Podcast
1944 State of the Union: Documents in Detail
Ep. 201814
In this month’s episode of Documents in Detail, TAH faculty members discussed the meaning, context around, and importance of Franklin Roosevelt’s 1944 State of the Union address, famous for its full-throated defense of FDR’s vision for a reformed America, what he called a “second” Bill of Rights, and how he worked with his political allies and adversaries to frame, present, and even sometimes misrepresent, his foreign and domestic policies. An ever-complicated man, FDR’s motives are often difficult to discern, although papers such as the 1944 SOTU offer a clear sense of his understanding of what America ought to be.