Question

In the excerpt from the "four freedoms" speech, why does roosevelt see the present threat to american security and safety as unprecedented?

Answer 1

Because at no previous time had American security been as seriously threatened from without as it is today. Since the permanent formation of the government under the Constitution in 1789, most of the periods of crisis in our history have related to domestic affairs. Fortunately, only one of these — the four-year war between the States — ever threatened national unity.