Although it's not clear what the fourth major war Ike refers to here was (three of them are WWI, WWII, and the Korean War; see our "Glossary" section for our guess), it's clear that by 1945, the United States stood alone among major powers with the homeland virtually untouched. Other than the attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. avoided bombardment and occupation (not to mention nuclear attack at a time when countries in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East were suffering unimaginable loss of industry, infrastructure, and life).

It's a bummer to think about, but America got a lot of its status and wealth because of those wars, not despite them.

This is where Ike lays out the basic premise behind the Cold War from the classic American perspective: America stands for everything good and right. Liberty, dignity, integrity, etc. Communism stands for everything wrong. Whether this simple dualism stands up to scrutiny isn't for us to say, but this quote shows Ike's consistent, and what we would now call traditional, understanding of America's role in the world. And in a lot of ways, it gives his later comments about the military-industrial complex more weight.

Ike's granddaughter, political analyst Susan Eisenhower, summarized his point about fighting for peace: it isn't a sprint, it's a marathon (source).

The military-industrial complex is probably the only thing people remember from this speech, and probably all you'll remember few years from now. Notice, though, how late in the speech this main point occurs and how it's surrounded by pro-defense rhetoric. Everyone knew Ike was one of the most lauded military figures in American history. He had unlimited military cred. And yet even he was alert to the dangers that the alliance between military and business interests could cause.

Well, not could cause; let's say does cause. Case in point: In 2015, the nation's top private defense contractors spent an obscene amount of money lobbying Congress to increase—surprise, surprise—defense spending.

But when Congress decides to stop making a submarine or fighter jet, do you think the senators or congresspersons from the districts where the factories are located are gonna take no for an answer? Of course not. They know that the loss of jobs will have massive ripple effects on the local economy. When, on the other hand, General Dynamics or Boeing or Pratt and Whitney get a contract for a new class of submarine or fighter plane, it means hundreds of jobs for the company and more money for the local restaurant, retail, and housing businesses.

Although this part of Ike's farewell doesn't usually get as much attention, nowadays it seems just as prescient as his comments about the military-industrial complex.

If you don't think that science spending is a political issue, just look at how the National Science Foundation has its budget increased or cut depending on who's in power in Congress to see what Ike's talking about. Plus, there's data showing that funding patterns from federal agencies like NSF and NIH favor established researchers, freezing out younger scientists, or investigators that might have innovative ideas but have to stick to "safe" project that will get expected results.

But when federal funding dries up, researchers may have to turn to private sources of funding. There's lots of evidence that private funding sources, like Big Pharma, can influence the outcome of research studies. Most nutritional research is already funded by major food companies. When Coca-Cola funds studies that find that sugared drinks aren't a cause of obesity, what's the public to think? Can you say "conflict of interest?"

You can almost hear America the Beautiful playing faintly in the background, an American flag flapping crisply in the summer breeze, overlooking a group of multi-racial children running after an ice-cream truck down their suburban neighborhood street so they can treat a group of homeless veterans to some Klondike bars.

If anybody could get away with such frank sentimentality, it'd be Ike.