142
Department of State Bulletin,
vol. 1, p. 201
Radio Address Delivered by
President Roosevelt From Washington, September
3, 1939
Tonight my single duty is to speak to the
whole of America.
Until 4:30 this morning I had hoped against
hope that some miracle would prevent a devastating war in Europe and bring to
an end the invasion of Poland by Germany.
For 4 long years a succession of actual wars
and constant crises have shaken the entire world and have threatened in each
case to bring on the gigantic conflict which is today unhappily a fact.
It is right that I should recall to your
minds the consistent and at times successful efforts of your Government in
these crises to throw the full weight of the United States into the cause of
peace. In spite of spreading wars I think that we have every right and every
reason to maintain as a national policy the fundamental moralities, the
teachings of religion, and the continuation of efforts to restore peace—for
some day, though the time may be distant, we can be of even greater help to a
crippled humanity.
It is right, too, to point out that the
unfortunate events of these recent years have been based on the use of force or
the threat of force And it seems to me clear, even at the outbreak of this
great war, that
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the influence of America should be consistent in seeking for humanity a
final peace which will eliminate, as far as it is possible to do so, the
continued use of force between nations.
It is, of course, impossible to predict the
future. I have my constant stream of information from American representatives
and other sources throughout the world. You, the people of this country, are
receiving news through your radios and your newspapers at every hour of the
day.
You are, I believe, the most enlightened and
the best informed people in all the world at this moment. You are subjected to
no censorship of news; and I want to add that your Government has no
information which it has any thought of withholding from you.
At the same time, as I told my press
conference on Friday, it is of the highest importance that the press and the
radio use the utmost caution to discriminate between actual verified fact on
the one hand and mere rumor on the other.
I can add to that by saying that I hope the
people of this country; will also discriminate most carefully between news and
rumor. Do not believe of necessity everything you hear or read. Check up on it
first.
You must master at the outset a simple but
unalterable fact in modern foreign relations. When peace has been broken
anywhere, peace of all countries everywhere is in danger.
It is easy for you and me to shrug our
shoulders and say that conflicts taking place thousands of miles from the
continental United States, and, indeed, the whole American hemisphere, do not
seriously affect the Americas—and that all the United States has to do is to
ignore them and go about our own business. Passionately though we may desire
detachment, we are forced to realize that every word that comes through the
air, every ship that sails the sea, every battle that is fought does affect the
American future.
Let no man or woman thoughtlessly or falsely
talk of America sending its armies to European fields. At this moment there is
being prepared a proclamation of American neutrality. This would have been done
even if there had been no neutrality statute on the books, for this
proclamation is in accordance with international law and with American policy.
This will be followed by a proclamation
required by the existing Neutrality Act. I trust that in the days to come our
neutrality can be made a true neutrality.
It is of the utmost importance that the
people of this country, with the best information in the world, think things
through. The most dangerous enemies of American peace are those who, without
well-
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rounded information on the whole broad subject of the past, the present,
and the future, undertake to speak with authority, to talk in terms of
glittering generalities, to give to the Nation assurances: or prophecies which
are of little present or future value.
I myself cannot and do not prophesy the
course of events abroad—and the reason is that because I have of necessity such
a complete picture of what is going on in every part of the world, I do not
dare to do so. And the other reason is that I think it is honest for me to be
honest with the people of United States.
I cannot prophesy the immediate economic
effect of this new war on our Nation, but I do say that no American has the
moral right to profiteer at the expense either of his fellow citizens or of the
men, women, and children who are living and dying in the midst of war in
Europe.
Some things we do know. Most of us in the
United States believe in spiritual values. Most of us, regardless of what
church we belong to, believe in the spirit of the New Testament—a great
teaching which opposes itself to the use of force, of armed force, of marching
armies, and falling bombs. The overwhelming masses of our people seek
peace—peace at home, and the kind of peace in other lands which will not
jeopardize peace at home.
We have certain ideas and ideals of national
safety, and we must act to preserve that safety today and to preserve the
safety of our children in future years.
That safety is and will be bound up with the
safety of the Western Hemisphere and of the seas adjacent thereto. We seek to
keep war from our firesides by keeping war from coming to the Americas. For
that we have historic precedent that goes back to the days of the administration
of President George Washington. It is serious enough and tragic enough to every
American family in every State in the Union to live in a world that is torn by
wars on other continents. Today they affect every American home. It is our
national duty to use every effort to keep them out of the Americas.
And at this time let me make the simple plea
that partisanship and selfishness be adjourned, and that national unity be the
thought that underlies all others.
This Nation will remain a neutral nation, but
I cannot ask that every American remain neutral in thought as well. Even a
neutral has a right to take account of facts. Even a neutral cannot be asked to
close his mind or his conscience.
I have said not once but many times that I
have seen war and that I hate war. I say that again and again.
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I hope the United States will keep out of
this war. I believe that it will. And I give you assurances that every effort
of your Government will be directed toward that end.
As long as it remains within my power to
prevent, there will be no blackout of peace in the United States.