Four Freedoms: The Great Depression And World War II

The Great Depression and World War II are two prolific events in the United States’ history which define times of both struggle and triumph. This dichotomy is illustrated through Norman Rockwell’s interpretation of Franklin Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms. Embodied in these four ideals lies a deep connection to the American spirit and most of all encapsulates the thoughts and fears of Americans during both the Great Depression and World War II. By observing the Four Freedoms through specific mediums such as, film, photographs, and primary sources, a multifaceted analysis can be achieved in deciphering what the Four Freedoms are saying, who their target audience was, their purpose, and finally, their legacy. Ultimately, the Four Freedoms have shaped

On the surface, the Four Freedoms were simple statements that represented basic human freedoms. These included the freedom of speech, the freedom of worship, the freedom from want, and the freedom from fear. The general message was that the Freedoms provided a foundation for Americans to feel secure but also to give hope. Many families such as the Florance Thompson depicted by Dorothea Lange in “Destitute Peapickers in California; A Thirty-Two Year Old Mother of Seven Children” (1936), became an icon of the Great Depression era and symbolized economic strife and struggle. Roosevelt’s Freedom from want embodies the concept of every nation maintaining “a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants”. In other words, the government would help alleviate economic hardships and provide ways to help support

223), after each description of one of the Four Freedoms in his message to Congress. The implication being that Roosevelt was arguing these rights be extended to all people, all around the world. On the surface, it appears that Roosevelt was idealistically stating that all people, no matter where they live or where they come from are entitled to these Four Freedoms. However, below the surface, the visual depictions that Norman Rockwell chooses unleashes a deeper message that the Four Freedoms held. In his depiction of freedom from want, Norman Rockwell uses a “typical” white middle class family around a beautifully decorated table with a woman serving a big turkey. In addition, in his depiction of freedom of worship, he has a group of people praying and there is one African American woman in the crowd amongst the white majority. These two examples of a visual message portrays middle class white Americans engaging and participating in these Four Freedoms. The negation of including people of color in his images is both explicitly and implicitly excluding them from being visually associated with these freedoms. While Roosevelt claimed the Four Freedoms were for all people, in reality, they only were for some