Question

Do you think Franklin’s appeal to the principles and values upon which his country was founded would be as effective today as it may have been in his time? In the context of this text, have the priorities and/or levels of patriotism among the American people how has America changed over time

Answer 1

When Franklin Delano Roosevelt gave his State of the Union address in 1941, the United States was once again on the brink of a world war. In the devastating aftermath of World War I, the United States adopted an isolationist stance, declining to join the League of Nations, refusing to sign the Versailles Treaty, and implementing the Neutrality Acts. All of these steps were taken to avoid any future US involvement in another Great War. By 1940, however, France had fallen to Germany, and the Axis Powers’ domination of Europe was nearly complete. Roosevelt, who was strongly opposed to the isolationist stance of the US, had been providing Great Britain with supplies but was prevented from openly declaring war or sending in troops. Roosevelt’s carefully crafted State of the Union speech was designed to outline the justifications for the direct involvement of the United States in World War II—a conflict he believed the US would eventually be forced to enter regardless. In his address (which would later be known as the Four Freedoms Speech), Roosevelt pointed to “four essential human freedoms” that the United States should fight to protect. Roosevelt’s speech resonated very deeply with the American public and his four freedoms came to represent both America’s wartime goals and the core values of American life.