage of radio, and also television, and delivered a Farewell Address on January 15, 1953. But it is not well remembered today.
Eisenhower, who had been the leading Allied General of World War II, and had struggled to end the Korean War in 1953, and then keep the peace for the next 7 1/2 years, was prohibited by the aforementioned Amendment from running for a 3rd term. He probably wouldn't have wanted to, anyway, not at age 70. His Vice President, Richard Nixon, had been defeated by John F. Kennedy.
Now, with his public life coming to a close, "Ike" had some things he wanted to say to the American people. The speech was written with assistance from his chief speechwriter, Malcolm Moos; and his brother, Milton Eisenhower, then the President of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.
Political conservatives of the time approved of much that Ike did, but didn't really consider him one of their own. Yet, the speech included a paragraph of which later conservatives would wholeheartedly approve:
As we peer into society's future, we -- you and I, and our government -- 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.
But he also included a section that liberals and peace activists would approve: The leading American General of the 20th Century spoke about the combination of the U.S. Department of Defense and corporations:
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 may be tempted to risk his own destruction...
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, three and a half 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 the 1960s would prove, "Ike" was right. And, as he lived on until 1969, he saw this, and he knew that he had been a part of it. He had done what he could to advance it, and he had also done what he could to slow it down.
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January 17, 1961 was a Tuesday. There were no scores on the day: Baseball and football were out of season, and no games were scheduled for the NBA or the NHL.
I could cite one notable college basketball game played on the day: The University of Cincinnati beat Pittsburgh-based Duquesne University, 64-53, at the Armory Fieldhouse in Cincinnati. UC went on to win the National Championship that season, defeating defending Champion Ohio State.
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