1939 State of the Union Address

Speech by US president Franklin D. Roosevelt

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1939 State of the Union AddressDate| January 4, 1939 (1939-01-04)

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Venue| House Chamber, United States Capitol
Location| Washington, D.C.[1]
Coordinates| 38°53′23″N 77°00′32″W﻿ / ﻿38.88972°N 77.00889°W﻿ / 38.88972; -77.00889
Type| State of the Union Address
Participants| Franklin D. Roosevelt
John Nance Garner
William B. Bankhead
Previous| 1938 State of the Union Address
Next| 1940 State of the Union Address

The 1939 State of the Union Address was given to the 76th United States Congress, on Wednesday, January 4, 1939, by Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd United States president. Foreseeing World War II, he said, "In Reporting on the state of the nation, I have felt it necessary on previous occasions to advise the Congress of disturbance abroad and of the need of putting our own house in order in the face of storm signals from across the seas. As this 76th Congress opens there is need for further warning. A war which threatened to envelop the world in flames has been averted; but it has become increasingly clear that world peace is not assured."[2] On September 1, 1939, the War in Europe began.

Roosevelt ended his speech by quoting the closing lines from Abraham Lincoln's 1862 State of the Union Address when he said the following:

> Once I prophesied that this generation of Americans had a rendezvous with destiny. That prophecy comes true. To us much is given; more is expected.[a] This generation will "nobly save or meanly lose the last best hope of earth. . . . The way is plain, peaceful, generous, just—a way which if followed the world will forever applaud and God must forever bless."[3]

1. ^ This is an allusion to Luke 12:48.

## References

[edit]

English Wikisource has original text related to this article:

1939 State of the Union Address

1. ^ "Joint Meetings, Joint Sessions, & Inaugurations | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives". history.house.gov. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
2. ^ "State of the Union Address: Franklin D. Roosevelt (January 4, 1939)". InfoPlease. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
3. ^ Roosevelt, Franklin D. (January 4, 1939). "Annual Message to Congress". The American Presidency Project. Retrieved March 11, 2024.

Preceded by

1938 State of the Union Address

|  State of the Union addresses
1939  | Succeeded by

1940 State of the Union Address

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* Legend: Address to Joint Session
* Written message
* Written message with national radio address
* Split into multiple parts
* † Included a detailed written supplement
* ‡ Not officially a "State of the Union"
Presidents William Henry Harrison (1841) and James Garfield (1881) died in office before delivering a State of the Union

* v
* t
* e

Franklin D. Roosevelt

* 32nd President of the United States (1933–1945)
* 44th Governor of New York (1929–1932)
* Assistant Secretary of the Navy (1913–1920)
* New York State Senator (1911–1913)

Presidency
(timeline)|

* Transition
* Inaugurations (1st
* 2nd
* 3rd
* 4th)
* First and second terms
* Third and fourth terms
* Foreign policy
* New Deal
* overview
* New Deal coalition
* First 100 days
* Second New Deal
* Federal Emergency Relief Administration
* Civilian Conservation Corps
* Agricultural Adjustment Act
* Emergency Banking Act
* Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1944
* Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act
* Tennessee Valley Authority
* National Labor Relations Act of 1935
* National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933
* Public Works Administration
* National Recovery Administration
* Works Progress Administration
* National Youth Administration
* Social Security Act
* Aid to Families with Dependent Children
* Communications Act of 1934
* Federal Communications Commission
* Securities and Exchange Commission
* Monetary gold ownership
* Gold Reserve Act
* Silver seizure
* Record on civil rights
* Defense industry non-discrimination
* Fair Employment Practice Committee
* Indian Reorganization Act
* Executive Orders 9066, 9102
* War Relocation Authority
* Japanese American internment
* German-American internment
* Italian-American internment
* Brownlow Committee
* Executive Office of the President
* G.I. Bill of Rights
* Cullen–Harrison Act
* Roerich Pact
* Four Freedoms
* Four Freedoms Monument
* Black Cabinet
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* Judicial Court-Packing Bill
* Cannabis policy
* Federal Judicial appointments
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* Wiley Rutledge Supreme Court nomination
* Cabinet
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* March of Dimes
* Modern Oval Office
* Official car
* Criticism
* Franksgiving
* Executive Orders
* Presidential Proclamations

Presidential
foreign policy|

* Banana Wars
* U.S. occupation of Nicaragua, 1912–1933
* U.S. occupation of Haiti, 1915–1934
* Good Neighbor Policy (1933–1945)
* Montevideo Convention (1933)
* Second London Naval Treaty (1936)
* ABCD line (1940)
* Export Control Act
* Four Policemen
* Destroyers-for-bases deal
* Lend-Lease
* 1940 Selective Service Act
* Hull note
* Atlantic Charter (1941)
* Military history of the United States during World War II
* Home front during World War II
* Combined Munitions Assignments Board
* War Production Board
* Declaration by United Nations (1942)
* Dumbarton Oaks Conference
* World War II conferences
* Quebec Agreement
* Europe first
* Morgenthau Plan support

Presidential
speeches|

* 1932 Acceptance speech
* Commonwealth Club Address
* Madison Square Garden speech
* "Four Freedoms"
* Day of Infamy speech
* Arsenal of Democracy
* "...is fear itself"
* Fireside chats
* "Look to Norway"
* Quarantine Speech
* "The More Abundant Life"
* State of the Union Address (1934
* 1938
* 1939
* 1940
* 1941 (Four Freedoms)
* 1944 (Second Bill of Rights)
* 1945)

Other events|

* Early life, education, career
* Warm Springs Institute
* Governorship of New York
* Business Plot
* Assassination attempt

Elections|

* 1928 New York state election
* 1930
* Democratic National Convention, 1920
* 1924
* 1932
* 1936
* 1940
* 1944
* 1920 United States presidential election
* 1932
* theme song
* 1936
* 1940
* 1944

Life and homes|

* Early life and education
* Groton School
* Springwood birthplace, home, and gravesite
* Adams House
* FDR Suite
* Campobello home
* Paralytic illness
* New York State Executive Mansion
* Top Cottage
* Little White House, Warm Springs, Georgia
* Ferdinand Magellan railcar

Legacy|

* Bibliography
* Statues
* Presidential Library and Museum
* Roosevelt Institute
* Roosevelt Institute Campus Network
* Franklin Delano Roosevelt Foundation
* Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial
* Roosevelt Island
* Four Freedoms Park
* White House Roosevelt Room
* Roosevelt Institute for American Studies
* USS Franklin D. Roosevelt
* USS Roosevelt
* Four Freedoms Award
* Four Freedoms paintings
* Unfinished portrait
* U.S. Postage stamps
* Roosevelt dime
* I'd Rather Be Right 1937 musical
* Films
* The Roosevelt Story 1947
* Sunrise at Campobello 1960
* Eleanor and Franklin 1976, The White House Years 1977
* Backstairs at the White House 1979 miniseries
* World War II: When Lions Roared 1997 miniseries
* Warm Springs 2005
* Hyde Park on Hudson 2012
* The Roosevelts 2014 documentary
* The First Lady 2022 miniseries
* FDR 2023 miniseries
* The Six Triple Eight 2024 film
* Other namesakes

Family
(Roosevelt
• Delano)|

* Eleanor Roosevelt (wife)
* Anna Roosevelt Halsted (daughter)
* James Roosevelt II (son)
* Elliott Roosevelt (son)
* Franklin Delano Roosevelt Jr. (son)
* John Aspinwall Roosevelt II (son)
* James Roosevelt I (father)
* Sara Ann Delano (mother)
* James Roosevelt Roosevelt (half-brother)
* Isaac Roosevelt (grandfather)
* Warren Delano Jr. (grandfather)
* Fala (family dog)
* Major (family dog)

* ← Herbert Hoover
* Harry S. Truman →

* Category

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