Quarantine Speech

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The Quarantine Speech given by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt on October 5, 1937 in Chicago calling for an international "quarantine of the aggressor nations" as an alternative to the political climate of American neutrality and isolationism that was prevalent at the time. The speech intensified America's isolationist mood, causing protest by isolationists and foes to intervention. The speech was a response to aggressive actions by Italy and Japan, and suggested the use of economic pressure, a forceful response, but less direct than outright aggression.

During the Cuban missile crisis President John F. Kennedy deployed warships to prevent Soviet delivery of nuclear weapons to Cuba. Kennedy described this measure as a "quarantine" of Cuba rather than a 'blockade', though blockade was a more appropriate term. Kennedy's choice of language was in part intended to resonate with the policy Roosevelt outlined in the Quarantine Speech: a policy of reacting forcefully to external threats but without resort to outright war.