Around 1650, Claes Maartensz van Rosevelt and his wife Jannetje sailed from the Dutch province of Zeeland to New Amsterdam, buying a piece of land on Manhattan Island. From these beginnings sprang the two wings of the Roosevelt family that would each deliver a president of the United States: the 'Oyster Bay' Roosevelts, which included Theodore and Eleanor, and the 'Hyde Park' Roosevelts, to which Franklin belonged. Eleanor Roosevelt bridged both wings since FDR was her husband and fifth cousin once removed.
Today, I was in the capital of Zeeland, Middelburg, where memories of Roosevelt are never far away. In pouring rain, I passed the University College Roosevelt, the Roosevelt Institute for American Studies, and the Roosevelt Hotel. It is also the city where, since 1982, the Four Freedoms Award was awarded for the first time.
It was on the occasion of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's birth centenary and the bicentennial of diplomatic relations between the United States and the Netherlands. Since then, it has been awarded annually to a person or organization that has made a special effort to safeguard the four freedoms. The prizes are granted every other year in Middelburg in the Netherlands and Hyde Park in New York. Laureates include Jimmy Carter, Nelson Mandela, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
January 6, 1941
Roosevelt mentioned these freedoms to the American Congress during the State of the Union on January 6, 1941. He proposed four fundamental freedoms that people "everywhere in the world" ought to enjoy: Freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.
After winning this week's New Hampshire primary, former president Trump is another step closer to becoming the Republican Party's preferred choice as their candidate to -again- provide presidential leadership and thus fill the big shoes that FDR and many other inspiring leaders of the past left for his tiny feet. Imagine FDR returning to our times for a day, and he would measure this candidate along the yardstick of these four universal freedoms.
Freedom of Speech: Trump embraces freedom of speech in an utterly different interpretation than FDR ever had in mind. False claims about the 'stolen' election and motivating his cult-like followers to storm the symbol of democracy should not fall under the protection of the First Amendment. January 6 was once the day of the Four Freedoms speech, but it will instead forever be remembered as the day when a president acted against everything these freedoms stood for. Nor was freedom of speech intended to protect bullying and discrimination detrimental to either individuals or marginalized communities.
Freedom of Worship: Trump called in 2015 for a "total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States," and as president, he tweeted in 2019 that four Democratic congresswomen of color, two of whom are Muslim, should "go back" to the "totally broken and crime infested places from which they came."
Freedom from Want: Read this as FDR's belief that every person should have a decent standard of living and economic security, a concept that is hard to grasp for someone who can only think of his own interests. It requires solidarity with those less fortunate than you, empathy, and, at minimum, to correctly report your assets to the tax authorities. As a president, you can increase poverty and decrease economic and social security by giving an enormous tax break to the rich and the powerful, deregulating, reducing access to health care, and messing up the pandemic response.
Freedom from Fear: FDR believed every person should have the right to live in peace and security without the threat of war, violence, or oppression. Trump's actions and words have often undermined this freedom at home and abroad. Just ask those present in the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, about their fear when his violent mob tried to overturn the results of a free and fair election. This was an unprecedented attack on American democracy and the rule of law, and it caused fear and chaos among lawmakers, staff, and citizens.
Just ask the immigrants, Muslims, people of color, women, or LGBTQ+ people how much more fearful their lives have become by his demonizing. Or, if you prefer to approach this freedom from the other side of the spectrum, just ask white supremacists, militias, and conspiracy groups, such as the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers, and QAnon, who have engaged in violence and intimidation against his perceived enemies, how happy they are with the freedom they gained under Trump to limit the freedom of others.
If FDR could follow the developments in his country, nearly 80 years after his death in 1945, he would shake his head in disbelief. But he would have been proud of how Eleanor kept the spirit alive in the years after the Second World War. The former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt played a pivotal role in getting the Four Freedoms incorporated into the preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which reads: "Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy the freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed the highest aspiration of the common people."
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Notes:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/02/opinion/trump-election-lies-free-speech.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleanor_Roosevelt
Illustrations:
Norman Rockwell, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
A masterful essay! And excellent visuals.
The history you’ve cited was unknown to me. I had no idea about the Dutch connection. Thank you for this important lesson in history, a wonderful tribute both The Netherlands and America can share in pride.
The irony of the two January 6ths is astounding!
A travesty that these many years later Trump sullied that date by a despicable action that was in grievous contradiction to the Four Freedoms in FDR’s State of the Union speech. Those Four Freedoms are hallmarks that every new administration should embrace and protect with the power that comes with the Presidency.
The difference in these two men (or I should say three men and one woman) is poles apart. Both Presidents Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt were icons of American leadership who legacy will be forever honored. Whereas Donald Trump should be relegated to a footnote for when America was tainted with a sewer rat in the White House. Never again.
Thank you for a genuinely outstanding piece that makes me so proud to read.
You excelled! 🙏
PS, love the tiny feet reference to match the tiny hands 😉
Very well written. Thought provoking.