“Our earth is but a small star in a great universe. Yet of it we can make, if we choose, a planet unvexed by war, untroubled by hunger or fear, undivided by senseless distinctions of race, color, or theory.”

An optimistic vision of human choice toward peace and equity · Prayer written for United Nations Flag Day broadcast, 1942

• Hope
• Humanity
• Peace

“Let each one of us say, 'I am an American. I intend to stay an American. I will do my best to wipe from my heart hate, rancor and political prejudice. I will sustain my government. And, through good days or bad, I will try to serve my country.”

An appeal for civic unity and service above partisanship · Public address / wartime remarks

• Citizenship
• Patriotism
• Unity

“We cannot afford the creeping paralysis that destroys the effective will of democracy—the paralysis carried by hate and rancor, between class and class, person and person, party and party.”

A call against division that undermines democratic strength · Public remarks / essays of the 1940s (widely attested)

• America
• Democracy
• Unity