Reagan Commemorates D-Day
This year marks the 70th anniversary of D-Day—June 6, 1944—when Allied forces landed on the shores of Normandy and began fighting to retake northern continental Europe from Nazi occupation. Today […]
Lyndon Johnson Fights a War on Poverty and Another against Communist Expansion
When Lyndon Johnson appeared before a joint session of the House and Senate to deliver his third State of the Union Address, he pressed the need for two different policy […]
King Explains the Strategy of Nonviolence
In recalling the leadership of Dr. Martin Luther King, we most often call to mind the moving rhetoric of his sermons and public speeches. But King was also adept at […]
Malcolm X Rejects Nonviolent Strategy
As President Johnson’s proposed civil rights legislation slowly moved through Congress during the spring of 1964, Malcolm X expressed cynicism about its prospects in speeches to his followers (see, for […]
On the Anniversary of Lincoln’s Assassination, His Last Speech
Today, April 15th, is the anniversary of Lincoln’s assassination. Four days before, the president had delivered his last public address. It was his official acknowledgement of the Confederate surrender. But […]
Truman Addresses the Nation on the War in Korea
Korea, like Germany, emerged from World War II as a divided nation. Under Japanese imperial control before the war, Korea was divided along the 38th parallel by the circumstance that […]
A Strategy of Containment: NSC 68
Crafted under the leadership of Paul Nitze (head of the Policy Planning Staff of the State Department) and delivered to President Truman on April 7, 1950, NSC 68 was an […]
The Crimean Conference
Crimea, the sunfish-shaped peninsula on the Northern Black Sea, connected to the Ukraine at the “head”—but within a few miles of Russia at its eastern “tail”—has been in the news […]
The Atlantic Charter
During the first two years of World War II, Roosevelt and Churchill worked closely together, not only in making American resources available for the British war effort. They also prepared […]
FDR and the Outbreak of World War II
Two days after Hitler’s invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, Britain and France declared war on Germany. Franklin Roosevelt gave a radio address to Americans on the same day, […]