The Contradictions of World War II  The Four Freedoms  The U.S.
had just emerged from the Great Depression, and Japan had
invaded China and Hitler's Nazi Germany had taken much of
Europe, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered his
message to Congress in January 1941. In his speech, Roosevelt
stated that American democracy consisted of "Four Freedoms," the
freedom of speech and expression, the freedom of religion, the
freedom from want, and the freedom from fear.  "We look forward
to a world founded upon four essential freedoms," the President
declared. "The 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 - everywhere in the world. The fourth is freedom from
fear - anywhere in the world."1 When the war came to the U.S.,
those "Four Freedoms came to define America's reasons for
fighting in World War II.  Freedom for Whom?  Franklin D.
Roosevelt National Archives at Co