How far are people willing to go to achieve freedom and peace in the world? And at what cost? FDR gave his “Four Freedoms” speech in the 1940s as a State of the Union address insisting that the United States must get involved in foreign affairs in Europe because Nazi Germany under the tyrannical rule of Hitler were conquering much of Europe which could threatened their freedom. Alternatively, twenty years later JFK gave his Inaugural Address speech during the peak of the Cold War suggesting a peaceful resolution Between the U.S and Soviet Union before destruction could happen. Both John F. Kennedy (JFK) and Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) share the same morals of this of freedom and America’s role in the world but their viewpoints on how to maintain freedom are drastically different. Both FDR and JFK share the same urgency for freedom in the world because both at the time were at the peaks of destruction, however FDR believes the only peaceful resolution is to go to war while JFK believes there is a peaceful resolution without anymore bloodshed and the only way to achieve peace is to unite.
To begin, FDR felt there was no peaceful resolution between Nazi Germany so the only solution was to go to war. In the 1940’s there was turmoil in Europe, as Nazi Germany under the leadership of Adolf Hitler was seeking to take over the world. Simultaneously, Franklin Delano Roosevelt gave his speech “The Four Freedoms” as a state of the union address where he explains it has reached the point where the United States must get involved and go to war in Europe. At the time, many Americans felt that foreign affairs shouldn’t affect them but yet others including FDR believed that Nazi Germany threaten their freedom and Hitler must be stopped. FDR defines freedom as “the supremacy of human rights everywhere” (FDR, 276) in the world. Which translates as the most important of all rights. Furthermore, FDR explains the four freedoms that all people are born with everywhere in the world, not just the U.S. Therefore, the U.S. must get involved to maintain those freedoms everywhere in the world. He states the U.S. can be “soft hearted but cannot afford to be soft headed” (FDR,271) to such a threat. FDR is able to grasp the audience's attention by establishing pathos through charged language such as “assailed, poisonous, destroy unity, and discord” (FDR, 271) to further show the urgency of the threat. FDR is trying to persuade the audience that there is no peaceful solution so the only way to achieve peace and freedom is to go to war.
In contrast, JFK shares the same ideas of freedom and America’s role in the world, but does not share the same solution of how to achieve that freedom. At the beginning of their speeches, both already establish a ethos by addressing themselves as the President of the United States giving both credibility on the topic at hand. In 1960 the United States and Soviet Union were locked in a stalemate where both sides were stockpiling nuclear weapons potentially creating an explosive disaster. Likewise, both FDR and JFK were in a position where a choice had to be made to counter threats but JFK chose a more peaceful resolution to said threat compared to FDR. JFK claims anyone live in fear is not free. To be free means to be free of fear. JFK states any country being threatened by aggression has the full support of the United States to oppose said aggression. Unity is the key to freedom. JFK urges the idea of unity because “united there is little [they] cannot do” and if they were “divided there is little [they] can do” (JFK,284). This is an example of antithesis but also, it represents if another state is being oppressed, everyone must unite to oppose that tyranny. Because united they can stand up against tyranny but if they don’t help, the state being oppressed cannot accomplish anything. Both FDR and JFK share the same idea that America’s role in the world is to support states in trying to resist oppression. JFK lets their “neighbors know that we shall join [them]” (JFK, 284) to oppose oppression anywhere in the world. However unlike FDR who believes that the U.S should get involved in war, JFK believes there is a peaceful resolution. He uses repetition and anaphora of the word “nor” (JFK,285) to show that maybe they will not be able to finish the war to finally achieve peace in the next days, years, or even in this lifetime. JFK states, “But let us begin.” (JFK, 285) because maybe they won’t be able to finish but they have to start another way. Or else they will just be repeating the same mistakes of the past and keep being stuck in the same predicament. But, now they can change by uniting as a whole for once to achieve peace instead of being divided and continue fighting.
To conclude, both FDR and JFK are peaceful individuals and at the time of their speeches, both wanted to achieve freedom. "The Four Freedoms Speech" and "Inaugural Address" by FDR and JFK respectively, the audience is introduced to two different viewpoints about how to maintain and achieve freedom by two different presidents. FDR and JFK delve deep into ideas of freedom to the citizens of the United States. While FDR and JFK both desire freedom, their biggest significant difference is on the way they seek to maintain that freedom. The parallel between the two speeches is significant because both presidents possess the goal of achieving and maintaining freedom and peace. However, the drastic difference between FDR and JFK is they each aspire to have peace in an either nonviolent or violent way.