Analysis: F.D.R.: There Will Be No Blackout of Peace in America
The topic revolves around President Franklin D. Roosevelt's response to the escalating global conflicts in the late 1930s, particularly the invasion of Poland by Germany in September 1939, which marked a significant shift in American foreign policy. At this time, Roosevelt challenged the prevailing Neutrality Acts, which had previously aimed to keep the United States uninvolved in foreign wars. He argued that these laws were too vague, inadvertently providing support to aggressors like Hitler and Mussolini while failing to protect the principles of democracy and international law. Roosevelt emphasized the interconnectedness of global peace, asserting that a breakdown of order in Europe posed a risk to American security, even from afar.
As fears of war grew, a debate emerged in the U.S. over whether to maintain strict neutrality or to support allied nations under threat. Roosevelt's perspective underscored the importance of remaining informed and prepared, even as he sought to advocate for peace. He recognized the anxiety surrounding war but maintained that the United States had a responsibility to be proactive in promoting stability, while also adhering to its neutral stance for the time being. His leadership during this period reflected a complex balancing act between isolationism and interventionism, shaped by the historical context of World War I and the Great Depression.
Analysis: F.D.R.: There Will Be No Blackout of Peace in America
Date: September 3, 1939
Author: Franklin D. Roosevelt
Genre: speech
Summary Overview
In September 1939, the rising threat against American allies in Europe and China prompted President Franklin D. Roosevelt to rethink the perceived benefits of the so-called Neutrality Acts passed earlier in the decade. Roosevelt concluded that the language contained in the acts failed to distinguish between the aggressors and the victims of the aggressors in conflicts such as the one that was developing. Such vagueness, he argued, gave a passive form of aid to aggressors such as Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, and Emperor Hirohito. Therefore, Roosevelt delivered a message to a joint session of Congress, calling for the repeal of the Neutrality Acts and replacing them with a return to the much clearer tenets of international law. Such a move, he argued, would better position the United States and others to address the threats at hand and promote peace in the European and Pacific theaters.
Defining Moment
Over a decade after the Treaty of Versailles brought an end to World War I, Germany reemerged from its crippled economic and political state under the nationalistic fervor of new chancellor Adolf Hitler. Upon assuming power in 1933, Hitler set about his long-stated goals of expanding Germany's geographic domain. He began by sending troops into the Rhineland, a direct violation of the Treaty of Versailles, and annexing Austria. In March 1939, the Nazis moved from the Sudetenland into the rest of Czechoslovakia, followed by Poland in September. Several years earlier, fascist Italian leader Benito Mussolini had sent his own troops into Ethiopia, and the Italian occupation was ongoing. The Spanish Civil War had ended in early 1939 with the aid of Hitler and Mussolini, bringing dictator Francisco Franco to power. On the other side of the world, prior to joining forces with Germany and Italy, Japan invaded the Chinese region of Manchuria in 1933 and by the latter 1930s was using its puppet state there to advance both toward Beijing (a close trading partner of Europe and the United States) and into the South Pacific.
Weary from World War I and still reeling from the Great Depression, the United States remained on the sidelines. A majority of Americans felt that the growing crisis was a European matter and that neutrality was the better course of action. The prevailing opinion was that the United States should eschew offering any support to any of the combatants and instead focus on ensuring its own security and integrity and that of the rest of the Western Hemisphere. This attitude was bolstered by the Neutrality Act of 1935, which was introduced after a congressional panel concluded that the United States was drawn into World War I because it had offered support to its European allies. The Neutrality Act, and its subsequent amendments throughout the decade, placed a strict embargo on any supplies or aid sent to any of the combatants of the 1939 war.
Although the isolationists prevailed in the 1930s, a growing number of Americans advocated for greater participation in the war, even if this meant American troops landing in Europe. At the core of the interventionists' collective philosophies was the notion that democracy was in jeopardy and that if traditional allies such as Great Britain and France were to fall, the United States and its democratic institutions would then face a very real and imminent threat to its continued existence.
On Capitol Hill, debate began over whether the Neutrality Act was both hampering the United States' ability to defend its interests abroad and undermining the president's authority regarding the country's security. Rumors and rhetoric dominated the country. In June 1939, Roosevelt, himself under the impression that the war in Europe had tremendous implications for American interests, went on a CBS radio program to give clarity to the US position on the war.
Author Biography
Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born on January 30, 1882, in Hyde Park, New York. He graduated from Harvard College in 1903 and began studying law at Columbia University. Although he did not finish his law degree, Roosevelt passed the bar exam in New York and practiced law before being elected as a state senator in 1910. Because of his strong leadership and organizational skills, he was appointed assistant secretary of the navy by President Woodrow Wilson, a post he held from 1913 until 1920.
In 1921, Roosevelt was diagnosed with polio, a crippling disease that limited his mobility. Nevertheless, he was elected governor of New York in 1928 and reelected in 1930. In 1932, he was elected president of the United States. As a presidential term limit was not instituted until 1951, he was reelected three times, making him the longest-serving president in US history. During his four terms in office, Roosevelt oversaw the country's recovery from the Great Depression and its military participation during most of World War II. He died in office on April 12, 1945, after suffering a stroke while on vacation in Georgia.
Document Analysis
Roosevelt begins by telling listeners that war did indeed come to Europe when German troops arrived in Poland. This war is not a mere regional conflict between a few states with interests in Poland, he argues, but a major conflict that affects every nation, regardless of its geographic distance from the battlefield. Americans cannot simply “shrug [their] shoulders” and dismiss the war as an issue that will not affect the Western Hemisphere, he says. He acknowledges that every American, including Roosevelt himself, abhors the idea of war and wishes that it would not come to the shores of the United States. However, he points out, the geography of the European conflict does not minimize the potential threat facing Americans; when peace in one region has been broken, he says, “peace of all countries everywhere is in danger.”
Roosevelt next addresses the issue of American neutrality. He warns Americans not to believe rumors, misinformation, and rhetoric without first gathering all the facts, reminding his audience that they have the benefit of news that is free from censorship or propaganda, as well as a transparent government that they themselves control. In light of the freedom and rights established for every citizen in the Constitution, Roosevelt says, Americans can and should expect that information about the war will be shared as soon as it is received. Among the issues about which he believes Americans should be fully informed is the nation's long-standing policy of neutrality. Many parties, he warns, might suggest that the invasion of Poland should induce the United States to forgo its neutrality and involve itself in the conflict. Roosevelt says that he and his administration continue to be bound by the Neutrality Act and that it is his expectation that the United States will be able to remain neutral as the war continues.
Despite this, Roosevelt acknowledges that he cannot say with certainty that the war will remain in Europe and that the United States can continue to remain on the sidelines. Such matters are unpredictable and subject to frequent change. Still, he says, the United States should continue to advocate for peace while preparing for the possibility of war, and it is the “national duty” of the country and its citizens to do their part to keep the war away from their coastlines. In the meantime, he promises, he and the rest of the government will continue to be a constant proponent of peace and international law during a period of widespread war.
Bibliography and Additional Reading
“Biography of Franklin D. Roosevelt.” Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum. Natl. Archives and Records Administration, n.d. Web. 3 Nov. 2014.
Burns, James MacGregor, and Susan Dunn. The Three Roosevelts: Patrician Leaders Who Transformed America. New York: Grove, 2001. Print.
Crawford, Kenneth G. “Goodby Neutrality.” Nation 15 Apr. 1939: 423–24. Print.
Freidel, Frank, and Hugh Sidey. “Franklin D. Roosevelt.” WhiteHouse.gov. White House, n.d. Web. 3 Nov. 2014.
Taliaferro, Jeffrey W. “Strategy of Innocence or Provocation? The Roosevelt Administration's Road to World War II.” The Challenge of Grand Strategy: The Great Powers and the Broken Balance between the World Wars. Ed. Taliaferro, Norrin M. Ripsman, and Steven E. Lobell. New York: Cambridge UP, 2012. 193–223. Print.
“World War II Timeline.” National Geographic. Natl. Geographic Soc., 2001. Web. 3 Nov. 2014.