Norman Rockwell's Four Freedoms paintings raised over $132 million in war bonds

historyWikipedia1943 · United States

Norman Rockwell's Four Freedoms paintings raised over $132 million in war bonds

the gist

The Four Freedoms are four paintings Norman Rockwell made in 1943, showing Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want and Freedom from Fear. They illustrate the ideas in President Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1941 State of the Union address, which named essential human rights that should be protected everywhere. The paintings were reproduced in The Saturday Evening Post over four weeks, then toured the country in an exhibition run with the US Treasury. The exhibition and war bond drives tied to it raised more than $132 million. The theme also fed into the Atlantic Charter and the UN Charter.

so what

The series shows how art was used to sell the Second World War to ordinary Americans, turning abstract political ideals into images that families recognised. Rockwell was a famous illustrator rather than a critic's favourite, which makes these paintings a useful case study in how popular art shapes public memory.

Hampi was once one of the world's largest cities, until its Vijayanagara capital was destroyed in 1565

the gist

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.

how it works

The city was built around a fortified core with temples, markets and water structures along the river, supplied by an extensive network of roads and waterworks. When the empire fell, the city was not rebuilt, so its stone monuments were left standing.

so what

Hampi shows how quickly a great city can vanish after a military defeat, and how a ruined capital can remain sacred. Its ruins give historians a view of medieval South Asia that few other sites can match.

fun fact

The name Hampi comes from Pampa, an old name for the Tungabhadra River.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · text CC BY-SA 4.0

Image: Wikimedia Commons

source: Wikipedia ↗

2 min

politicsshortCNA2:01

False allegations about Singapore’s hand in Indonesia’s markets and a made-up meeting

from CNA

CNA Verify has found close to 400 posts pushing falsehoods tying Singapore to Indonesia’s stock market rout and to a secret meeting that never took place. Together, they drew nearly 12 million views, and some were circulated by accounts that appeared to be working in concert, across multiple social media platforms.

Here’s how the disinformation campaign targeting Singapore was uncovered.

on YouTube: CNA ↗