4 - Freedoms

In his State of the Union message to Congress, January 6, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt said: " We look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms. The first is freedom of speech and expression. The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way-everywhere in the world. The third is freedom from want-everywhere in the world. The fourth is freedom from fear...anywhere in the world." Inspired by Roosevelt's "Four Freedoms" speech to Congress on the eve of World War II, Norman Rockwell wanted to contribute to the war effort by creating paintings that depicted each one. He eventually took sketches to Washington, D.C. and visited the Office of War Information but received little interest but on his way back to Vermont, stopped in Philadelphia and discussed them with the editor of the Saturday Evening Post. They were impressed and used them for four consecutive cover pictures in 1943. A few months later the government changed its mind and used them in fund raising campaigns to help the war effort and to help people capture the freedoms we enjoy as Americans.

Norman Rockwell's Granddaughter Abigail, wrote recently in the Saturday Evening Post, "We are living in chaotic and even alarming times, but here's a tremendous gift. We are compelled to go within so much outside of ourselves is beyond our control to discover what our true values are what is really important to us, for our families and our lives. Everything becomes clear in times of crisis. All of us are now urged to revisit the Four Freedoms and what they mean to us. Freedom of Speech (and the Press) is more relevant and vital than ever before; Freedom from Want - the polarity of the haves and the have-nots is starkly apparent and pressing; Freedom of Worship as everyone's faith is being tested, judged, and at times viciously condemned, and Freedom from Fear haunts all of us as we attempt to gather greater strength, courage, and renewed purpose in the face of escalating troubles around the world". The current issue of Smithsonian cover picture shows changes.