[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1991, Book I)]
[January 30, 1991]
[Pages 80-82]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks at the 50th Anniversary Observance of Franklin D. Roosevelt's 
Four Freedoms Speech
January 30, 1991

    Thank you very much, Speaker Foley. And may I salute the leaders of
both Houses of Congress; pay my respects to Anne Roosevelt and to Arthur 
Schlesinger, Bill vanden Heuvel; and distinguished representatives of 
the Congress here; distinguished representatives of our World War II 
allies who are with us; certain ambassadors; and to the many friends.
    It is an honor to be with you on this

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extraordinary day of reflection, rededication, and renewal, inspired by 
the stirring words of this great President.
    You know, a day when we think of the Declaration of Independence, 
the Constitution, the Emancipation Proclamation--Franklin Roosevelt 
called these documents ``milestones of human progress.'' And he added 
one more to the list that we've heard about--the charge he named his 
Four Freedoms of Common Humanity. All of these landmark charters are 
optimistic. After all, that's what inspiration is about. But President 
Roosevelt knew that they are more than just idealistic goals. Together 
they are the moral North Star that guides us.
    Two hundred years ago, perhaps our greatest political philosopher, 
Thomas Jefferson, defined our nation's identity when he wrote: All men 
are created equal, endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable 
rights. Among them are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
    Fifty years ago, our greatest American political pragmatist, 
Roosevelt, refined that thought in his four freedoms, when he 
brilliantly enunciated the 20th-century vision of our Founding Fathers' 
commitment to individual liberty. And he saw that liberty was made up as 
we've heard: freedom of expression, freedom of worship, freedom from 
want, and freedom from fear. And for these 200 years this concept of 
human dignity has been a beacon drawing to these shores people from 
across the globe--people like a boy named Quang Trinh, a Vietnamese 
teenager who almost died escaping from the country where he'd seen his 
mother killed, his father jailed, his brother's spirit broken. Quang 
fled the only life he'd known for freedom. He jumped into shark-infested 
waters for freedom, starved in delirium for freedom. And when he was 
rescued and told that he could enter the United States, he wept for joy.
    Quang calls America freedom country. Imagine if every person across 
this world could call their homeland freedom country. We do--and we do 
because the four freedoms have shaped the American character. They've 
molded who we are as individuals and as a nation. And they've made us 
realize that along with the freedoms that are our birthright come solemn 
responsibilities.
    As we look around the world at the events of the past year, we see 
how these very same beliefs are bringing about the emergence of a new 
world order, one based on respect for the individual and for the rule of 
law--a new world order that can lead to the lasting peace we all seek, 
where children will never have to repeat Quang's ordeal. And that's 
what's at stake--a new chapter of human history.
    And that's why an international coalition of 28 nations backed by 
the United Nations is standing up to the evil that challenges this ideal 
halfway around the world in the Middle East. We cannot, we must not, and 
we will not let that hope for a better world be threatened.
    It is our commitment to the new world order that takes us to the 
sands and the seas of the Gulf. And we're there because we realize that 
each of Roosevelt's four freedoms leads us to the greatest of all human 
aspirations--the freedom to live in peace.
    We stand now, I really believe, at a defining moment in history, 
much as the man we honor today did a half a century ago. No one knew 
better than President Roosevelt what hard work freedom really is. And 
when he introduced first the four freedoms, Roosevelt's America was 
entering a war against the oldest enemy of the human spirit--evil that 
threatened world peace.
    But listen to the confidence of purpose that he expressed in that 
same speech: ``Our national policy in foreign affairs has been based on 
a decent respect for the rights and dignity of all nations, large and 
small, and the justice of morality must and will win in the end.'' That 
charge is as true today in the Gulf as it was 50 years ago in Europe. 
And the triumph of the moral order must still be the vision that compels 
us.
    So, we ask God to bless us, to guide us, and to help us through 
whatever dark nights we still may face. We hope that, in the sublime 
resolve of those who strive so that all may live in peace and freedom, 
we will show how this nation has forged its very soul; and that the 
liberty bell of the four freedoms will ring for all people in every 
nation of this world.
    Thank you very much.

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                    Note: The President spoke at 11:33 a.m. in Statuary 
                        Hall at the U.S. Capitol. In his opening 
                        remarks, he referred to Thomas S. Foley, Speaker 
                        of the House of Representatives; Anne Roosevelt, 
                        granddaughter of Franklin D. Roosevelt; and 
                        historians Arthur Schlesinger and William vanden 
                        Heuvel, cochairmen of the Franklin and Eleanor 
                        Roosevelt Institute.