Analysis of Fdr's Annual Message to Congress - 1941

ANNUAL MESSAGE TO CONGRESS

Franklin D. Roosevelt

In 1941, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt gave his annual State of the Union address to Congress. In his speech, President Roosevelt debriefed Congress of the ongoing war in Europe and proceeded to outline his new foreign affair policy. He spoke about the basic responsibilities citizens expect from their government and how he would strive to assure that the world would commit to such responsibilities and would aid those who were not given the opportunity to give those protections. The new policy also ensured that the United States would involve itself in WWII.

Roosevelt grew up in a wealthy family in Upstate New York . As a democrat reformer, President Roosevelt lifted the country's economy from the Great Depression through the New Deal. This was a series of programs such as Social Security and Wagner Act, and implementation of government agencies like the Securities and Exchange Commission . It has been discussed over time how FDR ranked among presidents, and consistently, he ranks among the top 5. This is due to the ability he had of bringing people together in time of need, regardless of political affiliation, social status, race or religion. He allowed women and blacks to serve, gave the poor ways to improve their way of life, and, as seen in his speech, wanted the basic principles of equality and democracy for all.

The basic principles were being taken away by the Axis Powers during World War II. Adolf Hitler led his campaign throughout Europe, destroying Allied efforts, like in France, Poland, and parts of Britain, to withstand his rule. This indirectly affected the United States because with the European allies it had established under control of Hitler and anti-democratic regimes, the U.S. was under threat of an eminent attack on its shores, and on the rest of the world, as its allies we no longer able to combat the enemy in remote locations. Due to this, FDR knew that it needed to stop the advancement of Hitler and his campaign before the Allies were completely under siege and unable to aid the United States and democracy around the globe.

The President's speech to Congress was delivered with language that did not directly isolate a group or use a demeaning language towards a specific people; instead, the president used language that connected Americans across the country. Although not as assertive as his "Day of Infamy" speech , President Roosevelt called upon the Congress to act assertively and in the behalf of what was ultimately best for America. He said things to the manner of "We Americans are vitally concerned in [the world's democracies] defense of freedom." This united the country as a whole and provided the world with a vision of what the U.S. stood for. The fact that the country was united under one purpose gave a straight

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