Similarities Between Fdr And Jfk

Franklin Delano Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy; two of the most well know presidents in American history. There was more to these presidents than most know. Many Americans do not look to the past to find what shaped their present lives, but that should change. Without the past leadership of these presidents, the democratic history of the United States could have crumbled as the constitution neglected to be upheld. But that is not the case. They gave speeches that empowered and enabled Americans to fight for their beliefs and that of those around the world. Both Roosevelt’s “Four Freedoms” speech and Kennedy’s inaugural address call on the people of the United States to come together in the face of a threat against democracy. However, Roosevelt’s

These similarities and differences are shown through the meaning of freedom, the historical context, and the purpose of the speeches.

For FDR and JFK, freedom plays the largest role in each of their speeches because of their position as presidents and their desire to retain a democratic society. In his “Four Freedoms” speech, Roosevelt breaks freedom up into four different types of freedom. These four freedoms are, “Freedom of speech and expression..., freedom of [religion]..., freedom from want.., [and] freedom from fear” (59-62, Roosevelt). He interprets these freedoms as essential human rights that are the foundation for a democracy. This view of freedom was oppositional to the tyrannical governments on the other side of the world war. For FDR, freedom meant living in a democratic society where people kept their individuality, while still being united under one fair government. Towards the end of the speech he goes on to elaborate as to what freedom means to him, by saying that he looks forward to a world founded on these four essential freedoms. Similarly to FDR, JFK thought freedom was the way to unite the world in a time of war and destruction. In JFK’s inaugural address, he

When John F. Kennedy’s name is brought up, most think of his assassination. But both of these men were more than an economic policy and a death. They revolutionized thinking in their respective times and those thereafter. They protected the democracy that the United States had fought long and hard for. They used their positions of power to bring together Americans in times of war and chaos. Both Roosevelt’s “Four Freedoms” speech and Kennedy’s inaugural address call on the people of the United States to come together in the face of a threat against democracy. However, Roosevelt’s speech was used to persuade the American people that joining the war was the only option to conserve democracy, whereas Kennedy’s speech was used to persuade the audience that destructive weapons were not the answer to the communistic values rising in the Soviet Union. These similarities and differences are shown through the meaning of freedom, the historical context, and the purpose of the speeches. Their speeches may have been at different times in history, but they influenced the future lives of Americans more than they could have known at the