Charles Lindbergh's Fireside Chat On The Arsenal Of Democracy

The attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 made America seem more united in their purpose to protect the world against evil powers than any other time in history. However, the road leading to this was a rocky one that did not represent the previous conflicting points of views amongst the American people in regards to acting in international relations. Two historical protagonists represent the division between interventionalists and isolationists. President Roosevelt embodies the internationalists, with their amibition of supporting the Allied cause. In his Fireside Chat on the Arsenal of Democracy in 1940 he calls out to his people, asking them to support him in providing supplies to ensure English victory. On the supposed isolationist side, we find aviator Charles Lindbergh, his rhetoric in the America First Commission meeting in New York in 1941 focusing on American independence and how the security of his people will be compromised by intervening in the war on the behalf of self-centered Europe. They both claim to represent the majority, but in their attempt to persuade America they prove that the divison between intervention and non-intervention is not as clear cut as it may seem.

Roosevelt believes the Axis powers are a threat, not only ideologically with their anti-democratic regime, but also with their military prowess. He states that the actions of the Nazi regime and their rapid occupation of areas that were initially promised protection shows that America can not be kept safe. “If The United States of America interfered with or blocked the expansion program of these three nations – a program aimed at world control – they would unite in ultimate action against the United States. The fact that Germanys ideology goes against the liberal, democratic values of America further emphasizes the fact that something has to be done to avoid a possible conflict with Europe in the