Roosevelt's
Speech
THE FOUR FREEDOMS
delivered by Franklin Delano
Roosevelt, on January 6, 1941
Mr. Speaker, members of the
77th Congress :
I address you, the members
of this new Congress, at a moment unprecedented in the history of the union.
I use the word "unprecedented" because at no previous time has American security
been as seriously threatened from without as it is today. Since the permanent
formation of our government under the Constitution in 1789, most of the periods
of crisis in our history have related to our domestic affairs. And, fortunately,
only one of these --the four-year war between the States --ever threatened
our national unity. Today, thank God,
130,000,000 Americans in forty-eight States have forgotten points of the compass
in our national unity.
It is true that prior to 1914
the United States often has been disturbed by events in other continents.
We have even engaged in two wars with European nations and in a number of
undeclared wars in the West Indies, in the Mediterranean and in the Pacific,
for the maintenance of American rights and for the Principles of peaceful
commerce. But in no case has a serious threat been raised against our national
safety or our continued independence. What I seek to convey is the historic
truth that the United States as a nation has at all times maintained opposition
--clear, definite opposition-- to any attempt to lock us in behind an ancient
Chinese wall while the procession of civilization went past. Today, thinking
of our children and of their children, we oppose enforced isolation for ourselves
or for any other part of the Americas.
That determination of ours,
extending over all these years, was proved, for example, in the early days
during the quarter century of wars following the French Revolution. While
the Napoleonic struggle did threaten interests of the United States because
of the French foothold in the West Indies and in Louisiana, and while we engaged
in the War of 1812 to vindicate our right to peaceful trade, it is nevertheless
clear that neither France nor Great Britain nor any other nation was aiming
at domination of the whole world.
And in like fashion, from 1815
to 1914 --ninety-nine years --no single war in Europe or in Asia constituted
a real threat against our future or against the future of any other American
nation. Except in the Maximilian interlude in Mexico, no foreign power sought
to establish itself in this hemisphere. And the strength of the British fleet
in the Atlantic has been a friendly strength; it is still a friendly strength.
Even when the World War broke out in 1941 it seemed to contain only small
threat of danger to our own American future. But as time went on, as we remember,
the American people began to visualize what the downfall of democratic nations
might mean to our own democracy.
We need not overemphasize imperfections
in the peace of Versailles. We need not harp on failure of the democracies
to deal with problems of world reconstruction. We should remember that the
peace of 1919 was far less unjust than the kind of pacification which began
even before Munich, and which is being carried on under the new order of tyranny
that seeks to spread over every continent today. The American people have
unalterably set their faces against that tyranny. I suppose that every realist
knows that the democratic way of life is at this moment being directly assailed
in every part of the world --assailed either by arms or by secret spreading
of poisionous propaganda by those who seek to destroy unity and promote discord
in nations that are still at peace.
During sixteen long months
this assault has blotted out the whole pattern of democratic life in an appalling
number of independent nations, great and small. And the assailants are still
on the march, threatening other nations, great and small. Therefore, as your
President, performing my constitutional duty to "give to the Congress information
of the state of the union," I find it unhappily necessary to report that the
future and the safety of our country and of our democracy are overwhelmingly
involved in events far beyond our borders. Armed defense of democratic existence
is now being gallantly waged in four continents. If that defense fails, all
the population and all the resources of Europe and Asia, Africa and Australia
will be dominated by conquerors. And let us remember that the total of those
populations in those four continents, the total of those populations and their
resources greatly exceeds the sum total of the population and the resources
of the whole of the Western Hemisphere --yes, many times over.
In times like these it is immature--
and, incidentally, untrue-- for anybody to brag that an unprepared America,
single-handed and with one hand tied behind its back, can hold off the whole
world. No realistic American can expect from a dictator's peace international
generosity, or return of true independence, or world disarmament, or freedom
of expression, or freedom of religion-- or even good business. Such a peace
would bring no security for us or for our neighbors. Those who would give
up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither
liberty nor safety.
As a nation we may take pride
in the fact that we are soft-hearted; but we cannot afford to be soft-headed.
We must always be wary of those who with sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal
preach the ism of appeasement. We must especially beware of that small group
of selfish men who would clip the wings of the American eagle in order to
feather their own nests. I have recently pointed out how quickly the tempo
of modern warfare could bring into our very midst the physical attack which
we must eventually expect if the dictator nation win this war.
There is much loose talk of
our immunity from immediate and direct invasion from across the seas. Obviously,
as long as the British Navy retains its power, no such danger exists. Even
if there were no British Navy, it is not probable that any enemy would be
stupid enough to attack us by landing troops in the United States from across
thousands of miles of ocean, until it had acquired strategic bases from which
to operate. But we learn much from the lessons of the past years in Europe--
particularly the lesson of Norway, whose essential seaports were captured
by treachery and surprise built up over a series of years.
The first phase of the invasion
of this hemisphere would not be the landing of regular troops. The necessary
strategic points would be occupied by secret agents and by their dupes-- and
great numbers of them are already here and in Latin America. As long as the
aggressor nations maintain the offensive they, not we, will choose the time
and the place and the method of their attack. And that is why the future of
all the American Republics is today in serious danger. That is why this annual
message to the Congress is unique in our history. That is why every member
of the executive branch of the government and every member of the Congress
face great responsibility-- great accountability.
The need of the moment is that
our actions and our policy should be devoted primarily-- almost exclusively--
to meeting this foreign peril. For all our domestic problems are now a part
of the great emergency. Just as our national policy in internal affairs has
been based upon a decent respect for the rights and the dignity of all of
our fellow men within our gates, so our national policy in foreign affairs
has been based on a decent respect for the rights and the dignity of all nations,
large and small. And the justice of morality must and will win in the end.
Our national policy is this
: First, by an impressive expression of the public will and without regard
to partisanship, we are committed to all-inclusive national defense. Second,
by an impressive expression of the public will and without regard to partisanship,
we are committed to full support of all those resolute people everywhere who
are resisting aggression and are thereby keeping war away from our hemisphere.
By this support we express our determination that the democratic cause shall
prevail, and we strengthen the defense and the security of our own nation.
Third, by an impressive expression
of the public will and without regard to partisanship, we are committed to
the proposition that principle of morality and considerations for our own
security will never permit us to acquiesce in a peace dictated by aggressors
and sponsored by appeasers. We know that enduring peace cannot be bought at
the cost of other people's freedom. In the recent national election there
was no substantial difference between the two great parties in respect to
that national policy. No issue was fought out on the line before the American
electorate. And today it is abundantly evident that American citizens everywhere
are demanding and supporting speedy and complete action in recognition of
obvious danger.
Therefore, the immediate need
is a swift and driving increase in our armament production. Leaders of industry
and labor have responded to our summons. Goals of speed have been set. In
some cases these goals are being reached ahead of time. In some cases we are
on schedule; in other cases there are slight but not serious delays. And in
some cases-- and, I am sorry to say, very important cases-- we are all concerned
by the slowness of the accomplishment of our plans. The Army and Navy, however,
have made substantial progress during the past year. Actual experience is
improving and speeding up our methods of production with every passing day.
And today's best is not good enough for tomorrow.
I am not satisfied with the
progress thus far made. The men in charge of the program represent the best
in training, in ability and in patriotism. They are not satisfied with the
progress thus far made. None of us will be satisfied until the job is done.
No matter whether the original goal was set too high or too low, our objective
is quicker and better results. To give you two illustrations : We are behind
schedule in turning out finished airplanes. We are working day and night to
solve the innumerable problems and to catch up.
We are ahead of schedule in
building warships, but we are working to get even further ahead of that schedule.
To change a whole nation from a basis of peacetime production of implements
of peace to a basis of wartime production of implements of war is no small
task. The greatest difficulty comes at the beginning of the program, when
new tools, new plant facilities, new assembly lines, new shipways must first
be constructed before the actual material begins to flow steadily and speedily
from them.
The Congress of course, must
rightly keep itself informed at all times of the progress of the program.
However, there is certain information, as the Congress itself will readily
recognize, which, in the interests of our own security and those of the nations
that we are supporting, must of needs be kept in confidence. New circumstances
are constantly begetting new needs for our safety. I shall ask this Congress
for greatly increased new appropriations and authorizations to carry on what
we have begun.
I also ask this Congress for
authority and for funds sufficient to manufacture additional munitions and
war supplies of many kinds, to be turned over to those nations which are now
in actual war with aggressor nations. Our most useful and immediate role is
to act as an arsenal for them as well as for ourselves. They do not need manpower,
but they do need billions of dollars' worth of the weapons of defense. The
time is near when they will not be able to pay for them all in ready cash.
We cannot, and we will not, tell them that they must surrender merely because
of present inability to pay for the weapons which we know they must have.
I do not recommend that we
make them a loan of dollars with which to pay for these weapons-- a loan to
be repaid in dollars. I recommend that we make it possible for those nations
to continue to obtain war materials in the United States, fitting their orders
into our own program. And nearly all of their material would, if the time
ever came, be useful in our own defense. Taking counsel of expert military
and naval authorities, considering what is best for our own security, we are
free to decide how much should be kept here and how much should be sent abroad
to our friends who, by their determined and heroic resistance, are giving
us time in which to make ready our own defense.
For what we send abroad we
shall be repaid, repaid within a reasonable time following the close of hostilities,
repaid in similar materials, or at our option in other goods of many kinds
which they can produce and which we need. Let us say to the democracies :
"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. That is our purpose and our pledge."
In fulfillment of this purpose
we will not be intimidated by the threats of dictators that they will regard
as a breach of international law or as an act of war our aid to the democracies
which dare to resist their aggression. Such aid is not an act of war, even
if a dictator should unilaterally proclaim it so to be. And when the dictators
--if the dictators-- are ready to make war upon us, they will not wait for
an act of war on our part. They did not wait for Norway or Belgium or the
Netherlands to commit an act of war. Their only interest is in a new one-way
international law which lacks mutuality in its observance and therefore becomes
an instrument of oppression. The happiness of future generations of Americans
may well depend on how effective and how immediate we can make our aid felt.
No one can tell the exact character of the emergency situations that we may
be called upon to meet. The nation's hands must not be tied when the nation's
life is in danger.
Yes, and we must prepare, all
of us prepare, to make the sacrifices that the emergency --almost as serious
as war itself-- demands. Whatever stands in the way of speed and efficiency
in defense, in defense preparations at any time, must give way to the national
need. A free nation has the right to expect full cooperation from all groups.
A free nation has the right to look to the leaders of business, of labor and
of agriculture to take the lead in stimulating effort, not among other groups
but within their own groups.
The best way of dealing with
the few slackers or trouble-makers in our midst is, first, to shame them by
patriotic example, and if that fails, to use the sovereignty of government
to save government. As men do not live by bread alone, they do not fight by
armaments alone. Those who man our defenses and those behind them who build
our defenses must have the stamina and the courage which come from unashakeable
belief in the manner of life which they are defending. The mighty action that
we are calling for cannot be based on a disregard of all the things worth
fighting for.
The nation takes great satisfaction
and much strength from the things which have been done to make its people
conscious of their individual stake in the preservation of democratic life
in America. Those things have toughened the fiber of our people, have renewed
their faith and strengthened their devotion to the institutions we make ready
to protect. Certainly this is no time for any of us to stop thinking about
the social and economic problems which are the root cause of the social revolution
which is today a supreme factor in the world. For there is nothing mysterious
about the foundations of a healthy and strong democracy.
The basic things expected by
our people of their political and economic systems are simple. They are :
Equality of opportunity for youth and for others. Jobs for those who can work.
Security for those who need it. The ending of special privilege for the few.
The preservation of civil liberties for all. The enjoyment of the fruits of
scientific progress in a wider and constantly rising standard of living. These
are the simple, the basic things that must never be lost sight of in the turmoil
and unbelievable complexity of our modern world. The inner and abiding straight
of our economic and political systems is dependent upon the degree to which
they fulfill these expectations.
Many subjects connected with
our social economy call for immediate improvement. As examples : We should
bring more citizens under the coverage of old-age pensions and unemployment
insurance. We should widen the opportunities for adequate medical care. We
should plan a better system by which persons deserving or needing gainful
employment may obtain it. I have called for personal sacrifice, and I am assured
of the willingness of almost all Americans to respond to that call. A part
of the sacrifice means the payment of more money in taxes. In my budget message
I will recommend that a greater portion of this great defense program be paid
for from taxation than we are paying for today. No person should try, or be
allowed to get rich out of the program, and the principle of tax payments
in accordance with ability to pay should be constantly before our eyes to
guide our legislation.
If the congress maintains these
principles the voters, putting patriotism ahead pocketbooks, will give you
their applause. In the future days which we seek to make secure, we look forward
to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms. The first is freedom
of speech and expression --everywhere in the world.
The second is freedom of every
person to worship God in his own way-- everywhere in the world. The third
is freedom from want, which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings
which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants
--everywhere in the world.
The fourth is freedom from
fear, which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of
armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will
be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor
--anywhere in the world. That is no vision of a distant millennium. It is
a definite basis for a kind of world attainable in our own time and generation.
That kind of world is the very antithesis of the so-called "new order" of
tyranny which the dictators seek to create with the crash of a bomb.
To that new order we oppose
the greater conception --the moral order. A good society is able to face schemes
of world domination and foreign revolutions alike without fear. Since the
beginning of our American history we have been engaged in change, in a perpetual,
peaceful revolution, a revolution which goes on steadily, quietly, adjusting
itself to changing conditions without the concentration camp or the quicklime
in the ditch. The world order which we seek is the cooperation of free countries,
working together in a friendly, civilized society.
This nation has placed its
destiny in the hands, heads and hearts of its millions of free men and women,
and its faith in freedom under the guidance of God. Freedom means the supremacy
of human rights everywhere. Our support goes to those who struggle to gain
those rights and keep them. Our strength is our unity of purpose. To that
high concept there can be no end save victory.