Franklin D. Roosevelt was reelected to an unprecedented third term as U.S. president in November 1940. In late December of that year he delivered his "Arsenal of Democracy" fireside chat to the American people. He asked American industries to speed up their production of war materials, for U.S. military stockpiles and for shipment to Great Britain, whose armed forces were fighting against German aggression.

Roosevelt addressed Congress and the nation in his State of the Union address on January 6, 1941, a week after his "Arsenal" speech. In the address he repeated his call for accelerated mobilization, saying "I am not satisfied with the progress thus far." Toward the end of the speech Roosevelt explained that mobilization was necessary to rid the world of dictatorships and military rule, the types of power wielded by Adolf Hitler in Germany, Benito...