Speeches of Roosevelt
Speeches of Roosevelt
A compilation of speeches made by Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Speeches of Roosevelt
Shot of a Japanese fighter plane taking off from a naval carrier, followed by shots of American naval vessels exploding during attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7. 1941.
Speeches of Roosevelt
Use catalog # 494617 Excerpt of FDR speaking to Congress, Dec 8, 1941. C/As of the Japanese ambassadors, American people listening to car radios in streets. "Mr. Vice President, and Mr. Speaker, and Members of the Senate and House of Representatives: Yesterday, December 7, 1941 a date which will live in infamy the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan. The United States was at peace with that Nation and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its Government and its Emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific. Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in the American Island of Oahu, the Japanese Ambassador to the United States and his colleague delivered to our Secretary of State a formal reply to a recent American message. ... Japan has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday and today speak for themselves. ... No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory. (applause) ... With confidence in our armed forces- with the unbounding determination of our people- we will gain the inevitable triumph- so help us God."
Speeches of Roosevelt
June 12th, 1942. Excerpts from Radio Address on the Scrap Rubber Campaign. President FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT delivers message asking the American people for scrap and used rubber to be donated to the war effort. "Specifically, we don't know how much used rubber there is in your cellar your barn your stock room your garage your attic. ... The only way to find out is to get the used rubber in where it can stand up and be counted. And that precisely is what we propose to do. We are setting aside the two-weeks period from June 15 to June 30 from 12:01 A.M., June 15, to 12:00 midnight, June 30 to get the old rubber in. We have asked the filling station operators- the thousands upon thousands of citizens who operate gas stations and garages from one end of the country to the other to help. And they have generously and patriotically agreed to help: they and the oil companies which serve them. They have agreed to take the old rubber in and to pay for it at the standard rate of a penny a pound... Once the rubber is in, we will know what our supplies of used rubber are and we will make our plans accordingly. One thing you can be sure of we are going to see to it that there is enough rubber to build the planes to bomb Tokyo and Berlin enough rubber to build the tanks to crush the enemy wherever we may find him enough rubber to win this war."
Speeches of Roosevelt
September 8th, 1943 Fireside Chat. President FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT announces that a armistice with Italy has been concluded. "Today, it is announced that an armistice with Italy has been concluded. This was a great victory for the United Nations, but it was also a great victory for the Italian people. After years of war and suffering and degradation, the Italian people are at last coming to the day of liberation from their real enemies, the Nazis. But let us not delude ourselves that this armistice means the end of the war in the Mediterranean. We still have to drive the Germans out of Italy as we have driven them out of Tunisia and Sicily; we must drive them out of France and all other captive countries; and we must strike them on their own soil from all directions. Our ultimate objectives in this war continue to be Berlin and Tokyo. I ask you to bear these objectives constantly in mind and do not forget that we still have a long way to go before we attain them. The great news that you have heard today from General Eisenhower does not give you license to settle back in your rocking chairs. and say, "Well, that does it. We've got 'era on the run. Now we can start the celebration." ... This war does not and must not stop for one single instant. Your fighting men know that. ... Now it is your turn! Every dollar that you invest in the Third War Loan is your personal message of defiance to our common enemies - to the ruthless savages of Germany and Japan - and it is your personal message of faith and good cheer to our allies and to all the men at the front. God bless them!"
Speeches of Roosevelt
July 20th, 1944. Address to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. President FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT "What is the job before us in 1944? First, to win the war to win the war fast, to win it overpoweringly. Second, to form worldwide international organizations, and to arrange to use the armed forces of the sovereign Nations of the world to make another war impossible..."
Speeches of Roosevelt
September 23rd, 1944 Address at a Union Dinner. Washington, D.C. FDR speaking to Teamsters Union, Dinner of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America. "These Republican leaders have not been content with attacks on me, or my wife, or on my sons. No, not content with that, they now include my little dog, Fala. (applause and cheers) ... You know, Fala is Scotch, and being a Scottie, as soon as he learned that the Republican fiction writers in Congress and out had concocted a story that I had left him behind on the Aleutian Islands and had sent a destroyer back to find him, at a cost to the taxpayers of two or three, or eight or twenty million dollars - his Scotch soul was furious. (laughter) He has not been the same dog since. ... But I think I have a right to resent, to object to libelous statements about my dog."
Speeches of Roosevelt
January 20th, 1945 Excerpt of President FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT delivering fourth Inaugural Address. "We Americans of today, together with our allies, are passing through a period of supreme test. It is a test of our courage, of our resolve, of our wisdom, of our essential democracy. If we meet that test, successfully and honorably, we shall perform a service of historic importance which men and women and children will honor throughout all time. As I stand here today, having taken the solemn oath of office in the presence of my fellow countrymen, in the presence of our God, I know that it is America's purpose that we shall not fail. In the days and the years that are to come, we shall work for a just and honorable peace, a durable peace, as today we work and fight for total victory in war."
Speeches of Roosevelt
March 1st, 1945. Address to Congress on the Yalta Conference. Excerpt of President FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT speaking to Joint Session of Congress, report to Congress on the Crimea Conference. "I hope that you will pardon me for this unusual posture of sitting down during the presentation of what I want to say, but I know that you will realize that it makes it a lot easier for me not to have to carry about ten pounds of steel around on the bottom of my legs; and also because of the fact that I have just completed a fourteen thousandmile trip. ... There were two main purposes in this Crimea Conference. The first was to bring defeat to Germany with the greatest possible speed, and the smallest possible loss of Allied men. That purpose is now being carried out in great force. ... The second purpose was to continue to build the foundation for an international accord that would bring order and security after the chaos of the war, that would give some assurance of lasting peace among the Nations of the world. ... The defeat of Germany will not mean the end of the war against Japan. On the contrary, we must be prepared for a long and costly struggle in the Pacific. But the unconditional surrender of Japan is as essential as the defeat of Germany. I say that advisedly, with the thought in mind that that is especially true if our plans for world peace are to succeed. For Japanese militarism must be wiped out as thoroughly as German militarism. ... I hope in our history and therefore in the history of the world. There will soon be presented to the Senate of the United States and to the American people a great decision that will determine the fate of the United States, and of the world, for generations to come. There can be no middle ground here. We shall have to take the responsibility for world collaboration, or we shall have to bear the responsibility for another world conflict. ... I am confident that the Congress and the American people will accept the results of this Conference as the beginnings of a permanent structure of peace upon which we can begin to build, under God, that better world in which our children and grandchildren yours and mine, the children and grandchildren of the whole world - must live, and can live." (applause)