Franklin D. Roosevelt - Third Inaugural Address (1941)

This speech was delivered at a time when the military forces of Germany and Japan enjoyed a series of victories over seemingly weakling democratic nations. By early 1941, the German Reich had spread throughout most of Western Europe, while the Japanese Empire covered vast areas of the South Pacific.,The shocking collapse¹ of noble, civilized² nations resulted in a creeping erosion of confidence in the future of democracy. To some observers it appeared that Fascism and militarism might be the wave of the future and that democracy with all its inherent problems was in serious decline.,In his third inaugural³ speech, President Franklin Roosevelt turned his attention to this growing misconception and attempted to rally Americans, reminding them of their roots and rekindling⁴ the spirit of democracy.,