January 7th, 1943, the day Franklin Delano Roosevelt made history with his State of the Union Address. In the heat of World War II, FDR was one of the only morale boosters for the American population, which had their brothers fighting in a war that they knew very little information about. FDR honors the soldiers fighting around the world, stating how as long a
s the flag flies over the Capital, Americans will be honoring the soldiers fighting the overwhelming battles and their spirits will live forever. FDR commends Russia for both their defense of Stalingrad and there offensive army pushing against the German siege of their country. He understands how important this war is to the Axis Powers, failure is not an option for them, so they are giving it all they have got. FDR then turns to the Pacific area, talking about the United States’ large victory against the Japanese in the Battle of Midway. He puts emphasis on this battle despite the other recent battles on the Coral Sea, New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. He does this because those battle were merely just defense, while Midway was the first true showing of the stre
ngth of the American Navy.
We see within this State of the Union Address that Franklin Roosevelt inspired the American people to keep their heads up. From the beginning of his presidency with the fireside chats, meant to keep the people connected together as they listen to FDR’s plans for the America’s Great Depression, to now, FDR has always presented a sense of humanity to the American pop
ulation. However, FDR showed care to the Allied Powers as well, where he created an effort with the Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies. Although the people worried about this, as they saw that FDR was turning his back on them after so much, “no evidence has surfaced to demonstrate that Roosevelt lied actively and consistently to the American people about his ultimate intentions, and there are good reasons to conclude that he wishfully hoped that the United States could (or would have to) fight a limited war…” (Kimball 86). Roosevelt did not want any more altercation in the war than the people did, but that did not stop him from supporting the cause in any way. Once the United States ultimately joined the war effort due to the attack on Pearl Harbor, however, FDR showed full strength and support for not only his country, but for his Allies as well, but his strength was deteriorating.
Franklin Roosevelt was diagnosed with poliomyelitis, otherwise known as Polio, roughly two decades before his 1943 Address. Roosevelt
was paralyzed from the waist down, using either a wheelchair or leg braces to him himself move. Despite this obvious illness, however, Roosevelt kept it hidden to the public, afraid that if they saw the true side of him, the people would see him as a weak and frail man. Due to this illness making him immobile, “he maneuvered others to revolve around him. Roosevelt’s craving for adoration and companionship drained even those who loved him” (Costigliola 679). Roosevelt was able to use his connections with others as his strength, due to his lack of strength physically.
Overall, despite some of the failures of FDR, such as his hiding of Polio, or the aid he gave to Allied Nations during our isolationism, Roosevelt was loved. His enthusiasm shown in his State of the Union Address, along with the cheers behind him, cements the fact that he will forever live in the hearts of many Americans. To the people, “The president was the great symbol of stout resistance to the vaguely articulated and ultimately unpredictable threats of which he himself constantly warned” (Chernus 146). Franklin D. Roosevelt was the symbol for this country during this time of need, and his support only reinforces that.
Works Cited
Chernus, Ira. 2016. “Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Narrative of National Insecurity.” Journal of Multicultural Discourses 11 (2): 135–48. doi:10.1080/17447143.2016.1153104
Costigliola, Frank. 2008. “Broken Circle: The Isolation of Franklin D. Roosevelt in World War II.” Diplomatic History 32 (5): 677–718. doi:10.1111/j.1467-7709.2008.00725.x
Kimball, Warren F. 2004. “Franklin D. Roosevelt and World War II.” Presidential Studies Quarterly 34 (1): 83. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=sso&db=edsgac&AN= dsgac.A119613588&site=eds-live.