Roosevelt's Four Freedoms--Freedom of Speech, Freedom to Worship, Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fear--were presented to the American people in his state of the union address of 1941, and they became the inspiration for a second bill of rights, extending the New Deal and guaranteeing work, housing, medical care, and education. Although the bill never was adopted in a legal sense in this country, its principles pervaded the political landscape for an entire generation, including the War on Poverty and the Great Society ...
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Roosevelt's Four Freedoms--Freedom of Speech, Freedom to Worship, Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fear--were presented to the American people in his state of the union address of 1941, and they became the inspiration for a second bill of rights, extending the New Deal and guaranteeing work, housing, medical care, and education. Although the bill never was adopted in a legal sense in this country, its principles pervaded the political landscape for an entire generation, including the War on Poverty and the Great Society reforms of the 1960s. Furthermore, the ideas expressed in the Four Freedoms speech inspired the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. But since the late 1970s and early 1980s, these freedoms have been under assault, from presidential administrations of both parties, economic pressures, and finally, the exigencies of national security. After September 11, 2001, this process accelerated even more rapidly.
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