History
The awards were first presented in 1982 on the centenary of President Roosevelt's birth as well as the bicentenary of diplomatic relations between the United States and the Netherlands. The awards were founded to celebrate the four freedoms espoused by President Roosevelt in his speech:
- Freedom of speech
- Freedom of worship
- Freedom from want
- Freedom from fear
For each of the four freedoms an award was instituted, as well as a special Freedom award. In 1990, 1995, 2003 and 2004 there were also special awards.
In odd years the awards are presented to American citizens or institutions by the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute in Hyde Park, New York. In even years the award ceremony is held in Middelburg and honours non-Americans.The choice for Middelburg was motivated by the suspected descendance of the family Roosevelt from Oud-Vossemeer in the municipality Tholen.
Read more about this topic: Four Freedoms Award
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“The principal office of history I take to be this: to prevent virtuous actions from being forgotten, and that evil words and deeds should fear an infamous reputation with posterity.”
—Tacitus (c. 55–c. 120)
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“A poet’s object is not to tell what actually happened but what could or would happen either probably or inevitably.... For this reason poetry is something more scientific and serious than history, because poetry tends to give general truths while history gives particular facts.”
—Aristotle (384–323 B.C.)