Champ Clark speech transcript - December 1, 1919
Transcript
[page 1] [December 1, 1919] Arguments as to why we entered the stupendous war and how we got into it are obsolete. According to my way of thinking, the matter can be condensed late into one brief sentence: No nation will long endure or deserves to endure which will not protect all of its citizens wherever they may be by land or sea. That is our all-sufficient reason. It exhausts the subject. I wish I could bore that sentence into the mind of every man, woman and child betwixt the two great oceans that wash our shores. The freedom of the seas is a doctrine dear to the American heart and inseparably bound up with American pride. It grows largely, no doubt, out of our extensive coast line -- far more out
Transcript
[page 2] of the glorious record of the American Navy from the faraway day of Commodore Berry and Paul Jones down to the present hour. To maintain the freedom of the seas when we were a mere handful, we went to war with the most powerful nation on the globe. For the freedom of the seas, we fought and conquered the Barbary pirates, to whom the whole world was paying tribute, and they have not collected tribute from a single nation since our navy abelled them out of their holes during the Administration of Thomas Jefferson. We are in the war—that is the one colossal fact outstanding. We cannot with our history, achievements and hopes get out of it in but one way,
Transcript
[page 3] and that is successfully. America has won every war in which she has been engaged. Victory is the habit of the American people. They will not be satisfied to end this war until victory perches upon our banners. It is a tremendous task we have assumed to combat at a distance of 3,000 miles the most militaristic people on the globe; but having put our hands to the plow, we will not, we cannot, we dare not, look back. President Wilson and the Congress have solemnly dedicated all our vast resources in men and money to the successful prosecution of this war.
Details
Title | Champ Clark speech transcript - December 1, 1919 |
Creator | Clark, Champ |
Source | Clark, Champ. Speech transcript. 01 December 1919. Clark, Champ (1850-1921) and Bennett Champ (1890-1954), Papers, 1853-1973. C0666. The State Historical Society of Missouri, Columbia, MO. |
Description | In this speech transcript, Champ Clark discussed American pursuit of victory in World War I. Champ Clark, a long-time resident of Bowling Green, Missouri, was a politician in the Democratic Party. He served as a representative of Missouri from 1893 to 1895 and from 1897 to 1921. From 1911 to 1919 he served as the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. |
Subject LCSH | Clark, Champ, 1850-1921; World War, 1914-1918; Wilson, Woodrow, 1856-1924 |
Subject Local | WWI; World War I |
Site Accession Number | C0666 |
Contributing Institution | The State Historical Society of Missouri |
Copy Request | Transmission or reproduction of items on these pages beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the State Historical Society of Missouri: 1020 Lowry Street, Columbia, Missouri, 65201-7298. (573) 882-7083. |
Rights | The text and images contained in this collection are intended for research and educational use only. Duplication of any of these images for commercial use without express written consent is expressly prohibited. |
Date Original | December 1, 1919 |
Language | English |