Franklin D. Roosevelt's "Stab in the Back" Speech and related media Franklin D. Roosevelt's "Stab in the Back" Speech On June 10, 1940, as President Franklin D. Roosevelt prepares to deliver the commencement address at the University of Virginia where his son is graduating with a law degree, Italy declares war on France and Great Britain. Rather than deliver his prepared speech, Roosevelt instead expresses his opposition to Mussolini's move and calls on America to end its isolationism. Related Speeches & Audio (10) On June 10, 1940, as President Franklin D. Roosevelt prepares to deliver the commencement address at the University of Virginia where his son is graduating with a law degree, Italy declares war on France and Great Britain. Rather than deliver his prepared speech, Roosevelt instead expresses his opposition to Mussolini's move and calls on America to end its isolationism. With the country at war at the start of his unprecedented fourth term as president of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt delivers a short and somber inaugural address at a simple ceremony without a parade or ball on January 20, 1945. With the United States now entered into World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt uses the occasion of Washington's birthday to broadcast to the nation on February 23, 1942, an outline of America's progress in the war. In his Labor Day radio broadcast in 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt reminds his fellow citizens of the need to devote America's industrial effort to building weaponry in order