The Fight for the Four Freedoms: What Made FDR and the Greatest Generation Truly Great

by Harvey J. Kaye

An inspiring call to redeem the progressive legacy of the greatest generation, now under threat as never before.

On January 6, 1941, the Greatest Generation gave voice to its founding principles, the Four Freedom from want and from fear. Freedom of speech and religion. In the name of the Four Freedoms they fought the Great Depression. In the name of the Four Freedoms they defeated the Axis powers.

In the process they made the United States the richest and most powerful country on Earth. And, despite a powerful, reactionary opposition, the men and women of the Greatest Generation made America freer, more equal, and more democratic than ever before.

Now, when all they fought for is under siege, we need to remember their full achievement, and, so armed, take up again the fight for the Four Freedoms.

Genres: History, Politics, Nonfiction, American History, The United States Of America, World War II, Biography

292 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2014

Reviews

[Thomas Ray]

The Fight for the Four Freedoms: What Made FDR and the Greatest Generation Truly Great, Harvey Kaye

A bit of it here:

https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/d...

Also:

William Leuchtenburg, /Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal/

Michael Hiltzik, /The New Deal/

But remember that FDR's "Four Freedoms" speech was an attempt to get the U.S. public to support our entry into WWII--NOT so that foreigners would have freedoms, but so that U.S. corporations would have the plunder of Indonesia.


/FDR and the Jews/ makes clear that WWII for FDR was not about helping European Jews. FDR denied entry to Jews fleeing Nazism. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once upon a time (1941), FDR said “‘Dorothy, take a law.’ And he proceeded to dictate, ‘We must look forward to a world based on four essential human freedoms . . .’” (74). Those Four Freedoms: Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religion, Freedom from Want, Freedom from Fear.

This book is a love song to the Four Freedoms; to the jurisgenerative brilliance of a great, flawed, president.

It is not a deep text. There’s also anger through it towards those who fought hard by means fair and foul to defeat the New Deal, and bitterness towards those who let down FDR’s grand dream.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

No president can be perfect. It's a difficult but inevitable aspect of a government that is built, run, and refreshed by its people: we are flawed, and therefore our system--not to mention the men and women we elect to control it--is flawed. Even those whom we lionize for their bravery and steadfastness, their roles in molding our nation into something more perfect and more unified, made decisions while in office that, even by the standards of their day, would be considered illegal, thoughtless, or inhumane. For instance, in the course of the Civil War, Lincoln suspended habeas corpus, which gave him the power to deny spies and political prisoners all of the judicial guarantees provided by the Constitution; it also allowed soldiers to search homes and seize property without a warrant, gave the president the authority to establish martial law, which Lincoln did in Kentucky, and invalidate any lawsuits against government agents because of otherwise punishable crimes, such as trespassing and false imprisonment. Lincoln did this while waging a war against the Confederacy for seceding and, in doing so, committing treason against the very same Constitution Lincoln himself was ignoring.

Eight decades later Franklin Roosevelt gave in to racial fear-mongering and forced more than 100,000 Japanese and Japanese-Americans to be removed from their homes and relocated to internment camps throughout the country. (In other parts of the country, the relocated populations were of German heritage rather than Japanese heritage.) Rendered through executive order, Roosevelt's decision came at a time when Hitler was himself overseeing a much similar, though much wider and more brutal, practice against the Jewish population of Europe. At the time, Roosevelt's decision was seen as a necessary evil, one based on what can only be described as a cautious paranoia; today, we know it as an indefensible crime against humanity and a shameful, unjustifiable chapter in our history.

Every president, regardless of their political affiliation, their legacy, or the length of their service, made decisions that we today look on as misguided, if not dangerous or shameful. Even those who took brave stands for what was right--historically significant moments, the kind that define a president's legacy--were often forced by public opinion or electoral defeat to soften their attitudes, if not walk back their ideas entirely. (Teddy Roosevelt speaking out against lynching and dined with Booker T. Washington, only to refrain from advocating for civil rights legislation or confronting Southerners directly, is the most obvious example of this.) And yet, for just as long as we've had presidents, we've suffered under the delusion of executive perfection--of the ideal candidate, the most influential statesman, the Great American President--and it colors not only our own beliefs but how we understand and learn from our own history. If we spend our entire educational careers desperately seeking out personifications of American exceptionalism, only to see those characterizations dashed when the truth is revealed, we are creating a fantasy that can never be fulfilled--a dream that will inevitably become a nightmare.

This is the fate of anyone who endeavors to write an appreciation of a president and his ideas: at some point in the process of researching and writing, the author must reckon with the disappointments inherent in being Commander in Chief. Legislative failures, military entanglements, economic downturns, domestic failings, social unrest, electoral rebukes, indecision--it is part of their history and therefore must become part of the narrative; otherwise, you are rewriting history through intentional ignorance or spin. Thankfully, most of the historical works we see today respect this balance--between the successes and failures, between what the president sought and what they actually accomplished, between their words and their actions--and those that do not are quickly and derisively dispatched to the dusty attics of history, as they should be.

But what of those who write of their president's ideals, write of the president himself, and also include the inevitable failings without ever reconciling the two to create a unified history? That is to say, what of the author who writes of Lincoln's grand defense of the American Constitution and his grave subordination of the very same document without ever addressing this discrepancy? What of the author who praises Theodore Roosevelt for his progressive stand against racism, derides him for his own personal prejudice and weak support for civil rights, and allows both truths to coexist without seeing this as a problem worth addressing?

This dangerous possibility both haunts and vindicates Harvey J. Kaye's The Fight for the Four Freedoms, a look at how one of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's greatest legacies persists in American discourse despite repeated attempts to undermine it and a series of presidents who were unable to bring it to life.* Believing that all people require the same four freedoms in order to live a truly purposeful and enjoyable life--freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, freedom from fear--Roosevelt spent his final years as president failing to see adequate legislation enshrining these four freedoms in law. Kaye specifically focuses on the first, "Freedom from want," as a way to weave Roosevelt's story--and the story of the subsequent eighty years--with the current state of our country, in which millions of Americans find themselves unable to pay their bills, support their families on full-time salaries, send their children to college, or ensure a comfortable future for themselves and their loved ones, all the while chief executives and businessmen reap huge profits. As far as Kaye is concerned, it is this pillar more than any other that is the most prescient to our world and, in failing to be realized legislatively, the one that could do the most good for the greatest number of people.

Kaye has an obvious affection for Roosevelt's four freedoms, and his disappointment in Roosevelt for not achieving these four goals--because of the war, because of Republican intransigence, because of racism, because of conservatives and capitalists--colors much of the book, and palpably so. He is even more critical of those who occupied the White House after Roosevelt, regardless of whether they embraced his legacy or attempted to dismantle it; this includes the current president, who has tried and failed on many occasions to create laws that lessen the wealth gap and income disparity that has so damaged our country over the last quarter-century. Kaye still believes that Roosevelt's four ideals can be realized--in fact, he seems to believe the future of our country and the health of its Constitution depend on it--but much of his 200-odd pages are a dire history of lofty speeches, progressive ideas, and a willing population, all ending in bitter disappointment time after time.

Yes, no president is perfect, but there are those whose attempts at success were more effective than others. Lyndon Johnson came closer than almost any other elected official to turning FDR's dreams into reality; through the Voting Rights Act, the creation of Medicaid and Medicare, and significant new immigration and education acts, Johnson created a path for millions of Americans to gain greater levels of equality, security, and pride. However, even Johnson's legacy is tainted--in this case, by a war so controversial and devastating that it will certainly be the single most important aspect of his presidency for the next fifty years. And here is the paradox in Kaye's book: the difficulties of being president do not prevent Roosevelt's four freedoms from ever being realized; however, the imprecision of those freedoms--how we define want and fear, how we gauge speech and worship--means that success in fighting for any one of these four may go unnoticed, unappreciated, or derided as not good enough. How do we measure a president's success when it comes to democratizing speech, guaranteeing open worship, eradicating want, dispelling fear? If a president were to accomplish all four, with little compromise, would that be good enough? Or would we look over the unavoidable imperfections of their career and say, with a sigh and a nod towards history, that it wasn't enough, that it could've been better? Or would we look over their limitations and say, confident, that they did the best they could?

We as a nation will always suffer from prejudice, will always face inequality in our neighborhoods, will always have a reason to be afraid. There will always be a great need for healing and improvement because we are a land of people: human beings, young and old, who are just as flawed as the people to our right and left, just as imperfect as those who came before us and who will come after. And as time moves forward and more of history is written, we see the small steps of progress that each successive generation makes--not enough to quench our troubled national conscience, no, but enough to know that we are not the animals we used to be. If we are fated to never realize the four freedoms that Roosevelt proposed eight decades ago, we can at least be comforted by the knowledge that we are a better, more freer people than we were yesterday, and we will be even more free when we wake up tomorrow. Free from our bigotries, from our unrealizable desires, from meaningless fears. We won't realize this until much later, as changes like this are incremental, but so is the passage of time itself.


*In the interest of full disclosure, Kaye is professor at my alma mater, where he lectures on many of the same topics addressed in his book. However, I was never one of his students.


This review was originally published at There Will Be Books Galore.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very thorough if not lacking in a more personal style, Kaye tells the the history of the Four Freedoms and its evolution throughout America up till now with connections to the many struggles in the United States. It can be a little numbing with names and groups that sought to make America better but it’s concise and powerful in creating its line through history.

[Jerry Pulley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book about a great President and generation!!

In a modern world, where no one seems to know history, Mr. Kate reminds us of the great leadership and American culture of the time!

[Prole Academy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historian Harvey J. Kaye again makes it off my bookshelf to give us an in-depth look at what President Franklin Roosevelt, the New Deal, and the Greatest Generation accomplished, how their legacy lingers, and what we need to remember as we try to accomplish major national challenges yet again. The author sketches out a political movement based in Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms Address, suggesting our central fight was one to defend free speech and religion, and banish want and fear. The vision expressed here of Americans fighting for freedom, equality, and a more perfect union through progressive policies is a bit simplistic, but to a limited degree it’s true, and it’s definitely useful when trying to galvanize left-leaning people in America who feel they’ve gone a very long time without a clear victory.

Harvey describes the climate of fear and desperation surrounding the Great Depression, and paints FDR as an inspiration and bold visionary who managed to marshal our government to save capitalism in its darkest hour. He did this by instituting programs like the National Recovery Administration, the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Works Progress Administration, and eventually Social Security itself. He helped protect labor, build public insurance programs for the vulnerable and old, and regulate banking and large corporations to avoid another Depression. The effect of all this was to take the United States toward a social democracy, where capitalism exists but the government uses its resources to fund generous social programs and regulate business to soften capitalism’s rough edges.

The Fight for the Four Freedoms is a capably written, informative, easy-to-read look at what a social democracy can accomplish – it has its blindspots, though. Chief among them is a look at the limits of what a social democracy will do to fight inequality and injustice. After all, for all the good the FDR administration did for labor, it still did break up strikes and prevent a broader, more aggressive workers’ revolution from taking place in this country at a time that was ripe for it. For all the good New Deal programs did for poor Americans, they often excluded black Americans, Latinos and others from those benefits. And instead of building a true public education, national pension or universal healthcare system, American social democracy has built a patchwork of confusing, means-tested, and state-administered programs that exist alongside private alternatives, and arguably do not provide anywhere near the security or effectiveness that they should. Even worse, those institutions are well into their decline now, in 2021.

Near the end of the book, Kaye outlines the Second Bill of Rights that FDR discussed in an address late in his presidency. Such a proposal would have included the right to a job, food and clothing, recreation, the right to a home, medical care, pensions, and an education, and for all of these to be provided in an adequate and dignified manner. It would have been a massive expansion of social democratic programs – some would call it socialism, but unless workers are seizing control of their workplaces from capitalists, I think that’s premature. Social democracies spend, and experiment, and dare. Even though they seem to always eventually falter and their programs get hacked away by the wealthy yet again, the history of our social democratic experiment teaches us one thing when compared to recent presidents like Obama and Biden. Our leaders aren’t pushing for too much to tackle our crises and secure a dignified life for all of us. They’re asking for too little.

[Pmslax · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gave me better insight about the current disconnect between labor and the d. party. Not much about Clinton but Carter and Obama did zip for the working class. Let them hang to be plucked by autocrats. So here we are with trump the dictator.

[randy · Rating 4 out of 5]

fdr being one of my favorite presidents i like reading books about him. his 4 freedoms are goals to strive for. harvey is a fdr fan and his enthusiasm shows. his telling of how people embrace them is inspirational. he is over critical about conservatives and republicans.

[Elan Garfias]

This is the combination of patriotism and progressivism that American historiography could really use. Neither the chest-beating of the old school nor the flagellation of the new school. All of Kaye's books honor the legacy of our fathers and grandfathers while pushing us to go further.

[G. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A political call to action masquerading as a history. I agree with his politics, but his stridency got in the way of his history at times.

[Pamela Leonard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book. Really taught me a lot about The New Deal and the Four Freedoms.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

An outstanding in depth analysis of FDR's "The Four Freedoms". Author Harvey J. Kaye is an amazing writer, and clearly the go to expert on the subject. Do you know what the four freedoms FDR espoused are ? Have they changed or been lost since FDR's day ?. This is just one query that must be examined inside this book. Author Kaye is clearly one of the most knowledgeable experts on FDR and his writings in the country today. From the beginning of the depression, through WWII, Korea, the "Happy Days" 50's, and Kennedy right on through to Obama we are challenged to not lose sight of our four freedoms. No matter how much the right wing wishes to spin it, we must be cognizant to not allow our four freedoms to be attacked. This book is so very relevant to life here in 2014, which makes it all the more reason to explore this part of our rich history. This book is not for just Democrats, it's an excellent reminder for any political party in the United States for what our country is all about. Progressives really need to take this book to heart, get back to basics and stop hiding. FDR gives us all the tools we need to succeed in 2014. Our democracy has always been a radical notion and FDR tapped into that like no other president before or since. So, do you think you know what our four freedoms are ? 5 stars out of a possible 5 stars. Without a doubt a must read. You should not be surprised to learn it's returning a focus to our four freedoms on a continual basis that makes our democracy not only better, but works.

[Mark Valentine]

As social history, Kaye provides a great service in reminding me of the tremendous heritage (almost wrote legacy, but heritage is stronger) that the Four Freedoms have for the United States (Freedom from want, Freedom from fear, Freedom of speech and expression, Freedom of religion).

Kaye begins his study by looking at the Great Depression and how it impacted American society. When FDR introduced the Four Freedoms in a speech given in 1941, Kaye shows how the ideas were already in the air. FDR minted them.

But with FDR's passing, Truman's torch faltered (Kaye shows) such that Eisenhower began dismantling them in full force. JFK never really revived them; LBJ did, though, and was able to sign in several legislative programs to continue the social revolution.

Carter hardly mention them though and so with this void, Reagan was able to re-introduce his own Four Freedoms, completely different than FDR's and thus the Fight continues. Obama's struggle with a gridlocked House shows that the Four Freedoms should be worth fighting for--the Four Freedoms motivated millions of troops to fight in WWII but today? The Tea Party, NRA, Fox media, Koch Bros. Inc., for all of their hyper-patriotism, grind the efforts of the Greatest Generations sacrifice for the Four Freedoms into chaff.

I wonder how many U. S. citizens can name the Four Freedoms, the original Four, today. If the memory lapse is this severe, we risk the Freedoms imploding into sink hole of national unconsciousness.

[MisterLiberry Head · Rating 1 out of 5]

With the small-minded rancor, the callous obstructionism and the posturing selfishness of elected officials in Congress today, it’s almost impossible to believe that a U.S. president could successfully stage-manage such as a transformative social agenda as FDR's into reality. Without reading the historical record closely, it’s easy to overlook how much political opponents & journalists reviled FDR as an over-reaching Machiavellian at the time. Still, expressed as it was in Jan. 1941, FDR indisputably gave voice to a rallying cry for the Greatest Generation. The guarantee of the Four Freedoms--basically, freedom of speech and religion, freedom from want and fear--these principles were moral beacons in overcoming the Great Depression and winning World War Two.

Reviewers have called Kaye’s book “pamphleteering masquerading as history,” and I have to admit that his work is hard to accept as serious history or even as a well-documented discussion of the cyclical surges of American political ideals from the Founders to today. Kaye’s book over-simplifies, makes countless fallacious connections with current events and offers a needless apologia for FDR’s values & actions. The book is sadly superficial and propagandistic, not up to the promise of its title. One would rightly expect more intellectual rigor and analysis from a law professor.

[Scott Lupo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harvey Kaye has written a concise book about the history of the Four Freedoms set forth by FDR and how it has defined the Greatest Generation. I have personally read very little about this generation so it was nice to have a quick read that focused on what was important to Americans during the Great Depression, WWII, and the beginning of globalization. I had only been exposed to the Four Freedoms through infographics, references in history books, and Facebook posts. It was far more than that during those days. President's used the Four Freedoms in speeches all the way up to the 1970's, albeit for political purposes by then. Freedom from want, freedom from fear, freedom of speech, and freedom of religion. Still relevant today! These Freedoms were part of the social fabric of the day, the consciousness of America. It was so interesting to read the comments of the right-wingers, reactionaries, and conservatives. They have not changed in all these years. Unfortunately they have been able to erode all the gains from the New Deal and the fights for these Freedoms. Now, today, we fight again but who will be the next FDR? Who will be the visionary to bring the citizens of this country to become fighters of democracy and equality?

[Eric in Ohio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harvey Kaye's book reminds us that what made the Greatest Generation great is not simply that they saved America from the Great Depression and the Axis menace in WWII, but that they did so while making America freer, more equal, and more democratic. Reading this you learn that in outlining the Four Freedoms - freedoms of speech and religion, from want and fear - FDR was defining what Americans were fighting for both abroad and at home. Most especially he reminds us that Americans were wildly united behind FDR and the progressive agenda of the Four Freedoms. You also learn how the Right vigorously fought this progressive struggle, sought to contain the aims to defeating the Axis and increasing economic output. Kaye calls in us to remember and to reclaim the progressive legacy. Not just more, but more equal. I found the penultimate Ch. 10, ranging from 1945 to 1989, to be both the least satisfying and the most intriguing in terms of wanting to know and read more. Fascinating how the Four Freedoms were forgotten (first by Democrats like Adlai Stevenson) and then redefined (particularly by Ronald Reagan). Kaye opens emphasizing that "we need to remember" and ends with Max Lerner's reminder that "what we once did, we can resume." Mother Jones would be pleased.

[Dan Cotter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book about the Four Freedoms speech of FDR in 1941, but also just a very well done overall history of some of the progressive values, resistance, and status. People would do well to revisit the issue and learn and ponder if possible to return.

[Rob S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Straightforward book that covers American life before FDR and the New Deal, FDR and the New Deal itself, and the aftermath since then. The aftermath includes the let down of furthering the New Deal in the wake of FDR's death, the victories of the 60's, and then losing the way in the 70's and beyond. Kaye covers what about the New Deal and FDR's Presidency helped make the "Greatest Generation" what we call it today.

Kaye does a good job of making the argument itself about why FDR's time as President was great for the country as a whole but it comes off as repetitive at times. Furthermore, Kaye does a good job of tapping into the anger that many Americans (including myself) have had with the direction of this country since the late 1970s in abandoning FDR's legacy and instead the growth of inequality that is now pervasive throughout American life.

If you have an afternoon, the book will make for a decent read and light one, clocking in at 213 pages not including sources.

[Franz · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well-written, even breezy, account of the strong support FDR's Four Freedoms--the Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religions, Freedom from Want, Freedom from Fear--enjoyed among those who experienced the Great Depression and World War II. What is striking to me is that I didn't even learn about them until about 4-5 years ago. Somehow these policy prescriptions that were at one point hugely popular were abandoned and forgotten. The sense that we were all part in the shared Great American Experiment of democracy, with everyone playing a vital role, seems to have been lost. Replacing it is a selfish view that my rights trump everyone else's. The corporate and political elite never cottoned to the Four Freedoms, and the result is not only a diminished democracy, but also stunted dreams and aspirations.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good survey of the Four Freedoms and how the ideas encased within them shaped America from the 1930s onward, this unapologetically liberal survey of American history is also unabashedly patriotic. It’s not often that a progressive author takes such a patriotic, wave-the-flag stance, and Dr. Kaye’s passion for his subject is one of the book’s strengths. This is a man who loves America and her potential and yearns for a return to a country moving toward progress on all fronts, of a democracy that is truly We the People and not We the Oligarchy. While some of the stories he relates left my blood boiling, I finished The Fight for the Four Freedoms surprisingly optimistic about America’s potential and (to steal a phrase from MLK) ability to bend toward justice. Recommended.

[Rosemary]

6/27/2014 - I got The Four Freedoms from my local Library. After reading just the 1st page of the Introduction I determined I had to have this book for my permanent collection. For everyone who has a knowledge of FDR, the Great Depression and the New Deal should be in awe of that time and how America recovered economically. I would like to see ALL people of ALL political parties to read this and then reanalyze where they think America should be today. To be continued . . .

6/29/2014 - This book is too good and after folding down EVERY page I've decided to return it to my Library and have today purchased my own copy. At the same time I've ordered Harvey J. Kaye's "Thomas Paine's" book, too. I'll pick this up after I've received them and read them. So sayanora for now.

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

My thanks to Harvey J. Kaye and Goodreads First Reads for my copy of The Fight for the Four Freedoms: What Made FDR and the Greatest Generation Truly Great.

I was a teenager during the great depression so I remember the fight for the four freedoms; freedom from want and from fear and freedom of speech and religion. The mental attitude of the nation was set for us to pull together for the greatest war effort in history and win World War II. Everyone helped in one way or another with the war effort as we pulled together. I am proud that I was part of this effort.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not my usual cup of tea, but parts of it were interesting to me and I feel like a better citizen having read it. Kaye gives a convincing argument that FDR and his generation was the greatest of all time. However, he says thay we have strayed from our fight for the four freedoms and that we need to regain sight of all that the past generation has worked for. The ending was empowering!

[Justin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read that captures the domestic context of why our greatest generation fought WWII (the Four Freedoms as a universal cause), then rebuilt and sought to preserve those hard fought freedoms within our own society.

[Auntie Jpeg]

This was a hardcover new book purchase for me. Set aside for my summer reads...

[Viktoria]

I was looking forward to reading the book, but sorry to say, I didn't finish it. I found the book a great foundation for a lively discussion, but reading it felt lonely.

[Tracy · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little strident for me but the history was interesting.

[Diane · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a history of the "Four Freedoms" that FDR claimed America was fighting for in World War II, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. The author seeks to show how the generation that fought World War II went on to promote progressive policies after the war. The problem is, FDR is the only successful politician the author identifies as having promoted these policies. He talks a bit about racial desegregation after the war, but mostly just bemoans the lack of progressive politicians in America. The book is also more of a straightforward history, albeit of a progressive vein, than a history focused on the four freedoms.