In his April 28, 1942 Fireside Chat President Roosevelt discussed the domestic economics of wartime and the status of the war.

“As I told the Congress yesterday, ‘sacrifice’ is not exactly the proper word with which to describe this program of self-denial,” FDR said, referring to a program of rations in the U.S. “When, at the end of this great struggle we shall have saved our free way of life, we shall have made no ‘sacrifice.’…

“As we here at home contemplate our own duties, our own responsibilities, let us think and think hard of the example which is being set for us by our fighting men. Our soldiers and sailors are members of well disciplined units. But they are still and forever individuals — free individuals. They are farmers, and workers, businessmen, professional men, artists, clerks. They are the United States of America. That is why they fight. We too are the United States of America. That is why we must work and sacrifice. It is for them. It is for us. It is for victory.”

Read the full transcript of the speech on the FDR Presidential Library’s Fireside Chat transcript page.