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John F Kennedy Four Freedom Speech Analysis

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Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) and John F. Kennedy (JFK) were both innovative and transformative presidents in their respective times. Both Roosevelt’s “Four Freedoms” speech and Kennedy’s inaugural address were powerful and persuasive. However, Roosevelts speech supported freedom, had a historical context of World War II (WWII), and had a purpose of persuading the United States to join the Soviet Union in WWII, whereas Kenney’s speech also supported freedom, had a historical context of being involved in the Cold War, and its purpose was to gain more freedom while also trying to end the threat of war and nuclear destruction. In FDR’s “Four Freedoms” speech, the importance of freedom is discussed, the historical context greatly impacts the speech, …show more content…

Kennedy emphasizes the importance of freedom by making it his first topic in his speech. He says “We observe not a victory of party by a celebration of freedom… “ (2). This compares to FDR’s speech because not only does he make the topic of freedom the first thing he mentions, but he also describes how it should be celebrated, therefore both speeches are supporting the concept of freedom and connect to one another when voicing their opinions on this topic. Relating to the historical context from Roosevelt’s speech, JFK’s address was also during a major war involving the United States and the Soviet Union. The difference is FDR’s speech was given for WWII and Kennedy’s speech was given during the Cold War, and the Cold War involved more than just the Soviet Union and the United States. Although Roosevelt and Kennedy saw eye-to-eye on the importance of freedom and also had similar historical contexts, their purposes were very contrasting ideas. Unlike FDR’s purpose of trying to convince the United States to join on WWII in a violent manner, JFK’s purpose was to persuade the United States to join in on the Cold War, but not for destructive purposes. His purpose was to try and enforce peace, meaning not to involve nulear weapons and warfare. Eventually JFK states “this peaceful revolution of hope cannot become the prey of hostile powers. Let all our neighbors know that we shall join with them to oppose aggression or subversion anywhere in the Americas.” (10). This statement proves that Kennedy only wants peace and that he wants to join the United States allies to support them, but only in a amicable

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On January 6th, 1941 President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered his eighth State of the Union address to Congress, known as the speech of the “Four Freedoms.” The purpose of this speech was to persuade Americans to shift their attention from the Axis threat to the British and allied troops in desperate need of support. During the time of this address, America was in a great state of isolationism. The majority of Americans sought to disassociate themselves from any foreign ties, including wars. “Policies to curb immigration quotas and increase tariffs on imported goods were implemented, and a series of Neutrality Acts passed in the 1930’s limited American arms and munitions assistance abroad” (“The Four Freedoms”1).

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