In the months leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States was in the middle of quite the identity crisis.

On the one hand, America had always prided itself on keeping its fingers as far out of other countries' pies as possible, and it felt like it should keep on keepin' on with its whole noninterventionist thing.

On the other, it was becoming increasingly clear that there were some spectacularly bad dudes out there (looking at you, Hitler and Mussolini), and some folks were starting to feel like the U.S. ought to step in and do something about it, especially since some of America's besties were really starting to feel the heat over there in Europe.

Harold Ickes, FDR's Secretary of the Interior, let his own feelings on the situation be known with this lovely little lecture, which he delivered in New York City's Central Park.

Secretary Ickes (and, for that matter, President Roosevelt) probably had absolutely no idea just how much support his ideas would get in just a few short months.