What is Roosevelt's main objective in his Four Freedoms speech?

English · Middle School · Thu Feb 04 2021

Answered on

The main objective of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in his Four Freedoms speech was to articulate a vision of a world that would be worth fighting for during World War II. Delivered on January 6, 1941, during his State of the Union address, Roosevelt outlined four fundamental freedoms that people "everywhere in the world" ought to enjoy:

1. Freedom of Speech and Expression: The right to express oneself without censorship or limitation. 2. Freedom of Worship: The right of people to follow their own religious beliefs, free from persecution. 3. Freedom from Want: This refers to the economic understanding that all individuals should have access to basic necessities, a concept tied to the promotion of worldwide economic understandings and security. 4. Freedom from Fear: The global aspiration that no nation should engage in acts of aggression that threaten the peace and security of others.

Roosevelt's speech was delivered almost a year before the United States entered World War II, and it served to articulate the ideological framework for what the Allies were fighting for and to morally justify the U.S.'s future involvement in the war. It aimed to extend beyond the traditional American values of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and to set a moral compass for the nation and its allies in the face of the global threats posed by fascist and authoritarian regimes.