A State of the Union address is a speech, mandated by the Constitution, given by the President of the United States to Congress, every January, in which the President outlines the country’s current status and its plans for the future (“The Definition of State of the Union”). On January 6, 1941, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, addressed the 77th Congress with his Four Freedoms Speech (Roosevelt). The purpose of this address was to outline the four indispensable human freedoms that America believes in, and to use them as a call to action of the American people, as America began to change its international foreign policy position from neutrality to an interventionist role as the United States began assist in the defense of other democratic
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President Roosevelt understood the reality, that American security was now tied to other countries, as they fought for the freedom and the right to democracy (Roosevelt). Should democracy continue to flounder across the world, Roosevelt was confident that in due time, the United States would be under attack as well (Roosevelt). In his speech, he stated that the United States did not compare in size or resources, so it was imperative that the U.S. provided assistance to foreign countries, because should they all fall, the United States risked falling as well (Roosevelt). This was a terrifying thought for the citizens of the United States, and put into perspective the necessity that the United States become more engaged in the international world. Roosevelt encouraged that the United States use the four human freedoms as a guiding principle for what they wanted to see established …show more content…
Roosevelt made it abundantly clear to Congress, that the United States was inevitably linked to the freedoms of other countries, and that without providing assistance to fellow democratic nations, the United States could ultimately suffer the same fate. Roosevelt’s outline of the United States national policy foreshadows the “Big Stick Diplomacy” that he eventually becomes known for. The “Big Stick Diplomacy” originated from his comment “Speak softly, but carry a big stick”, which meant “the United States should strive for peace while also keeping other nations aware of their military power” (“The Big Stick- Boundless Open Textbook”). President Roosevelt used this tactic after this address as the United States transitioned into a more prominent world
President Roosevelt understood the reality, that American security was now tied to other countries, as they fought for the freedom and the right to democracy (Roosevelt). Should democracy continue to flounder across the world, Roosevelt was confident that in due time, the United States would be under attack as well (Roosevelt). In his speech, he stated that the United States did not compare in size or resources, so it was imperative that the U.S. provided assistance to foreign countries, because should they all fall, the United States risked falling as well (Roosevelt). This was a terrifying thought for the citizens of the United States, and put into perspective the necessity that the United States become more engaged in the international world. Roosevelt encouraged that the United States use the four human freedoms as a guiding principle for what they wanted to see established …show more content…
Roosevelt made it abundantly clear to Congress, that the United States was inevitably linked to the freedoms of other countries, and that without providing assistance to fellow democratic nations, the United States could ultimately suffer the same fate. Roosevelt’s outline of the United States national policy foreshadows the “Big Stick Diplomacy” that he eventually becomes known for. The “Big Stick Diplomacy” originated from his comment “Speak softly, but carry a big stick”, which meant “the United States should strive for peace while also keeping other nations aware of their military power” (“The Big Stick- Boundless Open Textbook”). President Roosevelt used this tactic after this address as the United States transitioned into a more prominent world