Wesley's essay and FDR's speech on the Four Freedoms
Franklin D. Roosevelt 's inaugural speech took place during significant historical periods,
i.e., during the Great Depression, which significantly impacted many Americans. The speech is
one of the most successful public speeches of all time and is particularly crucial in the cultural
history of the Americans. The speech was positive and wanted people to have a more secure,
freer, and happier life. On the other hand, Wesley wrote about racial discrimination in the United
States. Wesley was a British anti-slavery man, trying to convert people to Christianity. His
speech was poignant and mighty. The addresses of the two leaders also highlight several famous
and mostly stated lines, such as Roosevelt's "the only thing we need to feel afraid is fear itself."
Besides their disagreement with specific circumstances, both Franklin D. Roosevelt's speech and
Wesley 's essay make comparisons that link American experience with other peoples around the
world.
Both have advocated the dominance of human rights and fundamental freedoms globally.
They did, however, have some disagreement on some issues. In Franklin D. Roosevelt's address
in January 1941, for instance, he proposed the four freedoms which had global rights to other
countries. The four freedoms include freedom from fear, freedom to worship God in his way,
freedom from want, and freedom of speech and expression (Foner, pp. 192). Franklin D.
Roosevelt was a massive people's champion and passed the New Deal that helped Americans and
their economic and social lives to make things safer and create more jobs. Most of the citizens in
Albanay 2
the 1930s were not financially stable. As a result, they lacked freedom from want and feared the
future, which means they had no freedom from fear. Besides, with all the new immigrants
coming in, the same freedoms that all Americans enjoy, including freedom of worship and
freedom of speech or expression, were to protect them.
Wesley argued that the four rights promoted by Franklin D. Roosevelt were proper, but
they could not have worked in a society where the cultural, social, and political conditions of life
for religious, ethnic, and racial groups in the United States were unequal. Wesley was not in
harmony with Franklin D. Roosevelt. He believed that African Americans did not have speech
freedom since they had to be silent about the characteristics of their lives. Black people have no
freedom of religion because they have been coerced into Christian religion by slavery.
Wesley and Franklin D. Roosevelt and Wesley both want to help people who are
struggling in society. Both refer to minority countries in all parts of the world, African countries.
Franklin D. Roosevelt and Wesley are also paying attention to Blacks and Latinos. For example,
Wesley, in his essay, addresses the need for an average person from all over the world to learn
the things needed to be self-sufficient and successful. The consequences of illustrating
discrimination and prejudice because of unawareness rather than economic self-centeredness are
that Americans are confident that Mexicans are a substandard culture and believe that the best
culture is the American culture. On the contrary, this inferior race helps the United States in
defeating opposing countries.
Wesley also believed that Blacks were marginal workers (Foner, pp. 209). Therefore,
they were far from free from want, and they were far from free from fear because they were still
beaten. In his essay, "Do all the good you can, by all the means you can," Wesley promoted the
value of serving others and of becoming a selfless human. Besides, he wanted positive results for
Albanay 3
others, just as he expected others to do well. He assumed that working together, regardless of
race, faith, and nationality, was the only way to be successful.
Black Americans have had a challenging time in significant economies around the world,
such as the United States, Belgium, the United Kingdom, and, most recently, China. With the
World Wars, Black Americans realize that minorities in many other nations face similar
downfalls. Protests against discrimination have taken place, with major protests taking place in
1968 following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and the ongoing protests taking place
around the world following the murder of George Floyd by the police. At present, Black people
want harmony, which is free from constraints and racism (Foner, pp. 210). Besides, they
demanded peace free of exploitation and imperialism, and the minorities across the world should
participate in.
The injustices against black Americans have sparked many debates making many
countries join in the demand for justice. Many countries have come out to condemn the unfair
treatment of black Americans and other non-white races, claiming that they deserve a life as
good as the one their white counterparts are enjoying. Hashtags such as "Black lives matter" and
'Justice for all races" have gained popularity in social media all over the world as people show
their solidarity in the fight for justice for the non-white races. People, even the whites, are
coming out to identify with the black people and things might likely change once the values of
social and economic justice are settled in the world
In conclusion, Wesley and Franklin D. Roosevelt seem to protect the minorities in
American society and across the world as well. Blacks, Latinos, and other minority groups were
facing racial discrimination. As a result, Wesley and Franklin D. Roosevelt condoned the act and
Albanay 4
wanted a free world that people have freedom. Currently, there is a hashtag that has sparked the
world, i.e., Black lives matter to condemn the racial discrimination of Blacks.
Work Cited
Foner, Eric. Voices of Freedom: A Documentary History. 5th ed., PDF file, W.W. NORTON &
COMPANY, 2016.