下面是小编为大家整理的2023年总统演讲范本3篇,供大家参考。希望对大家写作有帮助!
总统演讲3篇
【篇1】总统演讲
美国总统罗斯福就职演讲稿
President Hoover, Mr. Chief Justice, my friends: This is a day of national consecration. And I am certain that on this day my fellow Americans expect that on my induction into the Presidency, I will address them with a candor and a decision which the present situation of our people impels. This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today. This great Nation will endure, as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself -- nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life, a leadership of frankness and of vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory. And I am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days. In such a spirit on my part and on yours we face our common difficulties. They concern, thank God, only material things. Values have shrunk to fantastic levels; taxes have risen; our ability to pay has fallen; government of all kinds is faced by serious curtailment of income; the means of exchange are frozen in the currents of trade; the withered leaves of industrial enterprise lie on every side; farmers find no markets for their produce; and the savings of many years in thousands of families are gone. More important, a host of unemployed citizens face the grim problem of existence, and an equally great number toil with little return. Only a foolish optimist can deny the dark realities of the moment. And yet our distress comes from no failure of substance. We are stricken by no plague of locusts. Compared with the perils which our forefathers conquered, because they believed and were not afraid, we have still much to be thankful for. Nature still offers her bounty and human efforts have multiplied it. Plenty is at our doorstep, but a generous use of it languishes in the very sight of the supply. Primarily, this is because the rulers of the exchange of mankind"s goods have failed, through their own stubbornness and their own incompetence, have admitted their failure, and have abdicated. Practices of the unscrupulous money changers stand indicted in the court of public opinion, rejected by the hearts and minds of men. True, they have tried. But their efforts have been cast in the pattern of an outworn tradition. Faced by failure of credit, they have proposed only the lending of more money. Stripped of the lure of profit by which to induce our people to follow their false leadership, they have resorted to exhortations, pleading tearfully for restored confidence. They only know the rules of a generation of self-seekers. They have no vision, and when there is no vision the people perish. Yes, the money changers have fled from their high seats in the temple of our civilization. We may now restore that temple to the ancient truths. The measure of that restoration lies in the extent to which we apply social values more noble than mere monetary profit. Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort. The joy, the moral stimulation of work no longer must be forgotten in the mad chase of evanescent profits. These dark days, my friends, will be worth all they cost us if they teach us that our true destiny is not to be ministered unto but to minister to ourselves, to our fellow men. Recognition of that falsity of material wealth as the standard of success goes hand in hand with the abandonment of the false belief that public office and high political position are to be valued only by the standards of pride of place and personal profit; and there must be an end to a conduct in banking and in business which too often has given to a sacred trust the likeness of callous and selfish wrongdoing. Small wonder that confidence languishes, for it thrives only on honesty, on honor, on the sacredness of obligations, on faithful protection, and on unselfish performance; without them it cannot live. Restoration calls, however, not for changes in ethics alone. This Nation is asking for action, and action now. Our greatest primary task is to put people to work. This is no unsolvable problem if we face it wisely and courageously. It can be accomplished in part by direct recruiting by the Government itself, treating the task as we would treat the emergency of a war, but at the same time, through this employment, accomplishing great -- greatly needed projects to stimulate and reorganize the use of our great natural resources. Hand in hand with that we must frankly recognize the overbalance of population in our industrial centers and, by engaging on a national scale in a redistribution, endeavor to provide a better use of the land for those best fitted for the land. Yes, the task can be helped by definite efforts to raise the values of agricultural products, and with this the power to purchase the output of our cities. It can be helped by preventing realistically the tragedy of the growing loss through foreclosure of our small homes and our farms. It can be helped by insistence that the Federal, the State, and the local governments act forthwith on the demand that their cost be drastically reduced. It can be helped by the unifying of relief activities which today are often scattered, uneconomical, unequal. It can be helped by national planning for and supervision of all forms of transportation and of communications and other utilities that have a definitely public character. There are many ways in which it can be helped, but it can never be helped by merely talking about it. We must act. We must act quickly. And finally, in our progress towards a resumption of work, we require two safeguards against a return of the evils of the old order. There must be a strict supervision of all banking and credits and investments. There must be an end to speculation with other people"s money. And there must be provision for an adequate but sound currency. These, my friends, are the lines of attack. I shall presently urge upon a new Congress in special session detailed measures for their fulfillment, and I shall seek the immediate assistance of the 48 States. Through this program of action we address ourselves to putting our own national house in order and making income balance outgo. Our international trade relations, though vastly important, are in point of time, and necessity, secondary to the establishment of a sound national economy. I favor, as a practical policy, the putting of first things first. I shall spare no effort to restore world trade by international economic readjustment; but the emergency at home cannot wait on that accomplishment. The basic thought that guides these specific means of national recovery is not nationally -- narrowly nationalistic. It is the insistence, as a first consideration, upon the interdependence of the various elements in and parts of the United States of America -- a recognition of the old and permanently important manifestation of the American spirit of the pioneer. It is the way to recovery. It is the immediate way. It is the strongest assurance that recovery will endure. In the field of world policy, I would dedicate this Nation to the policy of the good neighbor: the neighbor who resolutely respects himself and, because he does so, respects the rights of others; the neighbor who respects his obligations and respects the sanctity of his agreements in and with a world of neighbors. If I read the temper of our people correctly, we now realize, as we have never realized before, our interdependence on each other; that we can not merely take, but we must give as well; that if we are to go forward, we must move as a trained and loyal army willing to sacrifice for the good of a common discipline, because without such discipline no progress can be made, no leadership becomes effective. We are, I know, ready and willing to submit our lives and our property to such discipline, because it makes possible a leadership which aims at the larger good. This, I propose to offer, pledging that the larger purposes will bind upon us, bind upon us all as a sacred obligation with a unity of duty hitherto evoked only in times of armed strife. With this pledge taken, I assume unhesitatingly the leadership of this great army of our people dedicated to a disciplined attack upon our common problems. Action in this image, action to this end is feasible under the form of government which we have inherited from our ancestors. Our Constitution is so simple, so practical that it is possible always to meet extraordinary needs by changes in emphasis and arrangement without loss of essential form. That is why our constitutional system has proved itself the most superbly enduring political mechanism the modern world has ever seen. It has met every stress of vast expansion of territory, of foreign wars, of bitter internal strife, of world relations. And it is to be hoped that the normal balance of executive and legislative authority may be wholly equal, wholly adequate to meet the unprecedented task before us. But it may be that an unprecedented demand and need for undelayed action may call for temporary departure from that normal balance of public procedure. I am prepared under my constitutional duty to recommend the measures that a stricken nation in the midst of a stricken world may require. These measures, or such other measures as the Congress may build out of its experience and wisdom, I shall seek, within my constitutional authority, to bring to speedy adoption. But, in the event that the Congress shall fail to take one of these two courses, in the event that the national emergency is still critical, I shall not evade the clear course of duty that will then confront me. I shall ask the Congress for the one remaining instrument to meet the crisis -- broad Executive power to wage a war against the emergency, as great as the power that would be given to me if we were in fact invaded by a foreign foe. For the trust reposed in me, I will return the courage and the devotion that befit the time. I can do no less. We face the arduous days that lie before us in the warm courage of national unity; with the clear consciousness of seeking old and precious moral values; with the clean satisfaction that comes from the stern performance of duty by old and young alike. We aim at the assurance of a rounded, a permanent national life. We do not distrust the -- the future of essential democracy. The people of the United States have not failed. In their need they have registered a mandate that they want direct, vigorous action. They have asked for discipline and direction under leadership. They have made me the present instrument of their wishes. In the spirit of the gift I take it. In this dedication -- In this dedication of a Nation, we humbly ask the blessing of God. May He protect each and every one of us. May He guide me in the days to come. 美国总统罗斯福就职演讲稿（中文版） 胡佛总统，首席法官先生，朋友们： 今天，对我们的国家来说，是一个神圣的日子。我肯定，同胞们都期待我在就任总统时，会像我国目前形势所要求的那样，坦率而果断地向他们讲话。现在正是坦白、勇敢地说出实话，说出全部实话的最好时刻。我们不必畏首畏尾，不老老实实面对我国今天的情况。这个伟大的国家会一如既往地坚持下去，它会复兴和繁荣起来。因此，让我首先表明我的坚定信念：我们唯一不得不害怕的就是害怕本身--一种莫名其妙、丧失理智的、毫无根据的恐惧，它把人转退为进所需的种种努力化为泡影。凡在我国生活阴云密布的时刻，坦率而有活力的领导都得到过人民的理解和支持，从而为胜利准备了必不可少的条件。我相信，在目前危急时刻，大家会再次给予同样的支持。 我和你们都要以这种精神，来面对我们共同的困难。感谢上帝，这些困难只是物质方面的。价值难以想象地贬缩了；
课税增加了；
我们的支付能力下降了；
各级政府面临着严重的收入短缺；
交换手段在贸易过程中遭到了冻结；
工业企业枯萎的落叶到处可见；
农场主的产品找不到销路；
千家万户多年的积蓄付之东流。 更重要的是，大批失业公民正面临严峻的生存问题，还有大批公民正以艰辛的劳动换取微薄的报酬。只有愚蠢的乐天派会否认当前这些阴暗的现实。 但是，我们的苦恼决不是因为缺乏物资。我们没有遭到什么蝗虫的灾害。我们的先辈曾以信念和无畏一次次转危为安，比起他们经历过的险阻，我们仍大可感到欣慰。大自然仍在给予我们恩惠，人类的努力已使之倍增。富足的情景近在咫尺，但就在我们见到这种 情景的时候，宽裕的生活却悄然离去。这主要是因为主宰人类物资交换的统治者们失败了，他们固执己见而又无能为力，因而已经认定失败了，并撒手不管了。贪得无厌的货币兑换商的种种行径。将受到舆论法庭的起诉，将受到人类心灵理智的唾弃。 是的，他们是努力过，然而他们用的是一种完全过时的方法。面对信贷的失败，他们只是提议借出更多的钱。没有了当诱饵引诱 人民追随他们的错误领导的金钱，他们只得求助于讲道，含泪祈求人民重新给予他们信心。他们只知自我追求者们的处世规则。他们没有眼光，而没有眼光的人是要灭亡的。 如今，货币兑换商已从我们文明庙宇的高处落荒而逃。我们要以千古不变的真理来重建这座庙宇。衡量这重建的尺度是我们体现比金钱利益更高尚的社会价值的程度。 幸福并不在于单纯地占有金钱；
幸福还在于取得成就后的喜悦，在于创造努力时的激情。务必不能再忘记劳动带来的喜悦和激励，而去疯狂地追逐那转瞬即逝的利润。如果这些暗淡的时日能使我们认识到，我们真正的天命不是要别人侍奉，而是为自己和同胞们服务，那么，我们付出的代价就完全是值得的。 认识到把物质财富当作成功的标准是错误的，我们就会抛弃以地位尊严和个人收益为唯一标准，来衡量公职和高级政治地位的错误信念；
我们必须制止银行界和企业界的一种行为，它常常使神圣的委托混同于无情和自私的不正当行为。难怪信心在减弱，信心，只有靠诚实、信誉、忠心维护和无私履行职责。而没有这些，就不可能有信心。 但是，复兴不仅仅只要改变伦理观念。这个国家要求行动起来，现在就行动起来。 我们最大、最基本的任务是让人民投入工作。只要我信行之以智慧和勇气，这个问题就可以解决。这可以部分由政府直接征募完成，就象对待临战的紧要关头一样，但同时，在有了人手的情况下，我们还急需能刺激并重组巨大自然资源的工程。 我们齐心协力，但必须坦白地承认工业中心的人口失衡，我们必须在全国范围内重新分配，使土地在最适合的人手中发表挥更大作用。 明确地为提高农产品价值并以此购买城市产品所做的努力，会有助于任务的完成。避免许多小家庭业、农场业被取消赎取抵押品的权利的悲剧也有助于任务的完成。联邦、州、各地政府立即行动回应要求降价的呼声，有助于任务的完成。将现在常常是分散不经济、不平等的救济活动统一起来有助于任务的完成。对所有公共交通运输，通讯及其他涉及公众生活的设施作全国性的计划及监督有助于任务的完成。许多事情都有助于任务完成，但这些决不包括空谈。我们必须行动，立即行动。 最后，为了重新开始工作，我们需要两手防御，来抗御旧秩序恶魔卷土从来；
一定要有严格监督银行业、信贷及投资的机制：一定要杜绝投机；
一定要有充足而健康的货币供应。 以上这些，朋友们，就是施政方针。我要在特别会议上敦促新国会给予详细实施方案，并且，我要向18个州请求立即的援助。 通过行动，我们将予以我们自己一个有秩序的国家大厦，使收入大于支出。我们的国际贸易，虽然很重要，但现在在时间和必要性上，次于对本国健康经济的建立。我建议，作为可行的策略、首要事务先行。虽然我将不遗余力通过国际经济重新协调所来恢复国际贸易，但我认为国内的紧急情况无法等待这重新协调的完成。 指导这一特别的全国性复苏的基本思想并非狭隘的国家主义。我首先考虑的是坚持美国这一整体中各部分的相互依赖性--这是对美国式的开拓精神的古老而永恒的证明的体现。这才是复苏之路，是即时之路，是保证复苏功效持久之路。 在国际政策方面，我将使美国采取睦邻友好的政策。做一个决心自重，因此而尊重邻国的国家。做一个履行义务，尊重与他国协约的国家。 如果我对人民的心情的了解正确的话，我想我们已认识到了我们从未认识的问题，我们是互相依存的，我们不可以只索取，我们还必须奉献。我们前进时，必须象一支训练有素的忠诚的军队，愿意为共同的原则而献身，因为，没有这些原则，就无法取得进步，领导就不可能得力。我们都已做好准备，并愿意为此原则献出生命和财产，因为这将使志在建设更美好社会的领导成为可能。我倡议，为了更伟大的目标，我们所有的人，以一致的职责紧紧团结起来。这是神圣的义务，非战乱，不停止。 有了这样的誓言，我将毫不犹豫地承担领导伟大人民大军的任务，致力于对我们普遍问题的强攻。这样的行动，这样的目标，在我们从祖先手中接过的政府中是可行的。我们的宪法如此简单，实在。它随时可以应付特殊情况，只需对重点和安排加以修改而不丧失中心思想，正因为如此，我们的宪法体制已自证为是最有适应性的政治体制。它已应付过巨大的国土扩张、外战、内乱及国际关系所带来的压力。 而我们还希望行使法律的人士做到充分的平等，能充分地担负前所未有的任务。但现在前所未有的对紧急行动的需要要求国民暂时丢弃平常生活节奏，紧迫起来。 让我们正视面前的严峻岁月，怀着举国一致给我们带来的热情和勇气，怀着寻求传统的、珍贵的道德观念的明确意识，怀着老老少少都能通过克尽职守而得到的问心无愧的满足。我们的目标是要保证国民生活的圆满和长治久安。 我们并不怀疑基本民主制度的未来。合众国人民并没有失败。他们在困难中表达了自己的委托，即要求采取直接而有力的行动。他们要求有领导的纪律和方向。他们现在选择了我作为实现他们的愿望的工具。我接受这份厚赠。 在此举国奉献之际，我们谦卑地请求上帝赐福。愿上帝保信我们大家和每一个人，愿上帝在未来的日子里指引我。
【篇2】总统演讲
Chief Justice Roberts, President Carter, President Clinton, President Bush, President Obama, fellow Americans and people of the world, thank you.
We, the citizens of America are now joined in a great national effort to rebuild our country and to restore its promise for all of our people.
Together, we will determine the course of America and the world for many, many years to come.
We will face challenges. We will confront hardships. But we will get the job done.
Every four years, we gather on these steps to carry out the orderly and peaceful transfer of power, and we are grateful to President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama for their gracious aid throughout this transition. They have been magnificent. Thank you.
Today’s ceremony however, has very special meaning, because today, we are not merely transferring power from one administration to another or from one party to another, but we are transferring power from Washington, DC, and giving it back to you, the people.
For too long, a small group in our nation’s Capital have reaped the rewards of government while the people have borne the cost. Washington flourished, but the people did not share in its wealth. Politicians prospered — but the jobs left and the factories closed. The establishment protected itself but not the citizens of our country. Their victories have not been your victories; their triumphs have not been your triumphs; and while they celebrated in our nation’s capital, there was little to celebrate for struggling families all across our land.
That all changes starting right here and right now, because this moment is your moment It belongs to you. It belongs to everyone gathered here today and everyone watching all across America. This is your day. This is your celebration. And this, the United States of America, is your country.
What truly matters is not which party controls our government but whether our government is controlled by the people. January 20, 2017 will be remembered as the day the people became the rulers of this nation again. The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer.
Everyone is listening to you now. You came by the tens of millions to become part of a historic movement, the likes of which the world has never seen before. At the center of this movement is a crucial conviction that a nation exists to serve its citizens. Americans want great schools for their children, safe neighborhoods for their families, and good jobs for themselves.
These are the just and reasonable demands of righteous people and a righteous public. But for too many of our citizens, a different reality exists. Mothers and children trapped in poverty in our inner cities, rusted-out factories scattered like tombstones across the landscape of our nation, an education system flush with cash but which leaves our young and beautiful students deprived of all knowledge; and the crime and the gangs and the drugs that have stolen too many lives and robbed our country of so much unrealised potential.
This American carnage stops right here and stops right now. We are one nation and their pain is our pain. Their dreams are our dreams and their success will be our success. We share one heart, one home and one glorious destiny. The oath of office I take today is an oath of allegiance to all Americans. For many decades, we have enriched foreign industry at the expense of American industry, subsidized the armies of other countries while allowing for the very sad depletion of our military.
We have defended other nations’ borders while refusing to defend our own, and spent trillions of dollars overseas while America’s infrastructure has fallen into disrepair and decay. We’ve made other countries rich while the wealth, strength and confidence of our country has disappeared over the horizon.
One by one, the factories shuttered and left our shores, with not even a thought about the millions and millions upon American workers that were left behind. The wealth of our middle class has been ripped from their homes and then redistributed all across the world. But that is the past and now we are looking only to the future.
We assembled here today are issuing a new decree to be heard in every city, in every foreign capital, and in every hall of power From this day forward, a new vision will govern our land. From this day forward, it’s going to be only America first, America first. Every decision on trade, on taxes, on immigration, on foreign affairs will be made to benefit American workers and American families. We must protect our borders from the ravages of other countries making our products, stealing our companies and destroying our jobs.
Protection will lead to great prosperity and strength. I will fight for you with every breath in my body. And I will never ever let you down.
America will start winning again, winning like never before. We will bring back our jobs. We will bring back our borders. We will bring back our wealth. And we will bring back our dreams.
We will build new roads and highways and bridges and airports and tunnels and railways all across our wonderful nation. We will get our people off of welfare and back to work, rebuilding our country with American hands and American labour.
We will follow two simple rules buy American and hire American. We will seek friendship and goodwill with the nations of the world, but we do so with the understanding that it is the right of all nations to put their own interests first. We do not seek to impose our way of life on anyone, but rather to let it shine as an example. We will shine for everyone to follow.
We will reinforce old alliances and form new ones and united the civilised world against radical Islamic terrorism, which we will eradicate from the face of the earth. At the bedrock of our politics will be a total allegiance to the United States of America and through our loyalty to our country, we will rediscover our loyalty to each other.
When you open your heart to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice. The Bible tells us how good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity. We must speak our minds openly, debate our disagreements honestly, but always pursue solidarity. When America is united, America is totally unstoppable.
There should be no fear. We are protected and we will always be protected. We will be protected by the great men and women of our military and law enforcement. And most importantly, we will be protected by God.
Finally, must think big and dream even bigger. In America, we understand that a nation is only living as long it is striving. We will no longer accept politicians who are all talk and no action, constantly complaining, but never doing anything about it.
The time for empty talk is over. Now arrives the hour of action. Do not allow anyone to tell you that it cannot be done. No challenge can match the heart and fight and spirit of America. We will not fail.
Our country will thrive and prosper again. We stand at the birth of a new millennium, ready to unlock the mysteries of space, to free the earth from the miseries of disease and harness the energies, industries and technologies of tomorrow.
A new national pride will stir our souls, lift our sights and heal our divisions. It’s time to remember that old wisdom our soldiers will never forget that whether we are black or brown or white, we all bleed the same red blood of patriots, we all enjoy the same glorious freedoms, and we all salute the same great American flag. And whether a child is born in the urban sprawl of Detroit or the wind-swept plains of Nebraska, they look up at the same night sky. They fill their heart with the same dreams and they are infused with the breath of life by the same almighty Creator.
So to all Americans in every city near and far, small and large, from mountain to mountain, from ocean to ocean, hear these words You will never be ignored again.
Your voice, your hopes and your dreams will define our American destiny. And your courage, and goodness and love will forever guide us along the way. Together, we will make America strong again. We will make America wealthy again. We will make America proud again. We will make America safe again. And yes, together, we will make America great again.
Thank you. God bless you. And God bless America. Thank you. God bless America.
【篇3】总统演讲
罗斯福总统演讲The Four Freedoms_演讲稿mr. president, mr. speaker, members of the 77th congress:
i address you, the members of this new congress, at a moment unprecedented in the history of the union. i use the word “unprecedented” because at no previous time has american security been as seriously threatened from without as it is today.
since the permanent formation of our government under the constitution in 1789, most of the periods of crisis in our history have related to our domestic affairs. and, fortunately, only one of these -- the four-year war between the states -- ever threatened our national unity. today, thank god, 130,000,000 americans in 48 states have forgotten points of the compass in our national unity.
it is true that prior to 1914 the united states often has been disturbed by events in other continents. we have even engaged in two wars with european nations and in a number of undeclared wars in the west indies, in the mediterranean and in the pacific, for the maintenance of american rights and for the principles of peaceful commerce. but in no case had a serious threat been raised against our national safety or our continued independence.
what i seek to convey is the historic truth that the united states as a nation has at all times maintained opposition -- clear, definite opposition -- to any attempt to lock us in behind an ancient chinese wall while the procession of civilization went past. today, thinking of our children and of their children, we oppose enforced isolation for ourselves or for any other part of the americas.
that determination of ours, extending over all these years, was proved, for example, in the early days during the quarter century of wars following the french revolution. while the napoleonic struggles did threaten interests of the united states because of the french foothold in the west indies and in louisiana, and while we engaged in the war of 1812 to vindicate our right to peaceful trade, it is nevertheless clear that neither france nor great britain nor any other nation was aiming at domination of the whole world.
and in like fashion, from 1815 to 1914 -- ninety-nine years -- no single war in europe or in asia constituted a real threat against our future or against the future of any other american nation.
except in the maximilian interlude in mexico, no foreign power sought to establish itself in this hemisphere. and the strength of the british fleet in the atlantic has been a friendly strength; it is still a friendly strength.
even when the world war broke out in 1914, it seemed to contain only small threat of danger to our own american future. but as time went on, as we remember, the american people began to visualize what the downfall of democratic nations might mean to our own democracy.
we need not overemphasize imperfections in the peace of versailles. we need not harp on failure of the democracies to deal with problems of world reconstruction. we should remember that the peace of 1919 was far less unjust than the kind of pacification which began even before munich, and which is being carried on under the new order of tyranny that seeks to spread over every continent today. the american people have unalterably set their faces against that tyranny.
i suppose that every realist knows that the democratic way of life is at this moment being directly assailed in every part of the world -- assailed either by arms or by secret spreading of poisonous propaganda by those who seek to destroy unity and promote discord in nations that are still at peace. during 16 long months this assault has blotted out the whole pattern of democratic life in an appalling number of independent nations, great and small. and the assailants are still on the march, threatening other nations, great and small.
therefore, as your president, performing my constitutional duty to “give to the congress information of the state of the union,” i find it unhappily necessary to report that the future and the safety of our country and of our democracy are overwhelmingly involved in events far beyond our borders.
armed defense of democratic existence is now being gallantly waged in four continents. if that defense fails, all the population and all the resources of europe and asia, and africa and austral-asia will be dominated by conquerors. and let us remember that the total of those populations in those four continents, the total of those populations and their resources greatly exceed the sum total of the population and the resources of the whole of the western hemisphere -- yes, many times over.
in times like these it is immature -- and, incidentally, untrue -- for anybody to brag that an unprepared america, single-handed and with one hand tied behind its back, can hold off the whole world.
no realistic american can expect from a dictator"s peace international generosity, or return of true independence, or world disarmament, or freedom of expression, or freedom of religion -- or even good business. such a peace would bring no security for us or for our neighbors. those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
as a nation we may take pride in the fact that we are soft-hearted; but we cannot afford to be soft-headed. we must always be wary of those who with sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal preach the “ism” of appeasement. we must especially beware of that small group of selfish men who would clip the wings of the american eagle in order to feather their own nests.
i have recently pointed out how quickly the tempo of modern warfare could bring into our very midst the physical attack which we must eventually expect if the dictator nations win this war.
there is much loose talk of our immunity from immediate and direct invasion from across the seas. obviously, as long as the british navy retains its power, no such danger exists. even if there were no british navy, it is not probable that any enemy would be stupid enough to attack us by landing troops in the united states from across thousands of miles of ocean, until it had acquired strategic bases from which to operate.
but we learn much from the lessons of the past years in europe -- particularly the lesson of norway, whose essential seaports were captured by treachery and surprise built up over a series of years. the first phase of the invasion of this hemisphere would not be the landing of regular troops. the necessary strategic points would be occupied by secret agents and by their dupes -- and great numbers of them are already here and in latin america. as long as the aggressor nations maintain the offensive they, not we, will choose the time and the place and the method of their attack.
and that is why the future of all the american republics is today in serious danger. that is why this annual message to the congress is unique in our history. that is why every member of the executive branch of the government and every member of the congress face great responsibility, great accountability. the need of the moment is that our actions and our policy should be devoted primarily -- almost exclusively -- to meeting this foreign peril. for all our domestic problems are now a part of the great emergency.
just as our national policy in internal affairs has been based upon a decent respect for the rights and the dignity of all our fellow men within our gates, so our national policy in foreign affairs has been based on a decent respect for the rights and the dignity of all nations, large and small. and the justice of morality must and will win in the end.
our national policy is this:
first, by an impressive expression of the public will and without regard to partisanship, we are committed to all-inclusive national defense.
secondly, by an impressive expression of the public will and without regard to partisanship, we are committed to full support of all those resolute people everywhere who are resisting aggression and are thereby keeping war away from our hemisphere. by this support we express our determination that the democratic cause shall prevail, and we strengthen the defense and the security of our own nation.
third, by an impressive expression of the public will and without regard to partisanship, we are committed to the proposition that principles of morality and considerations for our own security will never permit us to acquiesce in a peace dictated by aggressors and sponsored by appeasers. we know that enduring peace cannot be bought at the cost of other people"s freedom.
in the recent national election there was no substantial difference between the two great parties in respect to that national policy. no issue was fought out on this line before the american electorate. and today it is abundantly evident that american citizens everywhere are demanding and supporting speedy and complete action in recognition of obvious danger.
therefore, the immediate need is a swift and driving increase in our armament production. leaders of industry and labor have responded to our summons. goals of speed have been set. in some cases these goals are being reached ahead of time. in some cases we are on schedule; in other cases there are slight but not serious delays. and in some cases -- and, i am sorry to say, very important cases -- we are all concerned by the slowness of the accomplishment of our plans.
the army and navy, however, have made substantial progress during the past year. actual experience is improving and speeding up our methods of production with every passing day. and today"s best is not good enough for tomorrow.
i am not satisfied with the progress thus far made. the men in charge of the program represent the best in training, in ability, and in patriotism. they are not satisfied with the progress thus far made. none of us will be satisfied until the job is done.
no matter whether the original goal was set too high or too low, our objective is quicker and better results.
to give you two illustrations:
we are behind schedule in turning out finished airplanes. we are working day and night to solve the innumerable problems and to catch up.
we are ahead of schedule in building warships, but we are working to get even further ahead of that schedule.
to change a whole nation from a basis of peacetime production of implements of peace to a basis of wartime production of implements of war is no small task. and the greatest difficulty comes at the beginning of the program, when new tools, new plant facilities, new assembly lines, new shipways must first be constructed before the actual material begins to flow steadily and speedily from them.
the congress of course, must rightly keep itself informed at all times of the progress of the program. however, there is certain information, as the congress itself will readily recognize, which, in the interests of our own security and those of the nations that we are supporting, must of needs be kept in confidence.
new circumstances are constantly begetting new needs for our safety. i shall ask this congress for greatly increased new appropriations and authorizations to carry on what we have begun.
i also ask this congress for authority and for funds sufficient to manufacture additional munitions and war supplies of many kinds, to be turned over to those nations which are now in actual war with aggressor nations. our most useful and immediate role is to act as an arsenal for them as well as for ourselves. they do not need manpower, but they do need billions of dollars" worth of the weapons of defense.
the time is near when they will not be able to pay for them all in ready cash. we cannot, and we will not, tell them that they must surrender merely because of present inability to pay for the weapons which we know they must have.
i do not recommend that we make them a loan of dollars with which to pay for these weapons -- a loan to be repaid in dollars. i recommend that we make it possible for those nations to continue to obtain war materials in the united states, fitting their orders into our own program. and nearly all of their material would, if the time ever came, be useful in our own defense.
taking counsel of expert military and naval authorities, considering what is best for our own security, we are free to decide how much should be kept here and how much should be sent abroad to our friends who, by their determined and heroic resistance, are giving us time in which to make ready our own defense.
for what we send abroad we shall be repaid, repaid within a reasonable time following the close of hostilities, repaid in similar materials, or at our option in other goods of many kinds which they can produce and which we need.
let us say to the democracies: “we americans are vitally concerned in your defense of freedom. we are putting forth our energies, our resources, and our organizing powers to give you the strength to regain and maintain a free world. we shall send you in ever-increasing numbers, ships, planes, tanks, guns. that is our purpose and our pledge.”
in fulfillment of this purpose we will not be intimidated by the threats of dictators that they will regard as a breach of international law or as an act of war our aid to the democracies which dare to resist their aggression. such aid -- such aid is not an act of war, even if a dictator should unilaterally proclaim it so to be.
and when the dictators -- if the dictators -- are ready to make war upon us, they will not wait for an act of war on our part.
they did not wait for norway or belgium or the netherlands to commit an act of war. their only interest is in a new one-way international law, which lacks mutuality in its observance and therefore becomes an instrument of oppression. the happiness of future generations of americans may well depend on how effective and how immediate we can make our aid felt. no one can tell the exact character of the emergency situations that we may be called upon to meet. the nation"s hands must not be tied when the nation"s life is in danger.
yes, and we must prepare, all of us prepare, to make the sacrifices that the emergency -- almost as serious as war itself -- demands. whatever stands in the way of speed and efficiency in defense, in defense preparations of any kind, must give way to the national need.
a free nation has the right to expect full cooperation from all groups. a free nation has the right to look to the leaders of business, of labor, and of agriculture to take the lead in stimulating effort, not among other groups but within their own group.
the best way of dealing with the few slackers or trouble-makers in our midst is, first, to shame them by patriotic example, and if that fails, to use the sovereignty of government to save government.
as men do not live by bread alone, they do not fight by armaments alone. those who man our defenses and those behind them who build our defenses must have the stamina and the courage which come from unshakable belief in the manner of life which they are defending. the mighty action that we are calling for cannot be based on a disregard of all the things worth fighting for.
the nation takes great satisfaction and much strength from the things which have been done to make its people conscious of their individual stake in the preservation of democratic life in america. those things have toughened the fiber of our people, have renewed their faith and strengthened their devotion to the institutions we make ready to protect.
certainly this is no time for any of us to stop thinking about the social and economic problems which are the root cause of the social revolution which is today a supreme factor in the world. for there is nothing mysterious about the foundations of a healthy and strong democracy.
the basic things expected by our people of their political and economic systems are simple. they are:
equality of opportunity for youth and for others.
jobs for those who can work.
security for those who need it.
the ending of special privilege for the few.
the preservation of civil liberties for all.
the enjoyment -- the enjoyment of the fruits of scientific progress in a wider and constantly rising standard of living.
these are the simple, the basic things that must never be lost sight of in the turmoil and unbelievable complexity of our modern world. the inner and abiding strength of our economic and political systems is dependent upon the degree to which they fulfill these expectations.
many subjects connected with our social economy call for immediate improvement. as examples:
we should bring more citizens under the coverage of old-age pensions and unemployment insurance.
we should widen the opportunities for adequate medical care.
we should plan a better system by which persons deserving or needing gainful employment may obtain it.
i have called for personal sacrifice, and i am assured of the willingness of almost all americans to respond to that call. a part of the sacrifice means the payment of more money in taxes. in my budget message i will recommend that a greater portion of this great defense program be paid for from taxation than we are paying for today. no person should try, or be allowed to get rich out of the program, and the principle of tax payments in accordance with ability to pay should be constantly before our eyes to guide our legislation.
if the congress maintains these principles the voters, putting patriotism ahead pocketbooks, will give you their applause.
in the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms.
the first is freedom of speech and expression -- everywhere in the world.
the second is freedom of every person to worship god in his own way -- everywhere in the world.
the third is freedom from want, which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants -- everywhere in the world.
the fourth is freedom from fear, which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor -- anywhere in the world.
that is no vision of a distant millennium. it is a definite basis for a kind of world attainable in our own time and generation. that kind of world is the very antithesis of the so-called “new order” of tyranny which the dictators seek to create with the crash of a bomb.
to that new order we oppose the greater conception -- the moral order. a good society is able to face schemes of world domination and foreign revolutions alike without fear.
since the beginning of our american history we have been engaged in change, in a perpetual, peaceful revolution, a revolution which goes on steadily, quietly, adjusting itself to changing conditions without the concentration camp or the quicklime in the ditch. the world order which we seek is the cooperation of free countries, working together in a friendly, civilized society.
this nation has placed its destiny in the hands and heads and hearts of its millions of free men and women, and its faith in freedom under the guidance of god. freedom means the supremacy of human rights everywhere. our support goes to those who struggle to gain those rights and keep them. our strength is our unity of purpose.
to that high concept there can be no end save victory.
