time as we peer into society's future. we under i and our government, must avoid the impulse to live only for today, wondering for our own ease and convenience. the precious resources of tomorrow. we cannot warden the material assets of our grandchildren without risking the loss. also of their political and spiritual heritage. we want democracy to survive for all generations to come, not to become the insolvent. phantom of tomorrow during long lean of the history. yet to be written. america knows that this world of ours ever growing smaller must avoid becoming a community of dread, fear and hate, and be instead a proud confederate. mutual trust and respect.

such a confederation must be one of equals. the weakest must come to the conference table with the same competence as duly protected as we are by our moral economic and military strength. that table, those scarred by many past, frustrated past frustrations, cannot be abandoned for the certainty, agony of the drama of the battlefield disarmament with mutual honor and confidence, is a continuing imperative. together, we must learn how to compose differences, not with arms, but with intellect and decent purpose. because this need is so sharp and apparent. i confess that i laid down my official responsibilities in this field with a definite of disappointment. as one who has witnessed the horror and the lingering sadness of war, as one who knows that another war could utterly this

civilization which has been so slowly and painful, built over thousands of years. i wish i could say tonight that a lasting peace is in sight. happily, i can say that war has been avoided. steady progress toward our ultimate goal has been made. but so much remains to be done. as a private citizen, i shall never cease to do what little i can to help the world advance along that road. so in this, my last good night to you as your president, i thank you for the many opportunities you have given me for public service in war and in peace. i trust in that in that in that service, you find something worthy. as for the rest of it, i know you will find ways to improve performance in the future. you and i, my fellow citizens,

need to be strong in our faith that all nations under god will reach the goal of peace with justice. may we be ever unswerving in devotion to principle, confident, but humble with power, diligent in pursuit of the nation's great goals to all the peoples of the world. i once more give expression to america's prayer and continuing aspiration. we pray that people of all faiths, all races, all nations may have their great human satisfied that those now denied opportunity shall come to enjoy it, to the point that all who yearn for freedom may experience its spiritual blessings. those who have freedom will understand also its heavy responsibility. that all who are insensitive to the needs of others will learn charity, and that the source of

scourges of poverty, disease and ignorance will be made, disappear from the earth. and that in the goodness of time all peoples will come to live together in a peace guarantee by the binding force of mutual respect and love. now, on friday noon, i am to become a private citizen. i am proud to do so. i look forward to it. thank you. and good night from the white house. we have presented the farewell address by the president of the united states, dwight eisenhower, who spoke this evening from his office in the white house. and thanks for joining on c-span's american history tv's special series speeches that define the presidency. next week, we'll hear from john kennedy. we'll hear his 1961 inaugural

address and speeches on the race to the moon and the cold war. a reminder that all of the speeches that we have played in this are available to watch online at c-span dot org slash

through 20 years of laboring and wandering through hot and cold war corruption and cynicism. the american people have hungered for leadership founded on integrity and wisdom and courage. we have solemnly who is the people a man raised to leadership by the people? a leader whose whole life has been spent by the people. a sturdy, humble and the respect and the affection for all people felt for lincoln. such a man as general. dwight eisenhower. the man from abilene who never in history had so many americans so much about the very essence

of one man, 100 million americans. no, the way you know, a neighbor. we know him by heart. and why do we care for him? not because he is a general, but because instinctively we believe in you. we hail in the hometown boy with all the best of america. his roots are in the heartland main street, u.s.a. i come here first to thank you to say the proudest thing i can tell him is that i am from abilene. i want to speak first of the dreams of our barefoot boy frequently. they are to be a conductor. or he himself as the town policeman. above all he may reach the position of locomotive engineer, but always in his dreams is that

day when finally he comes home. comes home to a welcome from his hometown, the wheat fields of kansas. ike is a native son, but the cotton and cattle state of texas staked first claim hard by the railroad tracks in denison, texas. that's where he was born. the red river, where texas sheiks hands with oklahoma. dwight david eisenhower was one of seven sons of deeply religious pennsylvania dutch who moved west and brought bible with him. no matter where duty takes him, he always likes to get back to home cooking. even in paris kitchen was kansan. and hobbies keep him close the earth and the fresh water fishing with his farmer boys first love golf is a new land only with fish stories does i

exercise a special and right to stretch the truth little. golly, you should have seen the one that got away three feet long. if you asked eisenhower, he has dedicated the rest of his life to the service of america. instead of retiring to take it easy on his little farm in gettysburg he'll point a picture of this baby, a chip off the old block, and he'd tell you, i want my grandson and yours to up in a free america. he's proud of his grandchildren. there are three of them now. you can tell that eisenhower believes that our real first line of defense is the family and old fashioned, well understood americans and admired and the rest of the world, especially in france. france was the first nation to hail eisenhower for his crusade. europe. the french love liberty. under hitler, they tasted slave reign. the frenchman eisenhower as a liberator. this ally likes ike to and

across english channel, which hitler could not cause the people of battle in london who never yield to the blitz surrendered with a cheer to ike to worry londoners whether they could run my soldiers into his home. i say, you'll always have my profound gratitude to everyone has smilingly directed one of my men to the albert hall or the marble arch by your thanks. also churchill's for for all of history to remember. ladies and gentlemen, you have got it seen and to the world all by our great commander. a man who has proved not only his capacity to organize and the movements of our men, but just

men. part. and who has shown a capacity for making great nations together more truly united than they ever have before. and so, by sincerity, simplicity, a kansan conquered britain back, home in america, the way all the world calls mamie with the first to say, i like ike, and then the rest of us shall it to not hail the conquering hero, but bursting with pride and. a great friend, a great guy who understands that washington belongs not to a president, but to the people. i stand before the electors, lawmakers. first from the very about political life and the symbol of those things we call the american heritage. and now watch what a country boy

can do to the biggest city in the world. new york york. watch the women. watch the young people. watch all the people make up the surging, independent vote will mean victory at the in november. watch them here on the american. new york simply cannot do this. return to its former glory and keep its reputation for sophistication. that's another thing, mr. mayor, that impressed me very much as you and i rode down through the cheering throng this morning.

first, the reason. the journey. it was not because one individual, one american who came back from war did enjoy that. unless the job is done. one. that's the job is. that nasty job a crusade in europe will be remembered by 3 million americans who fought for their keep the war from coming here. these americans will never forget that as ally and leader, eisenhower was a five star g.i. , a soldier with his men, as well as a statesman who was a match even for churchill, a commander who suffered the shock of each casualty, a citizen soldier who knows the brutality war, a man who hates war from another general macarthur eisenhower learned about asia

when macarthur sought the ablest americans to go with him, to developing ends in 1934. the man macarthur picked for that tough job was eisenhower from his achievements, not political promises. americans know. the essence of eisenhower. the statesman. the executive. the man the american system rests upon the rights and dignity of individual. the success that system depends upon the assumption by each of personal individual responsibility for the safety and welfare of the whole. no government official, no soldier, be he brass or psp, nor other person can assume your responsibilities. now democracy will cease to exist united determined american citizenry is under god the mightiest force the earth seen it can protect itself and lead the world to respect rights and justice and to peace.

goodbye, man. good luck. out of uniform. i'm as president of columbia. eisenhower warned that communism must be fought on every front in today's struggle no no frills. the tuition can be neutral. all must be joined in a common profession, that of democratic citizenship. there will be no administrative suppression or distortion of any subject that merits a place in the universe. in this university curricula. the facts communism, for example, shall be taught here. if ideological development. its political methods, its economic effects, its probable course in the future. the truth about is today an indispensable requirement if the true values of our democratic