FDR's Message to Charlottesville—and to Donald Trump
In his speech at Charlottesville in 1940, Franklin Roosevelt united America; in his remarks about Charlottesville in 2017, Donald Trump divided it.
Last week, “Charlottesville” became shorthand for racism, violence and a president’s moral blindness. But for a long time, the college town was remembered for a very different moment, when a president facing fascist aggression showed moral clarity.
The last time the world paid so much attention to Charlottesville, it was the summer of 1940, and Europe was on fire. In a few short months Hitler had conquered much of western Europe, and France itself was on the verge of succumbing.
On June 10, the day
