Front:
29
America becomes "arsenal of democracy"
SEP
1991
85026
America Will Live
At Point of a Gun'
If Axis Wins.
U. S. MUST BECOME 'GREAT ARSENAL
TO SAVE DEMOCRACY---ROOSEVELT
Back:
ARSENAL OF DEMOCRACY
First Day of Issue: September 3, 1991
First Issue Location: Phoenix, Arizona
The United States moved one step closer to war when it
approved the transfer of approximately fifty older ships to
Great Britain on September 3, 1940 in exchange for leases
on British military installations. In one of the biggest
political gambles of history, U.S. President Franklin
Delano Roosevelt concluded the Destroyers for Bases
Deal just a few months before the general election and his
bid for a third term as President. Roosevelt recognized that
without such aid, democracy was likely doomed. With it,
the struggle against the bloated Axis powers could con-
tinue. The deal would become just one of many ways that
the nation aided its friends in the fight against tyranny.
Despite intense criticism from many, Roosevelt contin-
ued in his pledge of aid to Great Britain and its allies. In
one of his legendary fireside chats on December 29,
1940, the President first used the term which would
become synonymous with America's entire focus
throughout the war: the Great Arsenal of Democracy.
No. 91-63
©1991 The Maximum Card Collection
A division of Unicover Corporation • Cheyenne, WY 82008-0007
® Original painting for the Maximum Card by Chris Calle
