What cultural conflicts emerged in the 1990s?FOCUS QUESTIONS
• What steps led to American participation in World War II?
• How did the United States mobilize economic resources and promote popular
support for the war effort?
• What visions of America’s postwar role began to emerge during the war?
• How did American minorities face threats to their freedom at home and abroad
during World War II?
• How did the end of the war begin to shape the postwar world?FIGHTING FOR THE FOUR
FREEDOMS: WORLD WAR II
★ CHAPTER 22 ★
1941–1945
B
y far the most popular works of art produced during World War II were
paintings of the Four Freedoms by the magazine illustrator Norman
Rockwell. In his State of the Union Address, delivered before Congress
on January 6, 1941, President Roosevelt spoke eloquently of a future world
order founded on the “essential human freedoms”: freedom of speech, free-
dom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. The Four Free-
doms became Roosevelt’s favorite statement of Allied aims. At various times,
he compared them with the Ten Commandments, the Magna Carta, and the★^861