This editorial below was originally published in the Town and Country on Dec. 12, 1941. Written by Editor G. Calvin Christman, it was in response to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the United States’ Declaration of War on Japan and the Axis powers, Germany and Italy.
All Out for America
The United States has been attacked and is at war.
Our time has come … time to fight, to protect ourselves … time for each person to do his or her utmost to help … time to forget differences of policy.
The emergency for which we have tried to prepare is here.
And, in the emergency it is the United States first – first all the way to final victory.
Give the Commander-in-Chief wholehearted American support. Give our armed forces every assistance. Give your neighbor every help and encouragement. Give yourself the strength and determination that lies in faith and high resolve.
Up to Monday’s official declaration, America’s principles of democracy permitted anti and pro-war expressions of opinion. It is different now. A state of war exists and there is unity in America – more unity perhaps than ever before in our history.
Let posterity determine whether 1941’s decisions and acts have been in accord with the perpetuation of democracy. For us now let there be concern only about the aggressors’ attack on our soil. The day of clashing principles is over. The time for united, positive action is here.
This is our finest hour. This is our chance to prove our Americanism. This is the time to realize that this is our beloved America, our home, our native land, that it has been attacked, and that it needs to be defended to the last drop of blood and with every ounce of energy we can muster.
We will need solemn purpose and great courage. We will need to remember our great heritage and the sacrifices that others before us have made in our behalf. We will need to stand ready to sacrifice too, our very lives if it must be, for all the things we hold so dear.
To the fight, then, countrymen! Let’s go. All out for America!
Christman’s editorial appeared on the front page of the newspaper that week instead of its usual spot on the Opinion page.
In the same issue of the newspaper, Congressman J. William Ditter wrote, “The soul of America has been stirred. The treacherous attack launched by Japan against our outposts in the Pacific has united the nation in a common cause and welded it together in a common devotion. An unyielding determination is America’s answer to Japan’s perfidy.”
Words that were presented locally and written in response to our nation’s Day of Infamy.