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Roosevelt's Fireside Chat, 29 December 1940

FDR—President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, seated as usual because of weakness from polio while giving an address.

Image File history File links Clock-green. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wikisource – The Free Library – is a Wikimedia project to build a free, wiki library of source texts, along with translations of source-texts into any language and other supporting materials. ... Public domain picture from FDR Library This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Public domain picture from FDR Library This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882–April 12, 1945), 32nd President of the United States, the longest-serving holder of the office and the only man to be elected President more than twice, was one of the central figures of 20th century history. ... Poliomyelitis (polio), or infantile paralysis, is a viral paralytic disease. ...

Temporary for section editing

Generally called the Arsenal of Democracy speech and one of his most famous and arguably important of 30 "fireside chats" the speech by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt on National Security — Sunday, December 29, 1940 — was a disguised call to arms of the United States population as well as the obvious topic, a call to arm and support Europe and to a lesser extent Asia's powers in the struggle against the fascist regimes which were busily waging successful war on lesser capable nations as the last days of Great Depression era closed is frequently seen as the 'next step' in awakening a somnolent, inward looking country that had been isolationist and self-absorbed culturally for the preceding two decades. Unpossessed of a respectible military—while the United States Navy seemed strong, the United States Army numbered barely two-hundred-and-fifty-thousand Officers and enlisted men as the 1930s came to a close— the wars in Europe, Africa]], and Manchuria  (China seemed of little importance to the average American still reeling from the horrors of the depression. The Fireside Chats were a series of 30 evening radio talks given by United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt between 1933 and 1944. ... Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882–April 12, 1945), 32nd President of the United States, the longest-serving holder of the office and the only man to be elected President more than twice, was one of the central figures of 20th century history. ... Security measures taken to protect the Houses of Parliament in London, England. ... December 29 is the 363rd day of the year (364th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 2 days remaining. ... 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1940 calendar). ... Europe is conventionally considered one of the seven continents of Earth which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiographic one, leading to some dispute as to Europes actual borders. ... Asia is the largest and most populous region or continent depending on the definition. ... See power Powers, a comic book series by Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Avon Oeming (Super) powers, special abilities of super-humans, aliens, etc. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... One of the most influential doctrines in history is that all humans are divided into groups called nations. ... Dorothea Langes Migrant Mother depicts destitute pea pickers in California, centering on Florence Owens Thompson, a mother of seven children, age 32, in Nipomo, California, March 1936. ... Isolationism is a diplomatic policy whereby a nation seeks to avoid alliances with other nations. ... The word culture, from the Latin colo, -ere, with its root meaning to cultivate, generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activity significance. ... The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for conducting naval operations around the globe. ... US Army Seal The United States Army is the branch of the United States armed forces that has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ... Any holder of an office or of a post may bear the title officer. ... In military service, an enlisted rank is generally any rating below that of a commissioned officer. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Extent of Manchuria according to Definition 1 (dark red), Definition 3 (dark red + medium red) and Definition 4 (dark red + medium red + light red) Manchuria (Manchu: Manju, Simplified Chinese: 满洲; Traditional Chinese: 滿洲; Hanyu Pinyin: ) is a name given to a vast territorial region in northeast Asia. ...

Time line of key events preceding

1938 up to October

• February 4 - Adolf Hitler creates the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (High Command of the Armed Forces), giving him direct control of the German military.

• February 10 - Carol II of Romania takes dictatorial powers

• February 12 - Chancellor Kurt von Schuschnigg of Austria meets Adolf Hitler at Berchtesgaden and, under threat of invasion, is forced to yield to German demands for greater Nazi participation in the Austrian government.

• May 5 - Vatican recognizes Franco's government in Spain

• May 25 - Bombing of Alicante, Spain, in the Spanish Civil War, with 313 dead.
• June 12-18 - Roma and Sinti in Germany and Austria are rounded up, beaten up and jailed

• June 23 - The Civil Aeronautics Act is signed into law, forming the Civil Aeronautics Authority in the United States. This lead to a rapid expansion of numbers of US pilots and better organized airports— both would be of great aid in the war to come.

• September - European crisis over German demand for annexation of Sudeten borderland of Czechoslovakia.

• September 29 - Munich agreement of German, Italian, British and French leaders agrees to German demands regarding annexation of Sudetenland.

• September 29 - Republic of Hatay declared in Syria

• Italian mathematician Ettore Maiorana disappears
• In West Java, Daeng Soetigna tuned traditional angklung to play also diatonic scale.
• The Neuengamme concentration camp near Hamburg.
• Adolf Hitler is Time magazine's "Man of the Year" (as most influential during the course of the year, not as 'best' man of the year)
• Enoch A. Holtwick began long political career.
• Walther P38 Was Introduced.

1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... February 4 is the 35th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... (help· info) (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945) was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 and Führer (Leader) of Germany from 1934 until his death. ... The command flag for the Chief of the High Command of the German Armed Forces (1938 - 1941) The command flag for a Generalfeldmarschall as the Chief of the High Command of the German Armed Forces (1941 - 1945) The Oberkommando der Wehrmacht or OKW (Wehrmacht High Command, Armed Forces High Command... February 10 is the 41st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Carol II of Romania, (15 October 1893 – 4 April 1953) reigned as King of Romania from June 8, 1930 until September 6, 1940. ... February 12 is the 43rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Kurt von Schuschnigg (14 December 1897 - 18 November 1977) was an Austrian politician who in 1934 succeeded the assassinated Engelbert Dollfuss as dictator of Austria, as leader of the regime often called Austrofascism. ... (help· info) (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945) was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 and Führer (Leader) of Germany from 1934 until his death. ... Berchtesgaden is a German municipality in the Bavarian Alps with a population of around 9,000. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Nazism. ... May 5 is the 125th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (126th in leap years). ... Francisco Franco Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco y Bahamonde (pron. ... May 25 is the 145th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (146th in leap years). ... Alicante (Castillian Spanish) or Alacant (Valencian Catalan) is the capital of the province of Alicante and of the comarca of the Alacantí, in the southern part of the Land of Valencia, Spain, a historic Mediterranean port. ... The Spanish Civil War (July 18th 1936–April 1st 1939) was a conflict in which the democratic government known as the Second Spanish Republic and allied political left-wing groups fought against a right-wing nationalist coup led by General Francisco Franco, who eventually succeeded in ousting the Republican government... June 12 is the 163rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (164th in leap years), with 202 days remaining. ... June 18 is the 169th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (170th in leap years), with 196 days remaining. ... The Roma people (pronounced rahma, singular Rom, sometimes Rroma, and Rrom) along with the closely related Sinti people are commonly known as Gypsies in English, and as Tsigany in most of Europe. ... June 23 is the 174th day of the year (175th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 191 days remaining. ... ... Governments have played an important part in shaping air transportation. ... The word pilot has several meanings: In aviation, a pilot, also known as an aviator, is someone who flies an aircraft. ... Europe is conventionally considered one of the seven continents of Earth which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiographic one, leading to some dispute as to Europes actual borders. ... Parts of Czech lands with significant German speaking population (first half of 20th century) Sudetenland (German: Sudetenland; Czech: Sudety) was the name used from 1938–45 for the region inhabited mostly by Sudeten Germans (German: Sudetendeutsche, Czech: Sudetští Němci) in the various places of Bohemia, Moravia, and parts... September 29 is the 272nd day of the year (273rd in leap years). ... Chamberlain holds the paper containing the resolution to commit to peaceful methods signed by both Hitler and himself on his return from Germany in September 1938. ... Parts of Czech lands with significant German speaking population (first half of 20th century) Sudetenland (German: Sudetenland; Czech: Sudety) was the name used from 1938–45 for the region inhabited mostly by Sudeten Germans (German: Sudetendeutsche, Czech: Sudetští Němci) in the various places of Bohemia, Moravia, and parts... September 29 is the 272nd day of the year (273rd in leap years). ... Flag of the Republic of Hatay. ... Map showing West Java in Indonesia West Java (Jawa Barat) is a province of Indonesia, located on the island of Java. ... In music, a pentatonic scale is a scale with five notes per octave. ... Angklung Musical Instrument Gamelan angklung (anklung) is a style of gamelan ensemble found primarily in Bali, Indonesia. ... In Music theory, the diatonic major scale (also known as the Guido scale), from the Greek diatonikos or to stretch out, is a fundamental building block of the European-influenced musical tradition. ... In music, a scale is a set of musical notes in order by pitch, either ascending or descending. ... Neuengamme was a concentration camp near Hamburg, Germany during World War 2 [1]. The site is one of the few concentration camps in Germany where most of the buildings have been conserved and serves as a memorial today. ... A concentration camp is a large detention center created for political opponents, enemy aliens, specific ethnic or religious groups, civilians of a critical war-zone, or other groups of people, often during a war. ... Alster Lake at dusk Hamburg is the second largest city in Germany and with Hamburg Harbour, its principal port. ... (help· info) (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945) was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 and Führer (Leader) of Germany from 1934 until his death. ... (Clockwise from upper left) Time magazine covers from May 7, 1945; July 25, 1969; December 31, 1999; September 14, 2001; and April 21, 2003. ... Enoch A. Holtwick was an educator with a long record of actively supporting the temperance movement. ... Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Walther P38 The Walther P38 is a 9 mm pistol that was issued to NCOs and officers of the Wehrmacht near the end of World War II. It replaced the costly Luger P08. ...

1938 November

• October 1 - German troops march into Sudetenland
• October 5 - Edvard Beneš, president of Czechoslovakia, resigns
• October 10 - The Blue Water Bridge opens, connecting Port Huron, Michigan and Sarnia, Ontario
• October 17 - Jan Syrovy's government begins in Czechoslovakia
• October 27 - Du Pont announced a name for its new synthetic yarn: "nylon".
• October 30 - Orson Welles's radio adaptation of The War of the Worlds is broadcast, causing mass panic in various parts of the United States.
• October 31 - Great Depression: In an effort to try restore investor confidence, the New York Stock Exchange unveils a fifteen-point program aimed to upgrade protection for the investing public.
• July - Building of the concentration camp Mauthausen
• November 9 - Holocaust: Kristallnacht begins - In Germany, the "night of broken glass" begins as Nazi troops and sympathizers loot and burn Jewish businesses (the all night affair saw 7,500 Jewish businesses destroyed, 267 synagogues burned, 91 Jews killed, and at least 25,000 Jewish men arrested).
• November 10 - On the eve of Armistice Day, Kate Smith sings Irving Berlin's God Bless America for the first time on her weekly radio show.
• November 18 - Trade union members elect John L. Lewis as the first president of the Congress of Industrial Organizations.
• November 30 - Czech parliament elects Emil Hácha as the new president of Czechoslovakia.

October 1 is the 274th day of the year (275th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Parts of Czech lands with significant German speaking population (first half of 20th century) Sudetenland (German: Sudetenland; Czech: Sudety) was the name used from 1938–45 for the region inhabited mostly by Sudeten Germans (German: Sudetendeutsche, Czech: SudetÅ¡tí NÄ›mci) in the various places of Bohemia, Moravia, and parts... October 5 is the 278th day of the year (279th in Leap years). ... Edvard BeneÅ¡ Edvard BeneÅ¡ with wife 1921, autochrome portrait by Josef JindÅ™ich Å echtl Edvard BeneÅ¡ (help· info) (May 28, 1884 - September 3, 1948) was a leader of the Czechoslovak independence movement and the second President of Czechoslovakia. ... October 10 is the 283rd day of the year (284th in Leap years). ... The newer Blue Water Bridge is in the foreground, the older bridge is behind. ... Port Huron is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. ... Sarnia is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada (population 70,876 in 2001). ... October 17 is the 290th (in leap years the 291st) day of the year according to the Gregorian calendar. ... Jan Syrovy Jan Syrový (January 24, 1888 - October 10, 1970) was a Czechoslovak general and prime minister during the Munich Crisis. ... October 27 is the 300th day of the year (301st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 65 days remaining. ... E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (NYSE: DD) was founded in July 1802 as a gun powder mill by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont on Brandywine Creek, near Wilmington, Delaware. ... Nylon represents a family of synthetic polymers, a thermoplastic material, invented in 1935 by Wallace Carothers at DuPont. ... October 30 is the 303rd day of the year (304th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 62 days remaining. ... Orson Welles on the set of Citizen Kane. ... The War of the Worlds, a radio adaptation by Orson Welles based upon H. G. Wells classic novel, was performed by Mercury Theatre on the Air as a Halloween special on October 30, 1938. ... October 31 is the 304th day of the year (305th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 61 days remaining, as the final day of October. ... Dorothea Langes Migrant Mother depicts destitute pea pickers in California, centering on Florence Owens Thompson, a mother of seven children, age 32, in Nipomo, California, March 1936. ... New York Stock Exchange (June 2003) The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) , also nicknamed the Big Board, is by far the largest stock exchange in the world (by dollar volume) and second largest by number of listings. ... A concentration camp is a large detention center created for political opponents, enemy aliens, specific ethnic or religious groups, civilians of a critical war-zone, or other groups of people, often during a war. ... Mauthausen is a small town in Upper Austria about 20 kilometers east of the city of Linz. ... November 9 is the 313th day of the year (314th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 52 days remaining. ... Concentration camp inmates during the Holocaust The Holocaust was Nazi Germanys systematic genocide (ethnic cleansing) of various ethnic, religious, national, and secular groups during World War II. Early elements include the Kristallnacht pogrom and the T-4 Euthanasia Program established by Hitler that killed some 200,000 people. ... Die Kristallnacht, also known as die Reichskristallnacht (literally Imperial Crystal Night), die Pogromnacht and in English as the Night of Broken Glass, was a massive nationwide pogrom in Germany and Austria on the night of November 9, 1938 (including the early hours of the following day). ... The term National Socialism has been used in self-description by a number of different political groups and ideologies, some of which have no connection with the Nazis; see National socialism (disambiguation). ... Jews (Hebrew: יהודים, Yehudim) are followers of Judaism or, more generally, members of the Jewish people (also known as the Jewish nation, or the Children of Israel), an ethno-religious group descended from the ancient Israelites and converts who joined their religion. ... Lesko synagogue, Poland A synagogue (Hebrew: בית כנסת ; beit knesset, house of assembly; Yiddish: שול, shul) is a Jewish place of religious worship. ... November 10 is the 314th day of the year (315th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 51 days remaining. ... Armistice Day is the anniversary of the official end of World War I, November 11, 1918. ... Kate Smith on the cover of a posthumous 1991 collection 16 Most Requested Songs Kathryn Elizabeth Smith (May 1, 1907 – June 17, 1986) was a Washington, D.C.-born singer best known for her rendition of Irving Berlins God Bless America. She greeted audiences with Hello, everybody! and signed... Irving Berlin (May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989), born Israel Isidore Beilin (as per [1]), in Tyumen, Russia (or possibly Mogilev, now Belarus), was an American composer and lyricist, one of the most prodigious and famous American songwriters in history. ... God Bless America is an American patriotic song written by Irving Berlin in 1918 and revised by him in 1938. ... November 18 is the 322nd day of the year (323rd in leap years), with 43 remaining. ... This article or section contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ... John L. Lewis John Llewellyn Lewis (February 12, 1880 – June 11, 1969) was a leader of organized labor who served as president of the United Mine Workers of America from 1920 to 1960. ... The Congress of Industrial Organizations, or CIO, was a federation of unions that organized industrial workers in the United States and Canada in 1935-1955. ... November 30 is the 334th day (335th on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 31 days remaining, as the final day of November. ... Emil Hácha (July 12, 1872-June 26, 1945) was a Czech lawyer, the third President of Czechoslovakia, taking office in 1938, and the first and only State President of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. ...

1939

On the European War - Sunday, September 3, 1939 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... September 3 is the 246th day of the year (247th in leap years). ... 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...

1940

• Fireside chat on National Defense - Sunday, May 26, 1940
• Fireside Chat on

1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1940 calendar). ... May 26 is the 146th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (147th in leap years). ... 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1940 calendar). ...

The address itself

The text of the radio address delivered by President Roosevelt from Washington, December 29, 1940 December 29 is the 363rd day of the year (364th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 2 days remaining. ... 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1940 calendar). ...

Source: U.S., Department of State, Publication 1983, Peace and War: United States Foreign Policy, 1931-1941 (Washington, D.C.: U.S., Government Printing Office, 1943), pp. 598-607

Time line of key events up to WW-II

German soldiers at the Battle of Stalingrad World War II was the most extensive and costly armed conflict in the history of the world, involving the great majority of the worlds nations, being fought simultaneously in several major theatres, and costing tens of millions of lives. ...

External links

References