September 3, 1939: Fireside Chat 14: On the European War a speech from President Franklin D. Roosevelt

Please enjoy September 3, 1939: Fireside Chat 14: On the European War a great episode of the legendary Franklin D. Roosevelt - A Classic Old Time radio Show.

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Episode Transcript

(00:01):
My countrymen and my friends. Tonight, my single duty is to speak
to the whole of America. Untilfour thirty o'clock this morning, I had
hoped, against hope that some miraclewould prevent a devastating war in Europe and

(00:22):
bring to an end the invasion ofPoland by Germany. For four long years,
a succession of actual wars and constantcrises have shaken the entire world,
and have threatened, in each caseto bring on the gigantic conflict, which

(00:44):
is to day unhappily a fact.It is right that I should recall to
your minds the consistent and the timesuccessful efforts of your government in these crises
to throw the full weight of theUnited States into the cause of peace in

(01:06):
spite of spreading wars. I thinkthat we have every right and every reason
to maintain as a national policy,the fundamental moralities, the teachings of religion,
the continuation of efforts to restore peace, because someday, though the time

(01:29):
may be distant, we can beof even greater help to a crippled humanity.
It is right, too to pointout that the unfortunate events of these
recent years have without question been basedon the use of force or the threat

(01:51):
of force. And it seems tome clear, even at the outbreak of
this great war, that the influenceof America should be consistent in seeking for
humanity a final piece which will eliminate, as far as it is possible to
do so, the continued use offorce between nations. It is, of

(02:16):
course impossible to predict the future.I have my constant stream of information from
American representatives and other sources throughout theworld. You, the people of this
country, are receiving news through yourradios and your newspapers at every hour of

(02:38):
the day. You are, Ibelieve, the most enlightened and the best
informed people in all the world.At this moment, you are subjected to
no censorship of news, and Iwant a wad that your government has no
information which it withholds or which ithas any thought of withholding from you.

(03:02):
At the same time, as Itold my press conference on Friday, it
is of the highest importance that thepress and the radio use the utmost caution
to discriminate between actual, verified facton the one hand and mere rumor on
the other. I can add tothat by saying that I hope the people

(03:25):
of this country will also discriminate mostcarefully between news and rumor. Do not
believe the necessity everything you hear orread. Check up on it first.
You must master atset at the outseta simple but unalterable fact in modern relations

(03:50):
between nations. When peace has beenbroken anywhere, the peace of all countries
everywhere is in danger. It iseasy for you and for me to shrug
our shoulders and say that conflicts takingplace thousands of miles from the continental United

(04:11):
States, and indeed thousands of milesfrom the whole American hemisphere, do not
seriously affect the Americas, and thatall the United States has to do is
to ignore them and go about itsown business passionately. Though we may desire
detachment, we are forced to realizethat every word that comes through the air,

(04:36):
every ship that sails the sea,every battle that is fought, does
affect the American future. Let noman or woman thoughtlessly or falsely talk of
America sending its armies to European fields. At this moment, there is being

(04:59):
pro aired a proclamation of American neutrality. This would have been done even if
there had been no neutrality statue onthe books. For this proclamation is in
accordance with international law and in accordancewith American policy. This will be followed

(05:23):
by a proclamation required by the existingNeutrality Act. And I trust that in
the days to come, our neutralitycan be made a true neutrality. It
is of the utmost importance that thepeople of this country, with the best

(05:44):
information in the world, think thingsthrough. The most dangerous enemies of American
peace are those who, without wellrounded information on the whole broad subject of
the past, the present, inthe future, undertake to speak with assumed
authority, to talk in terms ofglittering generalities, to give to the nation

(06:10):
assurances or prophecies which are of littlepresent or future value. I myself cannot
and do not prophesy the course ofevents abroad. And the reason is that
is that because I have, ofnecessity such a complete picture of what is

(06:31):
going on in every part of theworld, that I do not dare to
do so. And the other reasonis that I think it is honest for
me to be honest with the peopleof the United States. I cannot prophesy
the immediate economic effect of this newwar on our nation. But I do

(06:55):
say that no American has the moralright to profiteer at the expense either of
his fellow citizens or of the men, the women, and the children who
while living and dying in the midstof war in Europe. Some things we

(07:17):
do know. Most of us inthe United States believe in spiritual values.
Most of us, regardless of whatchurch we belong to, believe in the
spirit of the New Testament, agreat teaching which opposes itself to the use
of force, of armed force,of marching armies, and falling bombs.

(07:43):
The overwhelming masses of our people seekpeace, peace at home, and the
kind of peace in other lands whichwill not jeopardize our peace at home.
We have certain ideas and certain idealsof national safety, and we must act

(08:07):
to preserve that safety today and topreserve the safety of our children in future
years. That safety is and willbe bound up with the safety of the
Western hemisphere and of the seas adjacentThereto. We seek to keep war from

(08:31):
our own firesides by keeping war fromcoming to the Americas. For that,
we have historic president that goes backto the days of the administration of President
George Washington. It is serious enoughand tragic enough to every American family,

(08:52):
in every state in the Union tolive in a world that is torn by
wars on other continents, and thosewars to day affect every American home.
It is our national duty to useevery effort to keep those wars out of

(09:13):
the Americas. And at this time, let me make the simple plea that
partisanship and selfishness be adjourned, andthat national unity be the thought that underlies
all others. This nation will remaina neutral nation, but I cannot ask

(09:39):
that every American remain neutral in thoughtas well. Even a neutral has a
right to take account of facts.Even a neutral cannot be asked to close
his mind or close his conscience.I have said not once, but many

(10:05):
times that I have seen war andthat I hate war. I say that
again and again. I hope theUnited States will keep out of this war.

(10:26):
I believe that it will, andI give you assurance and reassurance that
every effort of your government will bedirected toward that end. As long as
it remains within my power to prevent. There will be no blackout of peace

(10:52):
in the United States.