Speech

Ike's "Farewell Address" is a speech…obviously. He read it on television so he could speak directly to the American people as a whole (or at least those who cared enough to tune in). And as far as speeches go, it's straight-forward and concise. Ike knew the essential points he wanted to make before leaving public service, and he constructed the speech around them.

You can think of it like an Oreo cookie or a Whoopie Pie.

The cream in the middle is the interesting and controversial stuff about the military-industrial complex/ scientific-technological elite, and the cookie/cake on either side is the obligatory rigmarole about how the country's great, how scary the Soviet Union is, and how much Ike is looking forward to working more seriously on his golf game.

How it Breaks Down

Section I

The Usual Niceties and Shout-outs to Get Warmed Up

Ike starts his farewell off right by wishing everyone the best, from JFK and his incoming cabinet, to Congress and the American people. He sets the tone for the rest of the speech by basically congratulating everybody in government for mostly getting everything right.

Section II

A Brief Recap For Those of You Who Forget What America Is All About

Ike gives a mini-history of the past fifty years and reflects on the status of the American military, industry, and economy. He shares in the common American pride, but balances that pride with an acknowledgement of America's great responsibility to the people of the world.

Section III

America Stands for Everything Good in a Hostile World

In this section, Ike affirms the classic ideals of American government, as well as the classic understanding of the Cold War. While admitting he's sad about it, he doesn't think there's any peace in sight with the Soviets. Americans have to be ready for anything. Then he pivots to the internal threats America faces.

Section IV

The Military-Industrial Complex, the Scientific-Technological Elite, and You

We need a military, Ike tells us. And it has to be the best, so no one will even think about messing with us. But the military is crazy big, and needs to be controlled by a well-educated citizenry. Scientific and technological research is another crazy big thing that needs to be carefully monitored so that Big Science doesn't crowd out the small, inventive folks that have made our country great.

Section V

Our Children Are Our Future

Ike briefly reminds us that we can't jut live in the moment and consume everything in sight. There's a future coming, with new people who would like to live life in a decent way. And so, we shouldn't use up all the resources all at once. We should save some for our children

Section VI

Peace is the Mission We Haven't Accomplished

The world is getting smaller and more interconnected, Ike says. So trust and respect among nations is more important than ever. World peace is the ultimate goal as far as Ike is concerned, and he talks about how he wishes he could have achieved more of it during his time in office. But he also looks on the bright side, which is that the whole world hasn't been nuked yet.

Section VII

Ike Takes a Bow

Ike starts to wrap it up by thanking the American people and hoping they've found his efforts satisfactory, and then goes off on an all-American rhetoric rant. After he gets that out of his system, he's ready to retire, so he bids everyone a good night.