The Four Freedoms: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Evolution of an American Idea

Franklin D. Roosevelt's Four Freedoms address was more than a great speech. The way FDR framed what Americans fought for during World War II--specifically for freedom of speech, freedom from want, freedom of religion and freedom from fear--and the way our understanding of those freedoms has evolved over time, helped define how Americans conceived of themselves from the 1940s to our present day.