TheFour Freedoms Monument was commissioned by PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt following his articulation of the "Four Freedoms" in his 1941State of the Union Address. This was yet before theAttack on Pearl Harbor and the participation of the United States inWorld War II. Roosevelt felt that, through the medium of the arts, a far greater number of people could be inspired to appreciate the concept of the Four Freedoms.[1]
According to Roosevelt, the four fundamental freedoms are:
The statue was created bysculptorWalter Russell later that year, and was funded by the Women's National Institute. In 1943 it was dedicated toColin P. Kelly, one of the first recognized American heroes ofWorld War II, before a crowd of 60,000 people atMadison Square Garden in New York City. On June 14, 1944, the monument was re-dedicated in Kelly's hometown ofMadison, Florida, with a speech by GovernorSpessard Holland.[2]
The Four Freedoms monument inEvansville, Indiana, was designed by Evansville architect Rupert Condict. It consists of four 24-foot (7.3 m) tall ionic Indiana limestone columns, each inscribed with one of the four freedoms. Surrounding these central columns are 50 uniformly shaped blocks representing the 50 states of the United States. Each block represents a state and shows its state seal and its date of becoming a state. The monument was dedicated in 1976 in commemoration of theUnited States Bicentennial.[3]
The Four Freedoms Monument ofCleveland, Ohio, is located in theTremont neighborhood. It consists of a single column, with one of the four freedoms printed on each side. On top of the column is a sculpture of two hands holding a globe of the Earth.[4]
Media related toFour Freedoms Monument at Wikimedia Commons30°28′10.5″N83°24′46.0″W / 30.469583°N 83.412778°W /30.469583; -83.412778
