FDR's economic bill of rights

[Dusty Bake Activate]

Franklin D. Roosevelt - American Heritage Center, Inc.

On January 11, 1944, in the midst of World War II, President Roosevelt spoke forcefully and eloquently about the greater meaning and higher purpose of American security in a post-war America. The principles and ideas conveyed by FDR's words matter as much now as they did over sixty years ago, and the Franklin D. Roosevelt American Heritage Center is proud to reprint a selection of FDR's vision for the security and economic liberty of the American people in war and peace.

“The Economic Bill of Rights”

Excerpt from President Roosevelt's January 11, 1944 message to the Congress of the United States on the State of the Union

It is our duty now to begin to lay the plans and determine the strategy for the winning of a lasting peace and the establishment of an American standard of living higher than ever before known. We cannot be content, no matter how high that general standard of living may be, if some fraction of our people—whether it be one-third or one-fifth or one-tenth—is ill-fed, ill-clothed, ill-housed, and insecure.

This Republic had its beginning, and grew to its present strength, under the protection of certain inalienable political rights—among them the right of free speech, free press, free worship, trial by jury, freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures. They were our rights to life and liberty.

As our nation has grown in size and stature, however—as our industrial economy expanded—these political rights proved inadequate to assure us equality in the pursuit of happiness.

We have come to a clear realization of the fact that true individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. “Necessitous men are not free men.” People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made.

In our day these economic truths have become accepted as self-evident. We have accepted, so to speak, a second Bill of Rights under which a new basis of security and prosperity can be established for all—regardless of station, race, or creed.

Among these are:

The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation;

The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation;

The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living;

The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad;

The right of every family to a decent home;

The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health;

The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment;

The right to a good education.

All of these rights spell security. And after this war is won we must be prepared to move forward, in the implementation of these rights, to new goals of human happiness and well-being.

America’s own rightful place in the world depends in large part upon how fully these and similar rights have been carried into practice for our citizens.

 

[Slystallion]

What a commie that dude was...the right to a job? Thank God this idiot wasn't around during the drawing up of the constitution.

This idiot had a great depression last a decade under his watch with studies showing that his policies extended it...yet the left sees him a a hero because he embodies the centralized control they can only dream of...dude was out there just planting new supreme court judges so his laws could be implemented...might be the worst president of all time

 

[Dusty Bake Activate]

What a commie that dude was...the right to a job? Thank God this idiot wasn't around during the drawing up of the constitution.

This idiot had a great depression last a decade under his watch with studies showing that his policies extended it...yet the left sees him a a hero because he embodies the centralized control they can only dream of...dude was out there just planting new supreme court judges so his laws could be implemented...might be the worst president of all time

 

[Dusty Bake Activate]

The only reason the vision of shared responsibility FDR articulated has grown to be seen so negatively over the years is because it includes non-whites. If the country was almost all white, our economic model would look a lot more similar to Sweden or Germany by now and these charges of socialism and redistribution of wealth wouldn't be so prominent in national political discourse.

 

[Slystallion]

The only reason the vision of shared responsibility FDR articulated has grown to be seen so negatively over the years is because it includes non-whites. If the country was almost all white, our economic model would look a lot more similar to Sweden or Germany by now and these charges of socialism and redistribution of wealth wouldn't be so prominent in national political discourse.

See maybe cuz I'm not exactly a white guy I don't view it like that...I'll tell you that it's simply my views on economics and what natural rights are that guide why I feel the way I do...race is irrelevant we are all people who want to feel happy at the end of the day

 

[Regular_P]

Wish Obama would come out and say the same thing

 

[Mook]

See maybe cuz I'm not exactly a white guy I don't view it like that...I'll tell you that it's simply my views on economics and what natural rights are that guide why I feel the way I do...race is irrelevant we are all people who want to feel happy at the end of the day

you're white as the clouds u fakkit. Your name is probably paulie zutto you wop bytch.

 

[Soymuscle Mike]

See maybe cuz I'm not exactly a white guy

[ame=http://vimeo.com/48315047]IMG 3601 on Vimeo[/ame]

 

[Slystallion]

IMG 3601 on Vimeo

 

[Soymuscle Mike]

wasn't expecting this comeback at all, dap.

 

[yeahisaidit]

In 1944, Franklin Delano Roosevelt gave a State of the Union Address that was arguably the greatest political speech of the twentieth century. In it, Roosevelt grappled with the definition of security in a democracy, concluding that "unless there is security here at home, there cannot be lasting peace in the world." To help ensure that security, he proposed a "Second Bill of Rights" -- economic rights that he saw as necessary to political freedom. Many of the great legislative achievements of the past sixty years stem from Roosevelt's vision. Using this speech as a launching point, Cass R. Sunstein shows how these rights are vital to the continuing security of our nation. This is an ambitious, sweeping book that argues for a new vision of FDR, of constitutional history, and our current political scene.

 

[KingpinOG]

What about the right to throw "Japs" into internment camps?

I don't see that one listed.

 

[TrueEpic08]

What a commie that dude was...the right to a job? Thank God this idiot wasn't around during the drawing up of the constitution.

This idiot had a great depression last a decade under his watch with studies showing that his policies extended it...yet the left sees him a a hero because he embodies the centralized control they can only dream of...dude was out there just planting new supreme court judges so his laws could be implemented...might be the worst president of all time

Actually this is flat out wrong, unless "attempting to balance the budget and create a Keynesian stimulus concurrently" is that policy. Once the 1937 recession hit and the FDR administration abandoned balancing the budget, things went back on the uptick employment wise. If he hadn't made such an effort to balance the budget during those first four years, that recession would have never happened.

 

[Type Username Here]

Greatest President of all time. fukk the noise. He had some flaws but he was a visionary.

Dude came from the ultimate political family of the time and had a load of money but still cared about the lower and middle class.

There is a reason the Business Plot tried to execute a coup of his government.

The Presidents from FDR through LBJ had absolute balls when it came to social and middle class issues. Ike too, considering he was a republican.

 

[Street Knowledge]

GOAT