Source Documents
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The Annual Message to the Congress (January 6, 1941) Franklin D. Roosevelt.
The President expounds the threat to American security from the rise of the Axis powers, calls for a dramatic increase in armament production to support the nation’s allies, and proclaims the Four Freedoms essential for a free and democratic world: freedom of speech and expression, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.

The Atlantic Charter (August 14, 1941) Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill.
The two allied leaders declare multilateral war aims and set forth common values that will be the basis for post-war world order. The Charter stakes the moral high ground of the Allies by defending such principles as economic and social security, freedom from fear, freedom from want, and freedom of movement.

The United Nations Fight for the Four Freedoms (1942) Office of War Information.
The American government explains each of Franklin Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms and the United Nations’ struggle to attain them. In an effort to rally national support, it declares the freedoms fundamental to democracy, condemns their treatment by the Axis powers, and applauds the American efforts in their defense.

Message to the Congress on the State of the Union (January 11, 1944) Franklin D. Roosevelt.
The President pleas for national and international unity in a last, all out effort to win the war. His domestic agenda includes a national service law to mobilize the nation’s resources and manpower and an Economic Bill of Rights containing ideas that directly influenced the Universal Declaration.

Campaign Address at Soldiers' Field, Chicago, Illinois (October 28, 1944) Franklin D. Roosevelt.
This campaign speech seeks to inspire an Allied victory over the Axis and urges American participation in a new world order, one that would eventually be embodied in the United Nations. The President decries isolationist tendencies and argues that an expansion of peacetime productivity and foreign trade are the best way to realize economic and social rights at home and to ensure a lasting international peace.

Human Rights and Human Freedom: An American View (1946) Eleanor Roosevelt.
As a member of the United States delegation to the United Nations General Assembly, Mrs. Roosevelt debates Andrei Vishinsky, chief Soviet delegate, over the proposed amendment that no propaganda should be permitted in refugee camps against the interests of the United Nations or its members. The success of her argument, based on the idea that such an amendment would violate human rights by restricting freedom of speech and expression, strengthened Mrs. Roosevelt’s position as a leading voice in the international defense of human rights.

UN Yearbook Summary (1948) United Nations.
This official overview follows the Universal Declaration's development from the Conference of International Organizations in 1945 to the adoption by the General Assembly, more than three years later. It summarizes the views expressed and proposals made by the representatives of each nation and contains references to official documents.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (December 10, 1948) United Nations.
The Universal Declaration is the primary international articulation of the fundamental and inalienable rights of all members of the human family. It represents the first comprehensive agreement among nations as to the specific rights and freedoms of all human beings. The Declaration has become a cornerstone of customary international law, binding all governments to its principles.

The Promise of Human Rights (April 1948) Eleanor Roosevelt.
This article, from the journal Foreign Affairs, provides a brief history of the Commission on Human Rights and its efforts to write a draft international Bill of Human Rights, including a Declaration and a Convention. Mrs. Roosevelt discusses both documents, including the articles she thinks are of vital importance, and her views on the Commission’s work in general.

Making Human Rights Come Alive (1949) Eleanor Roosevelt.
This speech to the Second National Conference on UNESCO reflects on the Universal Declaration and the problems that had to be overcome in writing a truly international document. Mrs. Roosevelt cites the difficulties in searching for appropriate wording and precedents in law and especially in bridging the gaps between cultures.

Statement on Draft Covenant on Human Rights (1951) Eleanor Roosevelt.
The American delegation proposes that the Draft Covenant be divided into two separate documents of equal importance to be considered for adoption simultaneously; one for civil and political rights and the other for economic, social, and cultural rights. Mrs. Roosevelt argues that differences in terms of the time, methods and machinery needed to implement the various provisions make such a division a practical step.

On the Draft Convention on Political Rights of Women (1953) Eleanor Roosevelt.
Discussing the specific articles of the Convention, Mrs. Roosevelt argues that the objectives of the United Nations are not only to encourage equal political rights for women in all countries, but also to ensure that women fully participate in directing the policy making of their governments.

In Your Hands (March 27, 1958) Eleanor Roosevelt.
Presenting a "guide to community action" on the eve of the Universal Declaration’s Tenth Anniversary, Mrs. Roosevelt declares that "the destiny of human rights is in the hands of all our citizens in all our communities." She urges people to improve human rights conditions "in small places, close to home" as the first step towards global progress.

National Coordinating Committee for UDHR50.
Copyright © Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute. All rights reserved.
Revised: October 24, 1997.