The four freedoms named in the paintings came from President Franklin D. Roosevelt's January 1941 Four Freedoms State of the Union address in which he identified four essential human rights that should be universally protected.
The Four Freedoms theme was derived from President Franklin D. Roosevelt's January 1941 State of the Union Address. During the speech Roosevelt identified four essential human rights--freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear--that should be universally protected.