How we cite our quotes: (Sentence)
Quote #1
But the width of those oceans is not what it was in the days of clipper ships.... Why, even today, we have planes that could fly from the British Isles to New England and back again without refueling. (38, 41)
"It's A Small World After All" isn't just an annoying ride at Walt Disney World. As technology advanced, it became easier and easier to send people and information around the world in record time. When it comes to flying from JFK to Dublin in six hours, it's not such a bad thing.
However, when you're facing a real war with a bunch of power-hungry dictators, the outlook isn't so sunny. FDR knew that, even without deploying American troops overseas, U.S. industrial capabilities would play a huge role in the outcome of World War II.
Quote #2
And most important of all, the vast resources and wealth of this American hemisphere constitute the most tempting loot in all of the round world. (71)
The U.S. is big. Really, really big—we're talking more than 3 million square miles, and that's a lot of land filled with tons of natural resources.
Industry in this country has undoubtedly benefited from access to all that fun stuff, and it's what made the U.S. so capable of producing all the weapons and munitions the Allies needed to defeat the Axis. It also made the U.S. super attractive to the bad guys, who were dependent on other nations to get the supplies they needed, so FDR wanted to make sure the American people knew time was of the essence.
Quote #3
Guns, planes, ships and many other things have to be built in the factories and the arsenals of America. They have to be produced by workers and managers and engineers with the aid of machines, which in turn have to be built by hundreds of thousands of workers throughout the land. In this great work there has been splendid cooperation between the government and industry and labor. (151-153)
Especially at this moment in our history, with the Great Depression still super fresh in everyone's mind, FDR knew he needed to promise the American people that, if they gave their all in producing munitions and weapons for the war effort, the government would do everything possible to protect them. All people at all levels of industry and government need to work together, because that's what gave U.S. industry such an edge. FDR recognized the true power in manufacturing was in the workers and laborers who operated the machines, and he wanted those people to know they'd be taken care of.
Quote #4
American industrial genius, unmatched throughout all the world in the solution of production problems, has been called upon to bring its resources and its talents into action. Manufacturers of watches, of farm implements, of Linotypes and cash registers and automobiles, and sewing machines and lawn mowers and locomotives, are now making fuses and bomb packing crates and telescope mounts and shells and pistols and tanks. (155-156)
In other words, the time has come—this is the moment American manufacturing has been waiting for, the opportunity to prove just how innovative and powerful U.S. industry actually is.
How will that happen? FDR is mighty glad you asked.
All production of luxury goods—automobiles, watches, Linotypes, lawn mowers—will come to an end, and those factories and workers will dedicate themselves to making weapons of war. Everyone has to get their heads in the game.
Quote #5
I want to make it clear that it is the purpose of the nation to build now with all possible speed every machine, every arsenal, every factory that we need to manufacture our defense material. We have the men, the skill, the wealth, and above all, the will. (166-167)
Here's the thing about the United States that makes it so amazing: The American people always seem to rally together when the kitty litter hits the fan.
FDR knew U.S. industry was capable of accommodating the increased production, and he knew the workers had the skills necessary to make it happen. But he also sincerely believed that what set his people apart from the rest of the world is their dedication to freedom, and their dedication to protecting all people everywhere from threats of enslavement and death. At this point, the best way the United States could do that was to revamp the goods being produced in the country, and FDR knew the people had what it took to get the job done.