We are moving forward to greater freedom, to greater security for the average man than he has ever known before in the history of America.

The line expresses Roosevelt’s characteristic New Deal-era argument that expanding the federal government’s role in economic life could enlarge, rather than diminish, Americans’ liberty. “Greater freedom” is framed not only as political rights but as practical freedom from fear, want, and economic insecurity—especially for “the average man,” a phrase that signals democratic legitimacy and a focus on ordinary wage earners and families. The pairing of freedom with “security” reflects the idea that social protections (jobs programs, labor standards, social insurance) create the conditions in which citizens can exercise real choice. It is also a forward-looking, progressive claim: history is cast as a trajectory toward broader, more inclusive freedom.