It is in the Far East that we have taken up arms, under the United Nations, to preserve the principle of independence for free nations.  We are fighting to keep the forces of Communist aggression from making a slave state out of Korea.

Korea has tremendous significance for the world.  It means that free nations, acting through the United Nations, are fighting together against aggression.

We will understand the importance of this best if we look back into history.  If the democracies had stood up against the invasion of Manchuria in 1931, or the attack on Ethiopia in 1935, or the seizure of Austria in 1938, if they had stood together against aggression on those occasions as the United Nations has done in Korea, the whole history of our time would have been different.

The principles for which we are fighting in Korea are right and just.  They are the foundations of collective security and of the future of free nations.  Korea is not only a country undergoing the torment of aggression; it is also a symbol.  It stands for right and justice in the world against oppression and slavery.  The free world must always stand for these principles—­and we will stand with the free world.

As the third part of our program, we will continue to work for peaceful settlements in international disputes.  We will support the United Nations and remain loyal to the great principles of international cooperation laid down in its charter.

We are willing, as we have always been, to negotiate honorable settlements with the Soviet Union.  But we will not engage in appeasement.

The Soviet rulers have made it clear that we must have strength as well as right on our side.  If we build our strength—­and we are building it—­the Soviet rulers may face the facts and lay aside their plans to take over the world.

That is what we hope will happen, and that is what we are trying to bring about.  That is the only realistic road to peace.

These are the main elements of the course our Nation must follow as a member of the community of free nations.  These are the things we must do to preserve our security and help create a peaceful world.  But they will be successful only if we increase the strength of our own country.

Here at home we have some very big jobs to do.  We are building much stronger military forces—­and we are building them fast.  We are preparing for full wartime mobilization, if that should be necessary.  And we are continuing to build a strong and growing economy, able to maintain whatever effort may be required for as long as necessary.

We are building our own Army, Navy, and Air Force to an active strength of nearly 3 1/2 million men and women.  We are stepping up the training of the reserve forces, and establishing more training facilities, so that we can rapidly increase our active forces far more on short notice.

We are going to produce all the weapons and equipment that such an armed force will need.  Furthermore, we will make weapons for our allies, and weapons for our own reserve supplies.  On top of this, we will build the capacity to turn out on short notice arms and supplies that may be needed for a full-scale war.