Europe appeasement was looked upon as the way to peace. The
democracies felt that if they tried to stop what was going on that
would mean war. But, because of these repeated retreats, war came just
the same.

If the democracies had stood firm at the beginning, almost surely
there would have been no World War. Instead they gave such an
appearance of weakness and timidity that aggressive rulers were
encouraged to overrun one country after another. In the end the
democracies saw that their very survival was at stake. They had no
alternative but to turn and fight in what proved to be the most
terrible war that the world has ever known.

I know something about that war, and I never want to see that history
repeated. But, my fellow Americans, it certainly can be repeated if
the peace-loving democratic nations again fearfully practice a policy
of standing idly by while big aggressors use armed force to conquer
the small and weak.

Let us suppose that the Chinese Communists conquer Quemoy. Would that
be the end of the story? We know that it would not be the end of the
story. History teaches that, when powerful despots can gain something
through aggression, they try, by the same methods, to gain more and
more and more.

Also, we have more to guide us than the teachings of history. We have
the statements, the boastings, of the Chinese Communists themselves.
They frankly say that their present military effort is part of a
program to conquer Formosa.