FDR

And we shall not hesitate to use our influence--and to use it now--to secure so far as is humanly possible the fulfillment of the principles of the Atlantic Charter.

But we must not this time lose the hope of establishing an international order which will be capable of maintaining peace and realizing through the years more perfect justice between Nations.

To do this we must be on our guard not to exploit and exaggerate the differences between us and our allies, particularly with reference to the peoples who have been liberated from Fascist tyranny.

But those situations are not as easy or as simple to deal with as some spokesmen, whose sincerity I do not question, would have us believe.

We have obligations, not necessarily legal, to the exiled Governments, to the underground leaders, and to our major allies who came much nearer the shadows than we did.

We and our allies have declared that it is our purpose to respect the right of all peoples to choose the form of government under which they will live and to see sovereign rights and self-government restored to those who have been forcibly…

But with internal dissension, with many citizens of liberated countries still prisoners of war or forced to labor in Germany, it is difficult to guess the kind of self-government the people really want.

It is only too easy for all of us to rationalize what we want to believe, and to consider those leaders we like responsible and those we dislike irresponsible.

And our task is not helped by stubborn partisanship, however understandable on the part of opposed internal factions.

It is our purpose to help the peace-loving peoples of Europe to live together as good neighbors, to recognize their common interests and not to nurse their traditional grievances against one another.

But we must not permit the many specific and immediate problems of adjustment connected with the liberation of Europe to delay the establishment of permanent machinery for the maintenance of peace.

Under the threat of a common danger, the United Nations joined together in war to preserve their independence and their freedom.

They must now join together to make secure the independence and freedom of all peace-loving states, so that never again shall tyranny be able to divide and conquer.

We and the other United Nations are going forward, with vigor and resolution, in our efforts to create such a system by providing for it strong and flexible institutions of joint and cooperative action.

We Americans have always believed in freedom of opportunity, and equality of opportunity remains one of the principal objectives of our national life.

What we believe in for individuals, we believe in also for Nations.

We are opposed to restrictions, whether by public act or private arrangement, which distort and impair commerce, transit, and trade.

But it is our hope, not only in the interest of our own prosperity but in the interest of the prosperity of the world, that trade and commerce and access to materials and markets may be freer after this war than ever before in the history…

Far from having been crushed by the terror of Nazi domination, the French people have emerged with stronger faith than ever in the destiny of their country and in the soundness of the democratic ideals to which the French Nation has…

During her liberation, France has given proof of her unceasing determination to fight the Germans, continuing the heroic efforts of the resistance groups under the occupation and of all those Frenchmen throughout the world who refused to…

In addition to the contribution which France can make to our common victory, her liberation likewise means that her great influence will again be available in meeting the problems of peace.

We fully recognize France's vital interest in a lasting solution of the German problem and the contribution which she can make in achieving international security.

I said then, and I say now, that these economic truths represent a second bill of rights under which a new basis of security and prosperity can be established for all--regardless of station, race, or creed.

The Federal Government must see to it that these rights become realities--with the help of States, municipalities, business, labor, and agriculture.

But the American people will not accept mass unemployment or mere makeshift work.