FDR calls for ‘quarantine’ of aggressor nations, Oct. 5, 1937
On this day in 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in remarks aimed at Germany, Italy and Japan, called for a “quarantine” of aggressor nations. Without citing them by name, the president said that these nations were spending up to half of their state budgets on military buildups, compared with a little more than a tenth by the United States.
The president spoke in Chicago, where he witnessed the dedication of a bridge between the northern and southern sections of Lake Shore Drive.
FDR cited the need for an international “quarantine” to counter the “epidemic of world lawlessness” by aggressive nations. He saw such moves as a needed alternative to the existing policy of U.S. neutrality and nonintervention — one that marked not only the prevailing mood in Congress but also the views of most Americans. While he said he favored new economic pressures, FDR stopped well short of urging an aggressive military response.
In his 1,855-word speech, the president said: “The political situation in the world, which of late has been growing progressively worse, is such as to cause grave concern and anxiety to all the peoples and nations who wish to live in peace and amity with their neighbors.
“Some 15 years ago, the hopes of mankind for a continuing era of international peace were raised to great heights when more than 60 nations solemnly pledged themselves not to resort to arms in furtherance of their national aims and policies. The high aspirations expressed in the Briand-Kellogg Peace Pact and the hopes for peace thus raised have of late given way to a haunting fear of calamity. The present reign of terror and international lawlessness began a few years ago.
“It began through unjustified interference in the internal affairs of other nations or the invasion of alien territory in violation of treaties; and has now reached a stage where the very foundations of civilization are seriously threatened. The landmarks and traditions which have marked the progress of civilization toward a condition of law, order and justice are being wiped away.
“Without a declaration of war and without warning or justification of any kind, civilians, including vast numbers of women and children, are being ruthlessly murdered with bombs from the air. In times of so-called peace, ships are being attacked and sunk by submarines without cause or notice. Nations are fomenting and taking sides in civil warfare in nations that have never done them any harm.
“Nations claiming freedom for themselves deny it to others.”
Roosevelt’s remarks backfired at the time, intensifying America’s isolationist mood and triggering protests by noninterventionists. Cartoonist Percy Crosby, a Roosevelt critic, bought a two-page ad in the New York Sun attacking the speech. It was criticized by Hearst-owned newspapers and by Robert R. McCormick of the Chicago Tribune. But some other newspaper editorials expressed approval of the president’s approach.
SOURCE: “THIS DAY IN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORY,” BY PAUL BRANDUS (2018)