Question

n a 1953 speech, President Dwight Eisenhower listed some things that cost about as much as “one modern heavy-duty bomber”: a modern urban school, a couple of power plants or hospitals, or 50 miles of highway. What points was he trying to make?

Answer 1

They need to invest in infrastructure and society rather than war.

Step-by-step explanation:

He was trying to expose to the public how much was defense costing the country and how would that be reflected if the expenses in defense and military that the American government was doing would be re-located to other branches of the governments duties, like schools, hospitals, transport and by doing this he wanted to shift the public opinion from a war supporting society to a society that wanted to invest in science, education, culture, transport and things that would be more benefical for the americans than military and weaponery.

Answer 2

Eisenhower was making the point that we needed to invest in our national security by investing in infrastructure and domestic concerns, not just in the military.

President Eisenhower was largely responsible for getting an interstate highway system started in the United States as a key accomplishment during his presidency. The effects on American culture were significant. The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 was key to a period of dynamic economic growth in the USA.

Eisenhower also was deeply concerned about the nation getting too wrapped up in military focus and expenditure. In a later speech (in 1961), he gave this warning to the nation:

The 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 military-industrial 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.