President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms speech and President John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address are intended to stir people's emotions in support of defending freedom, but the two leaders contrasted in their opinions of how freedom should be achieved and maintained. This contradiction is due to the differing viewpoints of the presidents. Roosevelt was preparing for war against Nazi Germany, and Kennedy was being ushered into office during the height of the Cold War with the Soviet Union, and also during the Civil Rights Era of American history.
Franklin D. Roosevelt was viewing freedom as the right of the people of the world. During Roosevelt’s presidency, much of the world was under attack from fascist movements across the globe, particularly in Germany, Japan, and Italy. These states used authoritarian tactics and right-wing nationalism to justify the buildup of their militaries. These states were beginning to invade their neighboring nations and spread their ideals. Roosevelt highlights this in his opening line, “I address you, the Members of the Seventy-seventh 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.” Roosevelt saw it as the duty of the American People …show more content…
Roosevelt’s time period required more direct action to protect the world from fascism. While the looming threat of nuclear weapons made the Soviet Union a greater threat to the world, those same weapons made diplomacy a better alternative to warfare, which lead to Kennedy’s apprehension to war becoming a focal point of his administration. Both Roosevelt and Kennedy wished to defend democracy across the globe, but both Roosevelt and Kennedy conflicted in how democracy should be defended, by using war or using
Franklin D. Roosevelt was viewing freedom as the right of the people of the world. During Roosevelt’s presidency, much of the world was under attack from fascist movements across the globe, particularly in Germany, Japan, and Italy. These states used authoritarian tactics and right-wing nationalism to justify the buildup of their militaries. These states were beginning to invade their neighboring nations and spread their ideals. Roosevelt highlights this in his opening line, “I address you, the Members of the Seventy-seventh 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.” Roosevelt saw it as the duty of the American People …show more content…
Roosevelt’s time period required more direct action to protect the world from fascism. While the looming threat of nuclear weapons made the Soviet Union a greater threat to the world, those same weapons made diplomacy a better alternative to warfare, which lead to Kennedy’s apprehension to war becoming a focal point of his administration. Both Roosevelt and Kennedy wished to defend democracy across the globe, but both Roosevelt and Kennedy conflicted in how democracy should be defended, by using war or using