In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms. The first is freedom of speech and expression everywhere in the world. The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way everywhere in the world. The third is freedom from want, which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants everywhere in the world.
The fourth is freedom from fear, which, translated into world terms, means a worldwide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor anywhere in the world. ” These are the words of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the United States, spoken on January 6th 1941, during a state of the union address. This speech came to be known as “The Four Freedoms Speech”.
FDR, well known for his radio addresses, dubbed “fireside chats”, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself” and the “Day of Infamy” speeches, presented the four freedoms address at a time when tyranny was spreading. With this speech Roosevelt was standing up to the Fascism in Italy, the Nazi’s in Germany, the Communists in the Soviet Union and the Totalitarianism in Japan. FDR looked to reassure Americans as well as make a globally relevant statement that everyone should enjoy these basic human rights.
The Term Paper on Students Freedom of Speech in School
The First Amendment states that all citizens of the U. S have freedom of religion, petition, assembly, press, and speech. The First Amendment was written and adopted for over two hundred years of American History. Throughout this period people have questioned the extent of freedom that they were given through the First Amendment. The freedom of speech is probably the most misunderstood of all the ...
He also discussed arming ourselves with weapons and wits to defend against possible attack. Freedom of speech and freedom of worship are embodied in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, freedom from want and freedom from fear are expressed through the spirit of the American public, from our armed services to volunteers who man soup kitchens and food pantries. Our freedom of speech ensures that we can speak out against injustice, express our thoughts and opinions, even if they are unpopular.
Our freedom of worship ensures that Christians, Jews, Muslims, Pagans and any other variety of worshippers can enjoy their beliefs and worship a higher power in their own way. The spirit of freedom from want inspires us to help our neighbors and the freedom from fear is assured by our strong armed services fighting and planning to keep us safe. These four freedoms have inspired several beloved American symbols, including illustrator Norman Rockwell’s four freedoms painting series, the four freedoms park and the four freedoms medal.
Rockwell’s paintings depict each freedom by translating the tenet of each freedom into grand visual displays. Freedom of speech is an illustration of a man standing amid a seated crowd with notes in his front pocket. Freedom of worship depicts several people praying. Freedom from want displays a family being served a hearty meal in the dining room and Freedom from fear shows parents tucking their children into bed while the father holds a newspaper that has the words “bombings” and “horror” in the headlines. These images are forever a part of American history.
Looking forward, America will soon see the four freedoms honored in majestic form, the four freedoms park. In 1973 “Welfare Island” in New York City was renamed “Roosevelt Island” and plans were made to install the Roosevelt memorial designed by architect Louis I Kahn. However, in 1975 New York City underwent a fiscal crisis and the project was stalled. After many years of site preparation, declarations of dedication and searches for funding, the monuments at Four Freedoms Park are currently under construction with the support of the Roosevelt Institute.
According to their website, the Institute is a non-profit organization “devoted to carrying forward the legacy and values of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt”. The Roosevelt Institute also awards the four freedoms medals to people who “exemplify President Roosevelt’s vision of the four freedoms”. The laureates of this award include Nelson Mandela, Journalists Mike Wallace, Tom Brokaw and Walter Kronkite, Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader for democracy in Burma, Anthony Romero of the ACLU and actors Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward.
The Essay on Slavery and Freedom: The American Paradox
The article Slavery and Freedom: The American Paradox, written by Edmund S. Morgan, shows how slavery can be paradoxically used to show the history of America and the rise of freedom for Americans. The use of slavery to paradoxically define American freedom is first shown by the use of Jefferson, the “slaveholding spokesman of freedom”(Morgan). His attitude toward slavery can be shown in two ways. ...
FDR’s four freedoms are just as important today as they were in 1941. American’s strive every day to ensure we can live up to Roosevelt’s call. I will leave you with another excerpt from FDR’s famous speech: “This nation has placed its destiny in the hands and heads and hearts of its millions of free men and women, and its faith in freedom under the guidance of God. Freedom means the supremacy of human rights everywhere. Our support goes to those who struggle to gain those rights and keep them. Our strength is unity of purpose. To that high concept there can be no end save victory. ”
