Prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor, there were a wide variety of opinions regarding the country’s involvement in the war. Furthermore, there was a large difference between the opinions of the American citizens that stayed home and were merely ‘witnesses’ to the war, verses the soldiers that fought in the war. Aside from this, there was generally a very similar attitude towards the war from most Americans. Within the southern states, there seemed to be an immense support and trust in the President’s actions. Rev. R. R. Reese (1309 East 12th Street, Austin Texas) put his faith in the Roosevelt’s plan and even went as far as to say that he was “100% behind him”. Reese also said that it was difficult to get by with such a high cost of living …show more content…
Men within the “prime-fighting ages” were required to register for the draft and selected at random to serve. Despite a common misconception, most men that were serving in the American armed forces rarely saw the horrific scenes of battle. In comparison, the soldier’s view of the war and the interviewees differ greatly. Many of the soldiers were fighting in the war to return home to safety and comfort. They wanted to “get it over with” so they could return to their families and to their homes. Furthermore, Jeffries states that service members fought to avoid shame as well as to support their fellow troops. Additionally, many of the troops fighting were relatively unconcerned with Roosevelt’s plans for America. “Only 13 percent could name three of the ‘Four Freedoms’ that FDR had declared as the nation’s war aims- freedom of speech and religion, freedom from want and dear- while one third could name none. Studies indicated that just one in twenty GIs fought for such a clear idealistic reasons as the threat to democracy,” (Jefferies, 172). These soldier’s opinions of the war were far different from the “proud” American citizens who were willing to give up a great deal to win the