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Selected Works of Henry A. Wallace
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Jackson Day
Henry A. Wallace
A speech delivered on January 22, 1944.
From Henry A. Wallace, Democracy Reborn (New York, 1944), edited by Russell Lord, p. 254.
- We as individuals are here tonight because the people, suffering from the Hoover-Mellon-Wall Street collapse, demanded a New Deal. The people believed in Roosevelt, the Democratic party and the New Deal in 1932 because they felt that the New Deal stood for human rights first and prosperity rights second. The people confirmed their faith in Roosevelt and the New Deal in 1936 and 1940.
- The New Deal is not dead. If it were dead the Democratic party would be dead, and well dead. But the Democratic party is not dead and the New Deal has yet to attain its full strength. The New Deal is as old as the wants of man. The New Deal is Amos proclaiming the needs of the poor in the land of Israel. The New Deal is New England citizens dumping tea in Boston Harbor. The New Deal is Andrew Jackson marching in the twentieth century. The New Deal is Abraham Lincoln preaching freedom for the oppressed. The New Deal is the New Freedom of Woodrow Wilson fighting the cartels as they try to establish national and international fascism. The New Deal is Franklin D. Roosevelt.
- In the peace to come, the freedom of Jackson, Lincoln, Wilson and Roosevelt means the economic right of the people to the great abundance of the America of tomorrow. The freedom of Jackson, Lincoln, Wilson and Roosevelt in the peace to come also means that personal liberty must move hand in hand with that abundance. This freedom stands for justice and fair play for all the classes and all the regions in terms of the welfare of the plain folks.
- The doorway to this freedom is blocked by the deliberate misrepresentation of the paid hirelings of the special interests. Because of these hirelings the worker on the farm and in the factory has often been condemned without a hearing as a saboteur of the war effort. These paid hirelings try to create dissension among the fighter on the farm, the fighter in the factory and the fighter at the front. They shall not succeed because all three fighting fronts have the same two objectives, quick victory in war, justice and jobs in peace. Justice and jobs for our workers and servicemen will give prosperity to our farmers and adequate profits for business.
- The Democratic party will always be first in the hearts of the people if it applies to the ever-changing problems of war and peace the resolute courage and patient humanity of the founding fathers of the New Deal, Jackson and Lincoln.
- One man more than any other in all history has given dynamic power and economic expression to the ageless New Deal. That man is Roosevelt. Roosevelt has never denied the principles of the New Deal and he never will. They are a part of his very being. Roosevelt, God willing, will in the future give the New Deal a firmer foundation than it has ever had before. So on with the New Deal, on with winning the war, and forward march for peace, justice and jobs.
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