FDR’s Economic Bill of Rights: What Does Freedom Require?

On January 11, 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered his State of the Union message by radio from the White House while recovering from influenza. In it, he proposed a vision of freedom that went beyond political rights to include economic security and independence.

Roosevelt had introduced the Four Freedoms in 1941: freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. Three years later, he returned to the idea that freedom from want required more than political liberty alone.

“Necessitous men are not free men.”

Franklin D. Roosevelt, January 11, 1944

With those words, Roosevelt challenged Americans to consider whether political rights were enough if people lacked the basic means to live with dignity. He argued that true individual freedom could not exist without economic security and independence.

He then outlined what he called a Second Bill of Rights: eight economic rights that, in his view, should help make freedom meaningful in everyday life.

The Eight Economic Rights

Roosevelt proposed that every American should have:

1. The right to a useful and remunerative job. Work provides income, but it can also provide independence, purpose, and a means of contributing to society.

2. The right to earn enough for adequate food, clothing, and recreation. Employment, he argued, should provide the means to live beyond mere subsistence.

3. The right of every farmer to raise and sell products at a return that gives a decent living. Those who produce the nation’s food should be able to support themselves and their families.

4. The right of every business, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies. Economic opportunity, in Roosevelt’s view, required fair conditions rather than control by powerful interests.

5. The right of every family to a decent home. Secure housing is a basic foundation for family life and personal stability.

6. The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health. Health should not be treated as a luxury available only to those who can afford it.

7. The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment. People should not have to live in constant fear that illness, job loss, or aging will leave them without support.

8. The right to a good education. Education helps people develop their abilities and participate more fully in society.

Taken together, these proposals describe a society in which people have a reasonable opportunity to work, provide for their families, maintain their health, and develop their potential.

What Does Economic Security Have to Do with Freedom?

Roosevelt’s argument raises a fundamental question: What does it mean to be free?

Freedom is often understood as protection from government interference or coercion.