state of the union address
franklin d. roosevelt
january 6, 1945
to the congress:
in considering the state of the union, the war and the peace that is to follow are naturally uppermost in the minds of all of us.
we have seen a year marked, on the whole, by substantial progress toward victory, even though the year ended with a setback for our arms, when the germans launched a
ferocious counter-attack into luxembourg and belgium with the obvious objective of cutting our line in the center
our men have fought with indescribable and unforgettable gallantry under most difficult conditions, and our german enemies have sustained considerable losses while failing
to obtain their objectives
the high tide of this german effort was reached two days after christmas. since then we have reassumed the offensive, rescued the isolated garrison at bastogne, and forced
a german withdrawal along the whole line of the salient. the speed with which we recovered from this savage attack was largely possible because we have one supreme
commander in complete control of all the allied armies in france general eisenhower has faced this period of trial with admirable calm and resolution and with steadily
increasing success. he has my complete confidence.
further desperate attempts may well be made to break our lines, to slow our progress. we must never make the mistake of assuming that the germans are beaten until the last
nazi has surrendered.
based on details in roosevelt's speech, what is the main message he wants listeners to get?
people of america have pulled together admirably
the army has had a most difficult winter in europe
the germans will soon be easily defeated,
the war effort is showing some success