Jan. 17, 1893: Rutherford B. Hayes died. He was the 19th president, serving between 1877 and 1881.
Jan. 17, 1961: In his farewell address, President Eisenhower warned of a growing "military-industrial complex," which he said was too powerful and threatened the economy. Eisenhower — who as commander of Allied forces in Europe during World War II oversaw the D-Day invasion of Nazi-occupied France — also said the U.S. defense industry was profiting off of Americans' national security paranoia and warned of "the potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power." Eisenhower also warned Americans of "the impulse to live only for today, plundering, for our own ease and convenience, the precious resources of tomorrow."
Quote of the Day
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"I'm not going to rush to send somebody else's kids into a war." — George H.W. Bush
More from West Wing Reports...
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
