Four freedoms speech
The "Four Freedoms" speech, delivered by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1941, articulated a vision for a post-war world grounded in essential human rights. In the context of World War II, amidst global conflicts involving Nazi Germany and Japanese aggression, Roosevelt emphasized the need for the United States to support nations resisting totalitarianism. He outlined four fundamental freedoms: the freedom of speech and expression, the freedom of worship, the freedom from want, and the freedom from fear. This speech aimed to rally American public support for increased military and material aid to Allied nations.
Roosevelt's ideals were later integrated into the Atlantic Charter and acknowledged by the United Nations, symbolizing a collective commitment to these principles among major Allied powers. The Four Freedoms also permeated popular culture, notably through Norman Rockwell's illustrations during the war. While the Allied victory in 1945 was a significant milestone, the fulfillment of the promises embodied in these freedoms for all people has continued to be a complex and ongoing challenge. The Four Freedoms remain a pivotal reference point in discussions around human rights and democracy.
Four freedoms speech
The Event President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s annual message to the U.S. Congress that proclaimed four fundamental human freedoms
Date Delivered on January 6, 1941
The speech provided a clear statement of the war aims that would guide the United States in opposing Axis aggression in World War II.
Speaking at a time when Great Britain was battling Nazi Germany in Europe, China was fighting Japanese aggression, and isolationists were still vocal in the United States, President Franklin D. Roosevelt sought to rally the American public behind a program of material support for those countries fighting the Axis Powers. After describing the grave threat that would face the United States should the Axis forces win in Europe, Africa, and the Far East, he called for an escalation of defense production and concluded by revisiting a theme he had mentioned to the press in July, 1940, the four essential freedoms that would be preserved by defeating the Axis: freedom of speech and expression, freedom of religion, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.
Impact
Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms were incorporated (absent freedom of religion) into the Atlantic Charter in August, 1941. In January, 1942, they were recognized in a proclamation of the United Nations that bound together the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union. Commonly used as a theme in U.S. propaganda, in 1943 they were immortalized in popular culture by Norman Rockwell’s illustrations in the Saturday Evening Post. The Allied victory in 1945 did not, however, fulfill the wartime promise that these freedoms held out to all peoples.
Bibliography
Davis, Kenneth. FDR: The War President, 1940-1943. New York: Random House, 2000.
Podell, Janet, and Steven Anzovin, eds. Speeches of the American Presidents. New York: H. W. Wilson, 1988.
Smith, Jean Edward. FDR. New York: Random House, 2007.