This 16-minute speech is President Dwight Eisenhower’s farewell address to the nation. As supreme allied commander in Europe during World War 2, Dwight Eisenhower bore as heavy a responsibility as anyone in the 20th Century. This, one of his final acts after 50 years of service to the nation is very much worth the time to watch.

With the 1960 election, much of the nation desired to pass the torch of leadership to the rising generation. Many at the time considered Eisenhower a sleepy, out of touch grandfather, whose time had passed. Though far from a great communicator, what he lacked as an orator, Dwight Eisenhower more than made up for with his vision.

Known as the “Military Industrial Complex” speech, President Eisenhower’s farewell address goes far beyond that issue in addressing the challenges the nation would, and we now face. Central to his call is the place of statesmanship and the need for balanced cooperation between the private and public sphears. He also challenged the nation to resist the temptation to use fear as a tool of governing and put the needs of the nation above personal and partisan benefit.  Perhaps he was not in touch with the time of Camelot, but this speech shows Eisenhower was very much in touch with the challenges facing our nation through the ages.