The Great Arsenal of Democracy: War Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Sentence)

Quote #4

In a military sense, Great Britain and the British Empire are today the spearhead of resistance to world conquest. And they are putting up a fight which will live forever in the story of human gallantry. (125-126)

FDR believed the Allies would win the war, and history would celebrate Great Britain and other countries who'd given their all to defeat the bad guys. They were fighting for the freedom of literally the entire world.

Quote #5

For us this is an emergency as serious as war itself. We must apply ourselves to our task with the same resolution, the same sense of urgency, the same spirit of patriotism and sacrifice as we would show were we at war. (174-175)

Here's the thing FDR wasn't ready to say to the American people quite yet: as far as he was concerned, it wasn't a matter of if the U.S. would go to war, but when. FDR wanted to inspire the patriotism and spirit of service that Americans are known for in times of conflict, so that when the day finally came when there did need to be boots on the ground in Europe, the U.S. would be ready.