To begin, I want to say something to my good friends, the editors, and to others who feel sorry for me.

Some people are upset because they think I am being influenced by dishonest people who are leading me in the wrong direction. They believe these people are persuading me to support unpopular causes and use me to spread their political ideas.

Let me make one thing clear: I do not want their pity. I would not want to exchange places with any of them.

I know what I am talking about. My sources of information are just as good and reliable as anyone else’s. I have newspapers and magazines from England, France, Germany, and Austria, and I can read them myself. Some of the editors I have met cannot do that. Many of them have to get their information about French and German sources through other people.

No, I do not want to attack the editors. They are an overworked and often misunderstood group of people. But they should remember one thing: if I cannot see the fire at the end of their cigarettes, they cannot thread a needle in the dark either.

All I ask, gentlemen, is to be given a fair chance, without special advantages or disadvantages.

I have decided to fight against military preparedness and against the economic system under which we live. I intend to continue this fight until the end, and I am not asking for mercy or special treatment.

The future of the whole world depends on America. And the future of America depends on the 80 million working men and women and their children.

We are facing a serious crisis in our country. A small group of wealthy people who make money from the work of ordinary people want to organize workers into an army. They want this army to protect the interests of the rich and powerful.

Workers are being asked to accept even more burdens than they already have. They are being asked to support a larger army and more warships.

But you have the power to refuse. You do not have to carry the burden of building more weapons, armies, and warships. You can also question the unequal system that allows some people to enjoy great luxuries—such as expensive cars, private yachts, and large country houses—while workers carry the heavy burdens of society.

You do not need to protest loudly or violently. With the quiet strength and dignity of working people, you can help end wars and also challenge the selfish and exploitative system that creates them.

All you need to do to begin this enormous change is simply to stand up and refuse to cooperate—to stop working for a system you believe is unjust.

We are not actually preparing to defend our country. And even if we were as weak and unprepared as Congressman Gardner claims, there is no enemy foolish enough to try to invade the United States.

The idea that Germany or Japan might attack America is simply ridiculous. Germany already has enough problems of its own. Even after the European war ends, Germany will be busy dealing with its own problems for many years.

Even though the Allies had almost complete control of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, they still failed to land enough soldiers to defeat the Turks at Gallipoli.

They failed again when they tried to land an army at Salonica in time to stop Bulgaria from invading Serbia.

So, the idea that an enemy could simply cross the sea and conquer America is nothing more than a foolish fear. Only people who do not understand military matters, or members of the Navy League, seriously believe that America could be conquered by a sea invasion.

Yet everywhere we hear people using fear as a reason to build more weapons and prepare for war.

It reminds me of a story I once read. A man found a horseshoe. His neighbor immediately became worried and started crying. He said, quite seriously, that the man who found the horseshoe might someday find a horse too. Then he might use the horseshoe on that horse. The neighbor’s child might one day go too close to the horse’s heels, get kicked, and die.

Then, the neighbor imagined, the two families might blame each other, start fighting, and several people might lose their lives—all because one man happened to find a horseshoe.

The story is meant to show how fear can make people imagine one possible danger after another, even when none of them may actually happen.

Something similar happened with America. In our last war, we happened to gain some islands in the Pacific Ocean. Those islands might someday cause a disagreement between America and Japan.

But I would rather give up those islands now and forget about them than go to war simply to keep them.

Wouldn’t you?

Congress is not preparing to protect the people of the United States. Instead, it is preparing to protect the money and investments of wealthy American businessmen and investors in places such as Mexico, South America, China, and the Philippine Islands.

At the same time, this military preparation will also make more money for companies that manufacture weapons, ammunition, and military equipment.

Until recently, there were many ways in the United States to use the money taken from workers through their labor. But now American workers are being exploited almost as much as possible, and the country’s natural resources have already been taken and controlled.

Even so, profits continue to grow and create more and more capital.

The American weapons industry is doing very well, making large amounts of money for the banks of New York. It produces weapons that can be used to kill people.

According to the capitalist system, money is considered useless if it is not being used to make more profit from someone else’s labor. So, that money must be invested somewhere else—such as South America, Mexico, China, or the Philippines—where American investors can find new opportunities to make profits.

It was not a coincidence that the Navy League became powerful around the same time that the National City Bank of New York opened a branch in Buenos Aires.

It is also not just a coincidence that six business partners of J. P. Morgan became officials in organizations that supported military preparedness.

And it was not simply by chance that Mayor Mitchel chose a thousand wealthy and powerful men for his Committee of Safety. Together, these men represented about one-fifth of all the wealth in the United States.

The reason is clear: these wealthy businessmen wanted the government and the military to protect their investments and business interests in other countries.

Every modern war has been connected in some way to exploitation.

The American Civil War, according to the speaker, was a struggle over whether the slaveholders of the South or the capitalists of the North would control and exploit the western parts of the country.

The Spanish-American War, he argues, resulted in the United States gaining control over Cuba and the Philippines and using them for its own interests.

The South African War was fought over control of valuable resources such as diamond mines.

The Russo-Japanese War, he argues, resulted in Japan gaining the power to exploit Korea.

The present war is also, in his view, a struggle over who will control and profit from places such as the Balkans, Turkey, Persia, Egypt, India, China, and Africa.

America is preparing its military strength so that, after the war, it can pressure the winners to give America a share of the wealth and resources they gain.

But ordinary workers do not care about these rewards. They will not receive any of the profits or “spoils” of war anyway.

The people who are spreading support for military preparedness have another important purpose. They want to give ordinary people something else to think about instead of their own difficult lives.

They know that the cost of living is high, wages are low, and jobs are uncertain. The situation may become even worse when European countries stop buying large amounts of weapons and ammunition from America.

Many people work very hard for long hours, yet they still cannot afford the comforts of life. Some cannot even afford the basic things they need to live.

Every few days, people who support military preparedness give us a new reason to fear war. They use these incidents to make their propaganda seem more believable.

They have already brought people close to supporting war over ships such as the Lusitania, the Gulflight, and the Ancona. Now they want working people to become angry and excited about the sinking of the Persia.

But the working person has no real interest in these ships. Even if the Germans sank every ship in the Atlantic and Mediterranean Seas and Americans were killed in every attack, the American worker would still have no good reason to go to war.

The speaker’s point is that workers should not be pushed into war simply because governments or propagandists use emotional incidents to create fear and anger.

The entire system has now been put into action.

Even though workers are protesting and complaining about what is happening, the powerful voice of the government and those in authority is louder than their voices.

“Friends and fellow workers, patriots,” they say, “your country is in danger! Enemies are all around us. The only things separating us from them are the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.

Look at what happened to Belgium. Think about what happened to Serbia. How can you complain about low wages when your country and your freedom are in danger?

What are your everyday problems compared with the shame of seeing a victorious German army enter New York through the East River?

So stop complaining and start preparing to defend your homes and your country. Build a strong army and navy. Be ready to fight any invaders like loyal and brave citizens.”

The speaker is showing how fear and patriotism are being used to persuade workers to support military preparation, even though they are already struggling with low wages and difficult living conditions.

Will the workers fall into this trap? Will they be fooled once again?

I am afraid they might. People have always been influenced by speeches like these.

The workers know that their real enemies are not other ordinary people, but the powerful people who control and exploit them.

They know that simply being citizens of a country does not guarantee safety for themselves, their wives, or their children.

They also know that honest work, years of hard labor, and constant struggle often leave them with very little that they truly own or feel is worth protecting.

And yet, deep in their hearts, they still believe that they have a country of their own.

The speaker calls this belief the “blind vanity of slaves” because he thinks workers are being exploited but still feel a strong emotional loyalty to the country and its ruling system.

The clever and powerful people at the top know how easily workers can be influenced. They know that if the government puts workers in military uniforms, gives them rifles, sends them off with music and waving flags, they will go and fight bravely—even for the very people who are exploiting them.

Workers are taught that brave men should be willing to die for the honor of their country. But what a terrible price to pay for an idea—the lives of millions of young men, millions more left disabled or blind for life, and the suffering of countless other people. The work and achievements of many generations can be destroyed in a moment, and after all this suffering, ordinary people may gain nothing.

Such a terrible sacrifice might at least make sense if the country they died for actually provided them with food, clothing, homes, warmth, education, and security for their children.

I believe workers are among the most selfless people in the world. They work, live, and even die for other people’s countries, other people’s beliefs, other people’s freedoms, and other people’s happiness.

Workers themselves often have very little freedom. They are not truly free when they are forced to work ten, twelve, or even eight hours a day.

They are not free when they receive very little pay for exhausting work.

They are not free when their children have to work in mines, mills, and factories simply to survive.

They are not free when poverty forces women into degrading and desperate situations.

And they are not free when they are beaten or sent to prison because they go on strike to demand better wages and the basic justice they deserve as human beings.

We are not truly free unless the people who make and enforce the laws genuinely represent the interests of ordinary people and no other interests.

Simply having the right to vote does not make a working person free from economic exploitation.

The speaker argues that there has never been a completely free and truly democratic nation in the world. Throughout history, people have often followed powerful leaders blindly—leaders who controlled money, armies, and political power.

Even when wars left thousands of their own people dead, ordinary workers continued to work the rulers’ land and were deprived of the benefits of their own labor.

They built great palaces, pyramids, temples, and cathedrals for rulers and powerful institutions, but these magnificent buildings did not give ordinary people real freedom.

As civilization has become more complicated, workers have become more and more like slaves. Today, they are often treated as if they are only parts of the machines they work with.

Every day, they face dangerous work on railways, bridges, skyscrapers, freight trains, ships, factories, stockyards, forests, and mines. They work hard at docks, on railways, underground, and at sea. They move goods from one place to another and help provide the things that society needs to live.

And what do they get in return? Very little pay, and often poverty. They also have to pay rent, taxes, and other charges, while wars create even more burdens for them.

The kind of preparation workers really want is not simply preparing for war. They want to completely reorganize and improve their whole way of life. Governments and political leaders have never seriously tried to do this.

Years ago, Germany realized that it could not create strong soldiers while people were living in terrible slums. So it improved those conditions. It made sure that people had at least some basic needs of a decent life: good housing, clean streets, enough healthy food, medical care, and safety at work.

This is only a small part of what should be done. But even these changes made a big difference. According to the speaker, Germany was able to avoid invasion for eighteen months while continuing a major war, and its armies were still fighting strongly.

Workers should demand these reforms from the government. There should be no more excuses about what a government can or cannot do. During the war, governments of all the fighting countries had already taken control of many important industries. In many cases, these industries were managed better by the government than they had been by private companies.

It is your duty to demand even stronger reforms. Make sure that no child is forced to work in factories, mines, or shops. Make sure that no worker is unnecessarily exposed to accidents or dangerous diseases.

Demand clean cities without smoke, dirt, and overcrowded streets. Demand wages that are high enough for workers to live a decent life.

This kind of preparation should be carried into every part of the country. Everyone should have a chance to be born into good conditions, get enough food, receive a proper education, become intelligent and capable, and be able to contribute to the country throughout their life.

Fight against all laws, rules, and systems that destroy peace and continue the killing of war.

Fight against war, because without you, no war can be fought. Refuse to make bombs, weapons, poison gas, and other tools used to kill people.

Reject military preparation when it means death, suffering, and misery for millions of human beings.

Do not become silent and obedient workers in an army that destroys life. Instead, be brave people who work together to build a better and more peaceful world.

Top 10 Teachings of “Strike Against War” — Helen Keller

1. War does not really help ordinary people.
War often causes death, poverty, and suffering, especially for workers and poor people.
Example: A poor soldier may die in a war while powerful people who supported the war remain safe.

2. Do not blindly follow leaders.
Keller says people should think for themselves instead of believing everything governments or powerful people tell them.
Example: If a government says, “We must fight,” ask: Why? Who benefits from this war?

3. Workers have great power.
Workers make weapons, transport goods, build ships, work in factories, and keep society running. If they refuse to support war, war becomes much harder to continue.
Example: If workers refuse to manufacture weapons, weapons cannot easily reach soldiers.

4. Real freedom is more than the right to vote.
Keller argues that voting alone does not make someone truly free if they remain poor and powerless.
Example: A worker may have the right to vote but still work long hours for very little money and live in poor conditions.

5. A good government should improve people’s lives.
Government should provide basic things such as decent housing, healthcare, education, clean cities, and safe working conditions.
Example: Instead of spending only on weapons, a government can also spend money on hospitals and schools.

6. Children should never be sacrificed for economic gain.
Keller strongly opposes child labour and believes children should receive education and proper care.
Example: A 12-year-old should be studying in school, not working in a dangerous mine.

7. Workers deserve a living wage.
People who work hard should earn enough to live with dignity, not remain trapped in poverty.
Example: A factory worker should be able to afford food, housing, healthcare, and education for their family.

8. Peace requires more than simply stopping fighting.
We also need to remove the poverty, inequality, and bad working conditions that create suffering.
Example: Building schools, hospitals, safe workplaces, and decent housing is also a form of preparing for peace.

9. Do not become a tool of destruction.
Keller asks people to refuse to become obedient followers in systems that destroy human life.
Example: Instead of helping produce weapons that kill people, use your skills to build something useful for society.

10. Be a builder, not a destroyer.
The strongest message of the essay is that human beings should use their courage and strength to create a better society rather than destroy one another.
Example: A brave person can fight poverty, illiteracy, discrimination, and injustice instead of fighting another human being in war.

In one sentence: Keller’s central message is: Do not blindly serve war and powerful interests; use your strength to build peace, justice, dignity, and a better life for ordinary people.