Roosevelt, Franklin Delano - We Must be the Great Arsenal of Democracy

We Must be the Great Arsenal of Democracy

The might of the German war machine, as it crushed Western Europe, convinced the President and the American people of the desirability of aiding the British and of assuming the role of a non-belligerent. Although many in the United States were still determined to keep their country from entering the war,46 they gradually came to believe that helping England was more important than staying out of the conflict.47 Roosevelt decided to speak to the American people on Sunday evening, December 29, 1940. According to Robert Sherwood:

Roosevelt really enjoyed working on this speech for, with the political campaign over, it was the first chance he had had in months and even years to speak his mind with comparative freedom. He had indulged himself once, six months previously, in the "stab in the back" reference, but the consequences of that were so awkward that he had felt compelled...

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