"A vital element in keeping the peace is our military establishment. Our arms must be mighty, ready for instant action, so that no potential aggressor may be tempted to risk his own destruction.
Our military organization today bears little relation to that known by any of my predecessors in peacetime, or indeed by the fighting men of World War II or Korea.
Until the latest of our world conflicts, the United States had no armaments industry. American makers of plowshares could, with time and as required, make swords as well. But now we can no longer risk emergency improvisation of national defense; we have been compelled to create a permanent armaments industry of vast proportions. Added to this, three and a half million men and women are directly engaged in the defense establishment. We annually spend on military security more than the net income of all United States corporations.
This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence -- economic, political, even spiritual -- is felt in every city, every State house, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society.
In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the militaryindustrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.
We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.
Akin to, and largely responsible for the sweeping changes in our industrial-military posture, has been the technological revolution during recent decades.
In this revolution, research has become central; it also becomes more formalized, complex, and costly. A steadily increasing share is conducted for, by, or at the direction of, the Federal government.
Today, the solitary inventor, tinkering in his shop, has been overshadowed by task forces of scientists in laboratories and testing fields. In the same fashion, the free university, historically the fountainhead of free ideas and scientific discovery, has experienced a revolution in the conduct of research. Partly because of the huge costs involved, a government contract becomes virtually a substitute for intellectual curiosity. For every old blackboard there are now hundreds of new electronic computers.
The prospect of domination of the nation's scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of money is ever present
- and is gravely to be regarded.........."
As a result of that speech, most people assumed that WWII saw the introduction of the Military/Industrial Complex or MIC. Actually, it was Lincoln who got the ball rolling on that. Eisenhower misspoke when he stated that until the latest of our world conflicts, the U.S. had no arms industry.
Ol' "Honest Abe" brought in scientists from all over the world to develop military technology. Thus, the American Civil War became known as the first modern war.
Probably the best known technological advancement of the Civil War was the USS Monitor. While it was not the first ironclad ship, it was the first to have a revolving turret. Other Union advances included the Gatling gun and improvements to rail and medical technology.
The South had nowhere near the success of the North in developing military technology, but there were some notable exceptions. The CSS Hunley is considered the first modern submarine. Also, the south had the finest quality gunpowder in the world at that time. A huge gunpowder manufacturing facility was set up and it was ultra-modern for the time. To reduce the possibility of explosions, workers were dressed in white suits with rubber boots. Powder storage buildings were designed to contain and deflect explosions should they occur.
After the war, DuPont chemical demanded the North destroy the plant and buy their inferior powder instead. The South also developed torpedos and land mines.
Other Union advances included electric fuses and hand grenades. Union scientists improved on the telegraph and aerial recon via balloon was developed too.
So, it was, in fact Lincoln who initiated the Military/Industrial Complex.
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