Worsen Fdr Four Freedom Speech Analysis

America’s involvement in World War I not only impacted the war front but also the people left on the home front. When America entered World War I in 1917 the government enforced many measures on its citizens, many of which violated constitutional rights. The biggest measure inflicted on the American population was censorship. The formation of the Committee on Public Information (CPI) and the passing of the Espionage Act and Sedition Amendment stole American’s freedom of speech, created an anti-German sentiment, and led to deportation during the post-war Red Scare.

Convincing an audience of 133.4 million is a daunting task, especially when they must be convinced to join a war less than thirty years after World War I. On January 6, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave the State of the Union Address that began his third term as president. This speech, broadcast across the United States on the radio, sparked the idea to join World War II even before Pearl Harbor was attacked. In this speech, he fully supports the English against the attack of the dictators trying to extinguish democracy across the world. He proposes the four freedoms that America is invested in protecting around the world: freedom of speech and expression, freedom to worship God in any way, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. In his speech, “The Four Freedoms,” Franklin Delano Roosevelt inspires nationalism and creates fear in his audience to convince them to join the war ravaging through Europe through many forms of metaphor and repetition.

In The American Journey, David Goldfield et al. state that “Americans in the 1930s wanted no part of another overseas war by a wide margin.” Americans were still recovering for the ramifications of World War I and feared our intervention in any foreign conflict. In the fall of 1941, their reluctance was still abounding even though Germany achieved many victories abroad, the British were toiling to save their empire and Japan’s monumental aggression towards China escalated. In fact, Goldfield et al. noted that, “President Roosevelt’s challenge was to lead the United States toward rearmament and support for Great Britain and China without alarming the public.” Unfortunately, the aftermaths of World War I had set the tone for World War II since many small new nations in Europe felt the upper hand of Germany, Japan, Italy and the Soviet Union. Furthermore, the United States was not highly regarded by these nations, especially Japan, whose nationalists felt that they were unjustly treated after World War I. As much as the United States was trying to remain neutral and President Roosevelt wanted Americans to stay out of World War I, the inevitable came to fruition when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Goldfield et al. indicated that, “Speaking to Congress the following day, Roosevelt proclaimed December 7, 1941, “a date which will live in infamy.” He asked for and got a declaration of war against Japan. Hitler and Mussolini declared war on the United States

On January 6, 1941 President Roosevelt delivered his State of the Union Address before congress. He spoke eloquently of a future world founded on the essential human freedoms: freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. (Foner 2014pg842). He used this speech as a rally cry to enter World War 2. (Foner 2014, 757) These four freedoms were meant to establish basic rights for all people in the United states and still today we hold true to these freedoms. (Foner 2014 pg842) Freedom of speech came to coincide with freedom and expression which would be the best defense against corruption of democracy. (Remembering the Four Freedoms 2016). Freedom of worship or religion would be our shield against the forces of bigotry, intolerance, and fanaticism, Freedom from want, a commitment to erasing hunger, poverty, and pestilence from the earth, brought hope for citizens as they fought the Great depression and Finally, freedom from fear, a freedom dependent on collective security, a concept carried forward with our leadership in the United Nations.(Remembering the Four Freedoms 2016) As America battled the great depression, Roosevelt was confident that the war would end the depression and cause the United States to thrive once again. (Foner2014, 843) Roosevelt declared on a radio address in 1942 that the “rights of men of every creed and every race, wherever they live” implying that the four freedoms made so prominent in this time era should be a

After Hitler invaded Poland in 1939 and World War II officially began in Europe, President Roosevelt encouraged Americans to be neutral in action, but not necessarily in thought. It was clear that he favored the British, marking the beginning of the end of neutrality. President Roosevelt believed that Great Britain’s survival in the war was key to American safety, causing him to extend a “cash and carry” policy and to sell destroyers to the British. In a press conference in 1940, Roosevelt made his famous analogy in which he compared Great Britain to a house on fire and reasoned that the neighbor must give them a hose to put out the fire (Doc H). In it, he essentially described to the American people that the United States must help the British in order to keep democracy safe at home and abroad. Though the United States still remained officially neutral in the war, it was clear the nation was becoming more involved in international affairs. Many Americans opposed this increase of participation in world affairs, regardless of the threat of dictatorship and fascism. One advertisement in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch even described President Roosevelt as “America’s first dictator” (Doc F). However, President Roosevelt and the American

In “The Four Freedoms” speech President Roosevelt was speaking to the American people, the ones who had fear of the war that was being fought across the ocean. The

The devastating WWI left a permanent mark on the European soil, as well as in American people’s minds. People now understood what real wars are like; they are not always honorable, romantic or beneficial. As a result, isolationism ran high as the postwar United States entered the 1920s. Three presidents, Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover all devoted themselves to domestic affairs starting from 1920 while trying their best to keep the country safe from the European turmoils. However, as the WWII erupted in Europe in the 1930s, president Franklin D. Roosevelt sensed the potential danger posed by Germany toward the United States. A series of changes in foreign policies from 1920 through 1941 marked the United

President Roosevelt realized that Britain needed aid or else the U.S. would become a lone “free” nation in a fascist-dominated world. The American military needed to be mobilized in order to assist the Allies or democracy would be in grave danger. Roosevelt plead his case to the American people in his famous “Quarantine Speech” in which he called for an end to dangerous isolationism; however, his speech was not well-received and he was criticized for his desire to “entangle” the U.S in European foreign affairs (Document D). With Britain the only remaining power fighting against Germany, Roosevelt felt compelled to offer aid in some way. In 1940, Roosevelt boldly transferred fifty World War I destroyers to Britain in exchange for eight valuable defense bases stretching from Newfoundland to South America. As bombs dropped over Britain, Americans began to realize that their interests were intricately tied to Britain’s and that they must offer aid or else the battle would come to American soil soon. The goals of American foreign policy were reversed when Congress repealed the now defunct Neutrality Acts and officially ended their Neutrality. The U.S. began openly selling weapons to Britain on a “cash-and-carry” basis so as to avoid attacks on American ships. When this was not enough, Roosevelt devised the

“Yesterday, December 7th, 1941’” began President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the day following Japan’s fateful attack on Pearl Harbor, resulting in the in the tragic loss of nearly two and a half thousand American lives. A date so famously proclaimed to ‘forever live in infamy,’ and so it has. This inspiring speech to Congress and the American people employed appeals and other techniques in it’s mission to touch America’s heart, both with sympathy and indignation. President Roosevelt’s use of rhetoric is extremely effective in rallying the American people to the cause of entering a war so many were reluctant to support.

World War II was an exceptional war for the United States. The United States emerged from the war as a world superpower and protector of all other nations. There were many reasons why the United States entered World War II, however President Franklin Roosevelt was in some way directly connected to every reason. Roosevelt wanted to enter World War II as soon as it started for political and economic needs. However, the American people did not want to enter in another war, such as World War I, that costs so many lives and money. Therefore, Roosevelt schemed a plan to enter the United States into World War II that would change the minds of the American people,

With such events occurring quickly in such a small time period, the second World War came as a massive shock. Yet again, Americans called for isolationism and neutrality as they believed America should focus on ending the Great Depression, not worrying about and dealing with the international issues of other nations and peoples. By analyzing Document 5, it is clear that many Americans still believe in isolationism during the Great Depression. Bennett Champ Clark states in his Defense of the First Neutrality Act that “the desire to keep the United States from becoming involved in any war between foreign nations seems practically unanimous among the rank and file of American citizens.” Americans influenced the US foreign policy yet again as the First Neutrality Act was passed in 1935. By analyzing Document 6, it is clear that President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the choices he made were still influenced by isolationist sentiment as he states in his Quarantine Speech that “it is my determination to adopt every practicable measure to avoid involvement in war.” However, it is clear in President Roosevelt's speech that he knew that entering the war was inevitable as he states that the “peace of the world and the welfare and security of every nation, including our own is today being threatened by that very thing (war).” Although the United States tried its best to not enter the second World War for many years, it could not avoided by the end of 1941. On December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor was bombed by the Japanese. The federal government’s response to this attack can be analyzed in Document 7, President Roosevelt’s Pearl Harbor Address to the Congress of the United States. In response to the attack, Roosevelt calls for Congress to “declare . . . a state of war has existed between the United States and the

The Home Front during World War II was the essential backbone of the military campaign that was being waged in Europe and the Pacific. In order to ensure the success of the war the Home Front needed to not only ensure its own survival but also the survival of the forces that were engaged in combat. The Home Front of both the United States and England were similar in their practices of supporting the war, but because of the advantages of the united states being isolated from the fighting and being a land of plentiful recourses, and England being apart of an island nation extremely close to the fighting, England had much more difficult position and their Home Front was under a much more immediate threat. Both Home Fronts experienced hardships and dramatic changes in their society as they were forced to adapt to a wartime economy, they were also forced to adapt to social changes and a whole new society and way of life for the duration of the war that would also change the future of both the United States and England.

On December 7, 1941, with Japanese attack on Perl Harbor, all debate over avoiding war and the policy of American isolationism was gone. It was the beginning of a great war that brought death, devastation and finally the victory and power to United States. At the time of Roosevelt’s appointment in 1933, historically crucial events were taking place in Japan, Italy and Germany which had to shape the future and the fate of United States. This paper studies and analyses the major factors which contributed to American success both at home and abroad during WWII in addition to world’s view about American participation in war and bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

When World War II began, the United States was not initially apart of it. What sparked the beginning was Nazi Germany’s attack on Poland in September 1939. Even though we were not at the center of the action, our country did take steps to assist and protect weaker countries, like the United Kingdom. Roosevelt felt it was important to “be the great Arsenal Democracy…[he believed] we must apply ourselves to our task with the same resolution, the same sense of urgency, the same spirit of patriotism and sacrifice as we would show were we at war.” Because of this, the zeal and patriotism America showed was greatly increased. We took advantage of the power we had and the American Industry began to put forth collective efforts in supporting the Allies.

On December 7, 1941 the United States (U.S) entered into its Second World War. John Steinbeck’s Once There Was a War and Richard Linegman’s Don 't You Know There’s a War on? both take place during WWII. Steinbeck, a war correspondent for a New York newspaper, gives detailed accounts from everyday people that were involved in the war effort. Lingeman’s book tells stories about life on the home front and reveals how sacrifices had to be made in the name of war. Since the U.S had already been a part of a world war, the government had to make citizens aware that everyone had roles to play here and abroad in order to bring home another victory.