The Four Freedoms

"As men do not live by bread alone, they do not fight by armaments alone." (Franklin D. Roosevelt)

Freedom From Fear courtesy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_from_Fear_(painting)#/media/File:Freedom_from_Fear.jpg.

In January of 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered a State of the Union Address called The Four Freedoms.  The world was at war and President Roosevelt was drafting his Lend Lease bill which would help the Allies in their fight against the Nazis.  

"Every realist knows that the democratic way of life is at this moment being directly assailed in every part of the world... the need of the moment is that our actions and our policy should be devoted primarily -- almost exclusively -- to meeting this foreign peril..." (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Freedoms)

While Roosevelt was convinced that the world needed America's help, Congress was not convinced. As the war raged on in Europe, America held an isolationist stance.  Anti-war advocates argued that Roosevelt's Four Freedom's message was just rhetoric to prop up his New Deal reforms.  

Freedom of Speech courtesy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_Speech_(painting)#/media/File:Freedom_of_Speech.jpg.

Congress remained unconvinced until December 7, 1941, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and decimated the United States naval fleet.  The following day, President Roosevelt made his famous speech to Congress "A Date Which Will Live in Infamy". (http://alinefromlinda.blogspot.ca/2015/11/franklin-d-roosevelts-great-arsenal-of.html)

"With confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounding determination of our people we will gain the inevitable triumph, so help us God.  I ask that Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7, 1941, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese empire."

The Four Freedoms were warmly received by the American public.  The Four Freedoms Monument, commissioned by President Roosevelt and sculpted by Walter Russell, was erected before Pearl Harbor.  It was commissioned at Madison Square Garden in 1943.  The Four Freedoms were encapsulated in the minds of Americans by Norman Rockwell series of paintings by the same name, published in the Saturday Evening Post in 1943.

  

Freedom from Want courtesy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_from_Want_(painting)#/media/File:Freedom_from_Want.jpg/

President Franklin D. Roosevelt Moonlights as Stamp Designer

"I owe my life to my hobbies -- especially stamp collecting." (President Franklin D. Roosevelt)

President Franklin D. Roosevelt examines a stamp in his collection courtesy http://postalmuseum.si.edu/deliveringhope/highlights.html.

During the Great Depression, with thousands of Americans out of work, the United States Post Office tried to do its part to keep moral high.  Post Master James Farley brainstormed with President Roosevelt to create a series of uplifting stamps to divert the public's attention from the nation's plight.  Roosevelt even presented numerous sketches for Farley's consideration.  "Never again did a president and post master general share such a close relationship..." (http://postalmuseum.si.edu/deliveringhope/exhibition_p3.html) 

One of the Roosevelt's designs, approved by the U.S. Post Office in 1933, was the Byrd Antarctic Expedition II, an effort to promote Admiral Byrd's second expedition to the Antarctic courtesy http://postalmuseum.si.edu/deliveringhope/object_0_209045_9.html#1.

Another Roosevelt sketch accepted was his Mothers of America design of 1934 courtesy

http://postalmuseum.si.edu/deliveringhope/object_0_209045_11.html#1.

Suffragette Susan B. Anthony was commemorated in a sketch by Roosevelt in 1936 courtesy http://postalmuseum.si.edu/deliveringhope/object_0_209045_15.html#1.

Virginia Dare, the first English child born in America, is featured on a 1937 stamp marking the 350th anniversary of Roanoke, Virginia courtesy http://postalmuseum.si.edu/deliveringhope/object_0_209045_18.html#1.

 

The 1938 Eagle Airmail Stamp was used to help distinguish airmail from regular mail courtesy http://postalmuseum.si.edu/deliveringhope/object_0_209045_13.html#1.

This 1939 stamp marks the 50th anniversary of statehood for Washington, Montana, North Dakota & South Dakota courtesy http://postalmuseum.si.edu/deliveringhope/object_0_209045_12.html#1.

Seabiscuit: The Race of the Century

Trainer Tom Smith with Seabiscuit circa 1936 courtesy 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seabiscuit.

"He was undersized, knobby-kneed and given to sleeping and eating for long periods of time." (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seabiscuit).  Seabiscuit was not your typical racehorse.  But given his sire was Hardtack, a son of Man o' War, big things were expected from this little horse. With a slow start, Seabiscuit won 11 out of 15 races in the year 1937. However, because War Admiral had won the Triple Crown, he was declared the Horse of the Year.  

The rivalry led to a 1938 match up at Maryland's Pimlico Track.  Forty thousand fans watched the race from the grandstand.  Forty million Americans listened on their radios, including President Roosevelt who postponed his meetings until the race was complete.  Although Seabiscuit was the underdog, he managed to outsmart and outpower War Admiral, reaching the finish line four lengths ahead.  In under two minutes, he had stopped the nation, diverting their attention from the Great Depression and the impending war to the "The Race of the Century".

http://stampcenter.com/blog/2010/06/04/seabiscuit-running-on-the-usps-stamped-envelope-part-i-of-ii/