Blog # 2- FDR proposes a SECOND Bill of Rights!

President Franklin D. Roosevelt, as part of his State of the Union Address on January 11, 1944, presented the nation with a second Bill of Rights.  As WWII was coming to an end, FDR felt strongly that the country needed economic security and stability.  These were 8 new "economic rights" that the government would have to guarantee for Americans once (and IF) the laws were passed.  Take a look at the following video:

FDR Second Bill of Rights Speech Footage

Key passages from FDR's speech:

"It is our duty now to begin to lay the plans and determine the strategy for the winning of a lasting peace and the establishment of an American standard of living higher than ever before known. We cannot be content, no matter how high that general standard of living may be, if some fraction of our people—whether it be one-third or one-fifth or one-tenth—is ill-fed, ill-clothed, ill-housed, and insecure."

"We have come to a clear realization of the fact that true individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence...People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made."

"In our day these economic truths have become accepted as self-evident. We have accepted, so to speak, a second Bill of Rights under which a new basis of security and prosperity can be established for all—regardless of station, race, or creed."

FDR PROPOSED 8 NEW RIGHTS IN HIS "SECOND"BILL OF RIGHTS:

I. The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation (since only 2-3% of the nation are farmers and less than 20% are in industry, this would have to change if this Bill of Rights was implemented);

II. The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation;

III. The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living (since so few of us are farmers now, this might change);

IV. The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad;

V. The right of every family to a decent home;

VI. The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health (did we just achieve this last week?);

VII. The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment;

VIII. The right to a good education.

All of these rights spell security. And after this war is won we must be prepared to move forward, in the implementation of these rights, to new goals of human happiness and well-being...For unless there is security here at home there cannot be lasting peace in the world.

FDR listed 8 things that would bring economic security to our nation and hopefully to the rest of the world.  At the point that he gave this address in history, America was NOT planning on a Cold War with the Soviet Union or stockpiling tens of thousands of nuclear missiles or spending billions on a military budget every year.  None of the 46 years of futility vs. the Soviet Union was set in stone, nor the explosion and entrenchment of the military-industrial complex in our national economy like it is today. 

However, America was coming out of the war with its biggest national debt in its history (having borrowed $200 billion from the American people in war bonds - $170 billion held by U.S. taxpayers - and from American banks).  Congressmen were wary of spending huge amounts of money on peace time programs, especially for FDR, because his New Deal programs had had such a mixed track record of success and failure. 

The reason I bring this issue up is because I think that the country has spent the next 67 years (and may continue) to try to achieve FDR's goals.  As we finish out the year, we'll return to these eight core principles and examine how we have failed and / or succeeded.  (Groves U.S. History Blog)

Please answer the following questions:

1.  Why wasn’t the second Bill of Rights passed?  Why were the critics (and many members of Congress) against passing the ‘second’ Bill of Rights?   What were the "reasons" for voting against the bill?  (Hint: What was the economic condition of the country in 1944 (and before WWII)?? 

2.  Out of the 8 new rights listed above, which of them do you believe have been addressed in some way or another since 1944?  (Please keep in mind that this “second Bill of Rights was never adopted.)   Pick and explain at least 2 rights.  How have they been addressed?  (Do some outside research. Try to use reliable outside sources. You may use some of the useful (and reliable) resource sites at the bottom of this blog site.)

3. Of the 8 rights, which one could or should be addressed today by our Congress and President.  What do you feel needs fixing today?  Please explain why? (Back up your reasoning with facts!)   

500 words minimum.  Due Monday, April 25th.