They were the freedom of speech, the freedom of worship, the freedom from want, and the freedom from fear. FDR said this as part of his state of the union address on January 6, 1941.

time in school and during my free time studying him, his Presidency, and his policies over the years. He picked out those 4 things specifically because of what was going on in Europe and Asia at the time in hopes it would sway the American public into supporting the idea of the US getting involved in what would be known as WWII.

And started the Teddy Roosevelt documentary last night. I want to read more about FDR, particularly how he handled the buildup to WW2, and then WW2 itself. Got any book recommendations?

if you want to focus on that part of his life. On a side, the book has been used by many historians (and conspiracist theorists) to ask the question on how much advance warning FDR had about Pearl Harbor and whether he let it happen because he concluded that was the only way the public would support the US getting involved in WWII. People don't realize the speech was his State of the Union Speech in '41 and Pearl Harbor happened later that year. Now if you were more interested in his ABC Programs (i.e. the TVA) and the impact it had on the people and the land, then there are a couple good books out there. Here is the list of FDR books I have read. 1. FDR by Jean Edward Smith 2. Franklin Delano Roosevelt by Alan Brinkley - I would consider it just as good as Smith's, but most critics consider Smith's slightly better for a variety of reasons 3. Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal by William Leuchtenburg - probably my favorite book from a policy standpoint 4. Traitor to His Class: The Privileged Life and Radical Presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt by H.W. Brands - Not my favorite book because it didn't talk about Eleanor and other important family members in his life. However, it did provide an interesting viewpoint because it does focus on the war years and at times hints at an underlying tone of how his opponents viewed him even during his success. If you read any/all of these books and still want more, then let me know because I can suggest a few more out there. I don't think they are quite as good as these books. However, they did cause me to ask different questions that I never thought to ask while reading any of the books above.

I was leaning towards No. 1 on your list.

I started out reading the others because there is so much material to cover on him (navigating the PR of his illness, 3 terms, etc.). I wanted to see if other authors ended up going into more depth that FDR either didn't go into as much depth or I wanted to know more information. I guess that is why I read 1 book focused on Eleanor to get her viewpoint of him the man and the President because at times her role was bigger than people truly realized at the time. Even today we are still uncovering nuggets here and there.

Even if I’m wrong, thank you Mr Kiersky, one of my favorite teachers, for discussing this and serving as one of the US soldiers who liberated Buchenwald.