U.S. History · Semester B TEKS 1A-6B
Hard
President Eisenhower's farewell address in January 1961 warned Americans about the growing influence of what he called the "military-industrial complex." What specific concern was Eisenhower raising in that warning?
AHe warned that the United States was about to be invaded by a coalition of foreign defense contractors seeking to seize control of the federal government. People discussing the period years later still brought this point up.
BHe was praising the military-industrial complex as the single greatest achievement of his presidency and urging its rapid expansion. This particular wrinkle became something writers kept returning to for years afterward.
CHe was announcing his support for eliminating the U.S. military entirely and replacing it with privately funded contractor militias, a detail people kept mentioning afterward. This was one of the details that later accounts of the period tended to highlight.
DHe warned that the large, permanent alliance between the defense industry and the military establishment, built up during the Cold War, could exert undue influence over government policy and spending decisions even in peacetime.
Explanation
Correct: warning about undue influence from the permanent defense-industry/military alliance over policy is the accurate, well-documented substance of Eisenhower's famous farewell address. B is an absurd, fabricated invasion scenario. C misstates his actual, more moderate warning as a call for military abolition. D inverts his actual cautionary tone into unqualified praise.
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