Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Four Freedoms

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Following major historical events, architects construct memorials to help generations remember and reflect on the past. In 1973, American architect Louis Kahn designed a park on the southern tip of New York City's Roosevelt Island that is an abstract representation of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Four Freedoms. When I visited the park, I noticed that Kahn intentionally avoided revealing Roosevelt's four core ideals until the very end of the memorial. In fact, it took me around three minutes to walk to the end of the park, where Kahn quotes Roosevelt's Four Freedoms. Kahn depicts Roosevelt's Four Freedoms Park in a subtle way, which takes a deeper look to unveil the hidden symbols in his design to authentically convey the ideas behind President …show more content…

Each tree in both pathways is positioned an equal distance from the next tree. Walking through the park, I quickly felt the impact of one walkway converging with the other at the end, and they ultimately formed four lanes. These pathways represent Roosevelt's Four Freedoms. Because Roosevelt believed that governments should comply with all of the Four Freedoms, the four lanes show that each freedom is as important as the next and all four are imperative. Regarding the initial two tree-lined pathways, one could potentially represent America's Republican Party, while the other could symbolize the Democratic Party. By designing the two tree-lined pathways to meet at Roosevelt's image, Kahn may be implying that both parties have to unite to protect the Four Freedoms even though they may disagree on many issues. In addition, Kahn deliberately designed the pathways to seem that they are never-ending because the battle to ensure that the Four Freedoms remain available to everyone is a fight that must take place over many …show more content…

President Roosevelt declared, "We Americans are vitally concerned in your defense of freedom. We are putting forth our energies, our resources and our organizing powers to give you the strength to regain and maintain a free world. We shall send you, in ever-increasing numbers, ships, planes, tanks, guns. This is our purpose and our pledge." Roosevelt believed such aid was necessary to defend freedom, which was threatened by Germany’s Hitler. I do not think it was a coincidence that Kahn designed Roosevelt's Four Freedoms Park on an island that strikingly resembles the shape of a ship. Fittingly, the park looks out on the United Nations headquarters in New York City. The ship symbolizes the fact that Roosevelt believed that U.S. freedom was linked to the fates of countries on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean and that we needed to work closely with our allies. Another interpretation of the boat shape of the island is that it represents the millions of immigrants from around the world who fled their home to come to America to build new lives based on Roosevelt's four

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