The Four Freedoms

This week is Thanksgiving Week. It's a unique American Holiday that celebrates the blessings we have in the United States. Last week I introduced my 5 and 6 year olds in our homeschool co-op to Norman Rockwell and his famous paintings called The Four Freedoms. I was initially drawn to the painting called Freedom from Want -- it reminds me of Thanksgiving. Actually there are 4 paintings:

Freedom of Speech

Freedom of Religion

Freedom from Want

Freedom from Fear

The Four Freedoms were goals that President Franklin D. Roosevelt spoke in the State of the Union Address in 1942. It is often referred to as the Four Freedoms speech. Roosevelt listed four points as fundamental freedoms humans "everywhere in the world":

Freedom of speech and expression

Freedom of every person to worship God in his own way

Freedom from want

Freedom from fear

Norman Rockwell painted the series in 1943, during World War II. He completed the series in seven months. The Saturday Evening Post published them in 1943.

As Thanksgiving approaches there is so much to be thankful for. I am incredibly blessed to be an American.