For my Intro to American Civilization Mid-Term assignment I decided to visit the Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Museum located in New York City. The Four Freedoms Park was built in honor of President Roosevelt and his famous “Four Freedoms” speech that he addressed. The park has so much to offer on President Roosevelt and the freedoms that he has believed in since the very beginning. I felt that the Four Freedoms Park has a lot to do with the First Amendment being that President Roosevelt believed in the freedom of so many different things. Thus, I picked a place that had a lot in common with what we are learning in Intro to American Civilization. Franklin Roosevelt was elected president for an unprecedented third term in 1940 because at the time the world faced unprecedented danger, instability, and uncertainty. Much of Europe had fallen to the advancing German Army and Great Britain was barely holding its own. A great number of Americans remained committed to isolationism and the belief that the United States should continue to stay out of the war, but President Roosevelt understood Britain’s need for American support and attempted to convince the American people of the severity of the situation. In his State of the Union Address on January 6th, 1941, Franklin Roosevelt presented his reasons for American involvement, making the case for continued aid to Great Britain and greater production of war industries at home. In helping Britain, President Roosevelt stated, the United States was fighting for the universal freedoms that all people possessed. As America entered the war these “four freedoms” which consisted of the freedom of speech, the freedom of worship, the freedom from want, and the freedom from fear. These fou... ... middle of paper ... ...rican Civilization class. The third freedom is “the freedom from want”. This freedom comes down to having economic understandings, which will secure every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants. This freedom allowed everyone to have the right to a standard of living adequately for the health and well being of himself and his family. This included food, clothing, housing and medical care, necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age, or lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond someone’s control. The fourth and final freedom that Roosevelt believed in was “the freedom from fear”. This fourth freedom comes down to a worldwide reduction in violence between nations. It stated that no nation would be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor.
Foner argues four philosophies of freedom. He favors the term “rights” a well-recognized word by the nation’s leaders on the eve of the Civil War. The natural rights were rights or freedoms inherited within humanity. Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence regarded natural rights as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Civil rights can be defined as equality of management under the law, which is perceived as critical to the protection of natural rights. Political rights include the
Roosevelt speech was dictated in his small study on the second floor of the Whitehouse on January 1st, 1941. His speech was founded on the four essential human freedoms; freedom of speech, worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear. These freedoms symbolized America’s war aims and gave hope to a war-wearied people as they now knew they were fighting for freedom.
In Eric Foner’s book, The Story of American Freedom, he writes a historical monograph about how liberty came to be. In the book, his argument does not focus on one fixed definition of freedom like others are tempted to do. Unlike others, Foner describes liberty as an ever changing entity; its definition is fluid and does not change in a linear progress. While others portray liberty as a pre-determined concept and gradually getting better, Foner argues the very history of liberty is constantly reshaping the definition of liberty, itself. Essentially, the multiple and conflicting views on liberty has always been a “terrain of conflict” and has changed in time (Foner xv).
World War II was an exceptional war for the United States. The United States emerged from the war as a world superpower and protector of all other nations. There were many reasons why the United States entered World War II, however President Franklin Roosevelt was in some way directly connected to every reason. Roosevelt wanted to enter World War II as soon as it started for political and economic needs. However, the American people did not want to enter in another war, such as World War I, that costs so many lives and money. Therefore, Roosevelt schemed a plan to enter the United States into World War II that would change the minds of the American people, including the direct aiding of Great Britain, the German bombing of a United States warship, and the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor.
As a result of establishing the presence of the United States, FDR was called upon to aid Britain during Germany's invasion. Because of FDR's charismatic ways, the 'lend-lease bill' was created under the explanation of lending your neighbor your garden house if his home caught on fire. FDR said as long as the neighbor later returns it everything is the same as it was before (Greenstein 20). By using simple analogies and drawing upon public support, FDR succeeded in basically giving Britain weapons to use free of charge. This action also helped establish an alliance with Britain for the future.
“The only thing that we have to fear is fear itself “said Franklin Roosevelt the thirty-second president of the United States in one of the most powerful political addresses ever delivered by an American president. President Roosevelt assumed the presidency during some of the darkest times in American history. He addressed the nation in a time of uncertainty and in a time of great fear. American Citizens were insecure about the economical situation the Unites States, as they were in the middle of the Great Depression. The Great Depression was a result of the stock market crash of 1929, also known as Black Tuesday. After the crash, profits plunged, prices dropped, and income fell. Unemployment rose to 25 percent in the United States. The nation was hungry for physical and emotional sustenance and Roosevelt's speech came at just the right time to satisfy and alleviate the minds of many Americans. Roosevelt delivered his first inaugural address to the masses that were in need of reassurance. In his Inauguration Address, Roosevelt acknowledges the faults that the government is accountable for, and illuminates the confidence he has in himself to get the country back on track. He aimed to declare war on the Great Depression and needed all the executive latitude possible in order to wage that war. By mentioning that we must not be afraid of fear Roosevelt inspired a nation that was fighting through a time of great economic and emotional hardship. In his speech Roosevelt hopes to give Americans courage to work at putting the country back on track and to earn their confidence as their newly elected leader. With the delivery of his Inaugural Address, Franklin Roosevelt attempted to pacify those wor...
Lowman, Michael R., George Thompson, and Kurt Grussendorf. United States History: Heritage of Freedom. Pensacola Christian College, 1998.
America is one word that brings the hope of freedom to many people around the world. Since the United States’ humble beginnings freedom has remained at the core of its ideologies and philosophies. People of all races, nations, and tongues have found refuge in America. The National Anthem proclaims, “…land of the free, and home of the brave” (Key, 1814). But has America been consistently a land of the free? Unfortunately freedom has not always reigned. There is a constant struggle to overcome fear and prejudice in order to provide a true land of freedom. In times of heightened tension, the masses of common people seek to find a scapegoat. Often, this scapegoat is a minority with ties to current negative events. As fear uncontrollably grows, it can cause people to allow and commit unspeakable atrocities.
The harsh treatment by Nazis especially woke Americans to the realization to focus on equality improvement. FDR in his speech focused on four freedoms: freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. A fifth freedom, the freedom of enterprise, is argued to be present due to the power of big businesses. The speech prompted Americans to embody diversity. The idea of acceptance was spread by writing published on the absurdity of racism. Although America was set in becoming an accepting nation the idea was haltered by the lack of trust in minorities. Race riots were a large contribution to the increase of fear. In addition, executive order 9066 affecting Asian American drove japanese into internment
He brought hope to the people when he promised prompt, and vigorous action, he asserted in his Inaugural Address that, "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself" (The White House). The main drive of Roosevelt's administration was toward a balance of the economic interests for the American people. He believed that he should represent all the people equally. That being the farme...
Values some take for granted within this society today were ignored wholesale by a tyrannical colonial authority, and the people of this land rose up, shook off the chains of oppression, and set out to devise a new governmental system under which they could live rather freely. In his iconic “Four Freedoms” speech, America’s 32nd president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, outlined said values, stating that all should enjoy “freedom of speech and expression...freedom...to worship God in [their] own way” and “ a healthy peacetime life” (46). The importance of the concept of free speech and equality to the American identity cannot be understated, as it truly the foundation upon which much of this society rests. In the United states, it is instilled in us that from birth each human is bestowed with the same freedoms as all others. However, time and time again, people are denied these freedoms on the basis of skin color, religion, sexual orientation, or gender. Luckily, when such situations arise, the core belief that each and every person is owed liberty motivates the citizens of this nation to exercise their rights. With this in mind they speak out, or fight, against injustice, to take a further step towards making that dream of equality and a “healthy peacetime life” for all a
Ramsis #53 Mon. 4:00-6:40 History 110 Nobiletti 12/12/13 Four freedoms 11 months before the United States of America would declare war on Japan, President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered a speech to the American people known as the “four freedoms” on January 6, 1941.1 The main purpose of this speech was to rally support to enter World War 2, however in order to declare war the United States of America had to abandon the isolationist policies that emerged out of WWI. These four freedoms would establish human rights after the war, but more importantly they would resonate throughout the United States for decades after the war. Some of these freedoms have remained the same, and some of these freedoms have changed throughout the years. We will be looking at three periods and comparing how the freedoms varied from each of the three periods.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the thirty-second president of the United States of America. Roosevelt was a democrat. Roosevelt had several reasons for wanting to join World War II. Roosevelt feared that communism was beginning to take over so he wanted to join the war to prevent that from happening. He also feared that if Germany conquered Europe it would plunge the world into a nightmare. Exactly fourteen months before the attack on Pearl Harbor a Lieutenant Commander recommended that the U.S. provoke Japan into attacking America so that American could enter World War II. Some researchers say Roosevelt knew of the attack on Pearl Harbor before it occurred. These
(H) Freedom is something many crave and fight for. (CS) Freedom has copious attributes and qualities that are present in “Revolution 2.0” by Wael Ghonim, “The Letter from Birmingham” by Martin Luther King Junior, and the ‘Speech at the March on Washington” by Josephine Baker. (G1) Using speech is a glorious way to show your freedom. (G2) People have to be equal to really be free. (G3) Respect is another major quality of freedom. (TH) Speech, equality, and respect all constitute freedom.
If we start letting simple freedoms go, we could lose some major ones. Works Cited Huxley, Aldous. A. & Co. Brave New World. New York: Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2006.