The Fragile Frame of Freedom
Examining the Meaning(s) of Freedom in America
9-10 Grade Band Text Set
Line of Inquiry: In this text set, students will explore fiction and nonfiction texts that are connected
through a common idea: “Does freedom always mean the same thing?” The anchor text, Four Freedoms
Speech, appeals to Americans’ beliefs about freedom. Roosevelt explains how the idea of individual
freedom and human rights extends throughout the world. He uses this speech to alert Congress and the
nation to the necessity of war. The related texts in this set offer different perspectives on what freedom
means to others, further exploring the question, “Is the idea of freedom specific to certain times and
places or are there ideas of freedom that are universal?”
Anchor Text
1250L Four Freedoms Speech
By: Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Text Type: Nonfiction
Roosevelt, Franklin D. “Four Freedoms Speech.” State of the Union. Washington, D.C. 6
Jan. 1941. Speech.
<http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/pdfs/ffreadingcopy.pdf>.
“Four Freedoms Speech” presents the idea that freedom is fragile and a necessary
rationale for war. Roosevelt focuses on the four freedoms: freedom of speech and
expression, freedom to worship God, freedom from want and freedom from fear.
N/A
Four Freedoms Series
By: Norman Rockwell
Text Type: Artwork
Rockwell, Norman. Four Freedoms Series. 1943. Paintings. Norman Rockwell Museum, n.p.
http://www.best-norman-rockwell-art.com/four-freedoms.html.
This Norman Rockwell series of paintings was published in the Saturday Evening Post during
World War II. The Office of War Information later issued the series as posters for an incentive for
War bond purchasers.
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1100L Freedoms Plow
By: Langston Hughes
Text Type: Poetry
http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/langston_hughes/poems/16959
This poem was written in 1943 to speak directly to the unrealized dream of human equality and
complete freedom for African Americans.
1530L The Bill of Rights
By: James Madison
Text Type: Nonfiction
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/bill_of_rights_transcript.html
The Bill of Rights is the collective name for the first ten amendments to the United States
Constitution. The Bill of Rights addresses freedoms not explicitly discussed in the Constitution.
1080L Address to Students at Moscow State University.
By: Ronald Reagan
Text Type: Nonfiction
Reagan, Ronald. “Address to Students at Moscow State University.” The American Reader:
Words that Moved a Nation, 2nd Edition. Edited by Diane Ravitch. New York: HarperCollins,
2000. (1988)
http://millercenter.org/president/speeches/detail/3416)
While U.S. President Ronald Reagan was visiting USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev to discuss
arms reductions between the two nations, he gave a speech to an audience of students at
Moscow State University. Reagan told the students his vision of the downfall of tyranny and the
success of liberty.
NA
Excerpt to the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce, “Encroaching Control”
By: Ronald Reagan
Text Type: Nonfiction
Reagan, Ronald. YouTube. N.p., 30 Mar. 1961. Web.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDouNtnR_IA>.
Future governor and president of the United States Ronald Reagan addressed the Phoenix
Chamber of Commerce on the subject of freedom. This excerpt is the most famous part of that
speech, when he stated, “But freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.”
1320L Address on Civil Rights
By: John F. Kennedy
Text Type: Nonfiction
"Address on Civil Rights." Miller Center. University of Virginia, 11 June 1963. Web.
<http://millercenter.org/president/speeches/detail/3375>.
Kennedy spoke from the Oval Office in response to the National Guard being sent to
protect African American students at the University of Alabama. The President declared
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that a moral crisis existed in America and requested congressional action to expedite
desegregation through legislation.
He stated, “One hundred years of delay have passed since President Lincoln freed the slaves, yet
their heirs, their grandsons, are not fully free. They are not yet freed from the bonds of injustice.
They are not yet freed from social and economic oppression. And this Nation, for all its hopes
and all its boasts, will not be fully free until all its citizens are free. We preach freedom around
the world, and we mean it, and we cherish our freedom here at home, but are we to say to the
world, and much more importantly, to each other that this is a land of the free except for the
Negroes; that we have no second-class citizens except Negroes; that we have no class or cast
system, no ghettoes, no master race except with respect to Negroes?”
920L
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
By: Mildred Taylor
Text Type: Historical Fiction
Taylor, Mildred. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. New York: Puffin Books, 1991.
This novel is about the Logans, an African American family who fights to hold onto their
land while trying to survive extreme social injustice and discrimination.
Available from Amazon in paperback for $4.51.
890L
Fahrenheit 451
By: Ray Bradbury
Text Type: Fiction
Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Ballantine, 1987.
Firefighter Guy Montag fights for the freedoms (including the right to read and own books) in a
futuristic society that controls its citizens.
Available from Amazon in paperback for $4.62.
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