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PAPER XXXIII
"The long known and the long expected has thus taken place."
Message to the Congress requesting the recognition of a state of war
with Germany and Italy, December 11, 1941
To the Congress of the United States:
On the morning of December 11 the Government of Germany, pursuing its
course of world conquest, declared war against the United States.
The long known and the long expected has thus taken place. The forces
endeavoring to enslave the entire world now are moving toward this
hemisphere.
Never before has there been a greater challenge to life, liberty, and
civilization.
Delay invites greater danger. Rapid and united effort by all the peoples
of the world who are determined to remain free will insure a world
victory of the forces of justice and of righteousness over the forces of
savagery and of barbarism.
Italy also has declared war against the United States.
I therefore request the Congress to recognize a state of war between the
United States and Germany and between the United States and Italy.
FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT.
THE WHITE HOUSE,
December 11, 1941.
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See Paper XXXI of this series for the message calling for a declaration
of a state of war with Japan.