Commems Collection Classic: What If? Phantom 1946 F D R's Four Freedoms

Within his Extended Remarks regarding the bills calling for circulating silver dollars to commemorate the Allies' World War II Victory and in honor of those who died during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Representative Compton Ignatius White (D-ID) raised the possibility of additional circulating commemorative dollars:

Should public interest and demand for such coins prove great, the Government might later issue a series of four coins each commemorating one of the "four freedoms." Certainly there could be no better way of keeping these "four freedoms" in our minds than having them stamped upon the coins which are within our pockets or in our strong boxes.

Four Freedoms?

On January 6, 1941, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt went before Congress to give his annual message and concluded his speech with a brief discussion of what he considered to be universal freedoms. It was the fight for these "Freedoms" that FDR believed required the US' continued support of Great Britain in the War and even greater production of war materiel by US manufacturers.

From the speech:

In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms.

The first is freedom of speech and expression - everywhere in the world.

The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way - everywhere in the world.

The third is freedom from want - which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants - everywhere in the world.

The fourth is freedom from fear - which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor - anywhere in the world.

These points resonated well with the American Public, and the popular address became known as the "Four Freedoms Speech." The speech was a seminal moment in FDR's presidency.

Four Freedoms Poster from Time of FDR Speech

(Image Credit: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. Public Domain.)

The WWII Victory and Pearl Harbor commemorative coins did not come to pass and so there was never any follow-up on a four-coin "Four Freedoms" commemorative coin program - private commemorative medals have been struck, however. I would have supported a "Four Freedoms" coin series had I been around at the time, they are ideals worth fighting for and commemorating, IMO.


To learn more about the World War II Victory and Pearl Harbor coins, check out:

- 1946 Pearl Harbor Remembrance And World War II Victory


For more of my stories about commemorative coins and medals, including other What If? and What If? Phantom stories, see: Commems Collection.