On January 6

On this day in ...
... 1941 (70 years ago today), President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed a joint session of Congress. Today his State of the Union speech is perhaps best known for its concluding paragraphs, setting forth the 4 Freedoms still recognized as a keystone of human rights, at home and abroad. That aspect was not wholly lost -- a commentator hailed the speech as providing a "Magna Charta of Democracy." But many paid particular attention to the call for war matériel and monetary aid for Britain and other countries already waging the conflict against aggression, as Roosevelt repeatedly called it, that the United States would not join formally for another 11 months. The dual nature of the address is evident in these newsreel clips (the 4 Freedoms segment begins at about 5:26).





(Prior January 6 posts are here, here, and here.)