Congressional Record Marks the Fifth Anniversary of Eisenhower’s Farewell Address and Its Warning About the Military-Industrial Complex (1966)

Date: January 19, 1966

Original or Replica: Original

Era: The Presidency, The Statesman

Collection: Eisenhower Presidential Library

Citations: DDE’s Post-Presidential Papers, 1966 Principal File, Box 36, K (3); NAID #16972243

This January 19, 1966 entry in the Congressional Record commemorates the fifth anniversary of President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Farewell Address and highlights the continuing importance of his warning about the “military-industrial complex.” Senator Joseph S. Clark of Pennsylvania asks that Eisenhower’s 1961 address be reprinted in the Congressional Record, describing it as an important statement whose warnings remained relevant five years after Eisenhower left office.

The entry reproduces key portions of Eisenhower’s Farewell Address concerning the unprecedented growth of the nation’s permanent military establishment and defense industry during the Cold War. Eisenhower acknowledged that a strong national defense was necessary but warned that the combination of a large military establishment and arms industry created significant economic, political, and even spiritual consequences for American society. He cautioned against the acquisition of “unwarranted influence” by the military-industrial complex and argued that Americans must remain vigilant so that national security policies remained consistent with democratic principles. The excerpt also includes Eisenhower’s concerns about the growing relationship between federal funding, scientific research, universities, and government policy. By revisiting these warnings in 1966, during the expanding Vietnam War, the document demonstrates how members of Congress continued to view Eisenhower’s Farewell Address as relevant to debates over military power, federal spending, and American foreign policy.