On April 16, 1953, just twelve weeks after taking office as President of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower delivered a speech on the theme of “peace” in an address to the American Society of Newspaper Editors. It was famously called the “Chance for Peace” speech.
Joseph Stalin had just died and the Cold War was on the horizon. The four-star general who led the effort in Europe in World War II then said:
This gun world doesn’t spend money alone. It wastes the sweat of its workers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. The cost of one modern heavy bomber is as follows: a modern brick school in more than 30 cities. There are two power plants, each serving a city of 60,000 inhabitants. They are two nice, fully equipped hospitals. It’s about fifty miles of concrete pavement. We pay half a million bushels of wheat for a single fighter plane. We pay for one destroyer with new homes that could house more than 8,000 people. This, I repeat, is the best way of life to be found in the way the world has been going. This is not a way of life at all, in the true sense of the word. Beneath the cloud of impending war, it is humanity hanging on an iron cross. These stark and harsh truths define the danger and show the hope that comes with this spring of 1953.
Eisenhower’s remarks were true then and are true today.
In a world today witnessing war and conflict on many fronts, Eisenhower’s words leave an impression.
Who was Dwight D. Eisenhower?
Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States of America. He served from 1953 to 1961.
According to the National Museum of the United States Army, Dwight D. Eisenhower was born on October 14, 1890 in Denison, Texas. He started his career in the US Army on June 14, 1911 as a cadet at the US Military Academy at West Point.
During World War II, Eisenhower rose through the ranks to become Supreme Allied Commander and a five-star Army general, orchestrating the D-Day landings on June 6, 1944, in Normandy, France, the National Museum said on its website.
After World War II, Eisenhower was elected the 34th President of the United States and served two terms from 1953-61.
The Eisenhower Doctrine, 1957
President Dwight D. Eisenhower announced the Eisenhower Doctrine in January 1957. Congress approved it in March of that year.
In his doctrine, Eisenhower highlighted the Soviet threat by endorsing the commitment of American forces “to secure and protect the territorial integrity and political independence of such nations and to demand such assistance against overt armed aggression from any nation controlled by international communism,” according to the US Historian’s Office.
Under the Eisenhower Doctrine, a country could request US economic aid and/or assistance from US military forces if it was threatened by armed aggression from another state.
Eisenhower’s Farewell Address (1961)
On January 17, 1961, President Dwight Eisenhower delivered his farewell address to the American people from the Oval Office of the White House.
In a speech of less than 10 minutes, Eisenhower strongly warned against the dangers of the “military-industrial complex”.
An essential element in maintaining peace is our military power. Our arms must be strong, ready for instant action, so that no would-be aggressor will be tempted to risk his own destruction…American blade makers could, in time and as needed, make swords as well. But now we can no longer risk the emergency improvisation of national defence; we have been forced to create a permanent arms industry of enormous proportions…This combination of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience…Yet we must not fail to understand its grave consequences…In the councils of government we must guard against the acquisition of undue influence, sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the catastrophic rise of misplaced power exists and will continue to exist.
Why is Eisenhower’s quote relevant today?
Several parts of the world today are dealing with wars, missiles, drone attacks, power struggles and border conflicts that have disrupted world order, taken away peace, destroyed hundreds of homes and displaced millions of people, and thousands have even died of hunger and malnutrition.
The statistics reveal a sad situation. According to the World Food Programme’s Global Outlook 2026, a staggering 318 million people – more than double the number recorded in 2019 – will face crisis levels of hunger or worse next year.
Two simultaneous famines have been confirmed in parts of Gaza and Sudan – the first devastating this century. The WFP claimed that by 2025, nearly 70 percent of people with acute food insecurity lived in fragile or conflict-affected countries.
“Violence and instability in the Middle East, East, Central and West Africa, as well as the Caribbean, South Asia and Eastern Europe are of particular concern. Conflict disrupts food production, forces people from their homes and sources of income, and often prevents humanitarian access to those most in need,” he added.
