The Four Freedoms: Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fear

In his State of the Union address to Congress on January 6, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt presented his reasons for American involvement in the growing war in Europe.  In helping Britain, President Roosevelt stated, the United States was fighting for the universal freedoms that all people possessed.

Roosevelt’s preparation of the speech went through seven drafts before final delivery.  The famous Four Freedoms did not appear until the fourth draft. One night as Roosevelt met with his close advisers in his White House study, the President announced that he had an idea for a peroration (the closing section of a speech).

Samuel I. Rosenman wrote down FDR’s words.  He later recounted:

“We waited as he leaned far back in his swivel chair with his gaze on the ceiling. It was a long pause—so long that it began to become uncomfortable. Then he leaned forward again in his chair and dictated the Four Freedoms.  He dictated the words so slowly that on the yellow pad I had in my lap I was able to take them down myself in longhand as he spoke.”

Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms became the foundational principles for the Atlantic Charter declared by Winston Churchill and FDR in August 1941; the United Nations Declaration of January 1, 1942; President Roosevelt’s vision for an international organization that became the United Nations after his death; and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations in 1948 through the work of Eleanor Roosevelt.

Here are the notes that were dictated by FDR, and the evolution of the Four Freedoms speech in subsequent drafts.

from the FDR Library

Source: fdrlibrary.marist.edu

90 Notes/ Hide

  1. ijoymassagechairx reblogged this from congressarchives
  2. uptomaiminute reblogged this from ourpresidents and added:
    “We waited as he leaned far back in his swivel chair with his gaze on the ceiling. It was a long pause—so long that it...
  3. mlq3 reblogged this from ourpresidents
  4. somanybears reblogged this from ourpresidents
  5. junkyheart reblogged this from ourpresidents
  6. rapaillee reblogged this from followingyourbliss
  7. followingyourbliss reblogged this from auntiehornblower
  8. andrewxnguyen reblogged this from congressarchives
  9. mimicorp reblogged this from ourpresidents
  10. txmac5911 reblogged this from ourpresidents
  11. aroomoftheirown reblogged this from ourpresidents
  12. meliortraiano reblogged this from ourpresidents
  13. rainbowsandscholarship reblogged this from congressarchives
  14. tobiasziegler reblogged this from ourpresidents
  15. potsyelooy reblogged this from podsolnechnik
  16. podsolnechnik reblogged this from ourpresidents
  17. omgllamas reblogged this from congressarchives
  18. thecuttingroom reblogged this from congressarchives
  19. heartoftardis reblogged this from congressarchives
  20. vigwig reblogged this from congressarchives and added:
    how about “Freedom from idiocy”
  21. congressarchives reblogged this from ourpresidents and added:
    In addition to these awesome notes, check out FDR’s reading copy of this historic address to Congress.
  22. theuofwoo reblogged this from ourpresidents
  23. tokaikko reblogged this from ourpresidents
  24. talknewstome reblogged this from ourpresidents and added:
    Freedom sounds good…Too bad FDR was also father of the New Deal.
  25. auntiehornblower reblogged this from deducecanoe