The Good

Though it seems ridiculous to say that FDR had all of America in mind when he wrote this speech, that really was the case—all of America that had the ability to vote, that is.

He also had a special contingent of the population to focus on: Congress, the head honchos of law-making. This audience-within-an-audience situation accounts for the occasional yo-yoing that seems to happen with his focus. It's a bit like he's having a conversation on two different telephones at the same time.

The speech was extremely well received—despite the difficulty of its message, and despite the fact that it's just. so. long. And it's timeliness only further secured its place in the history of letters. It was immediately taken up by artists, politicians, and patriots who rallied in the name of democracy and American fortitude. One of the most popular examples of this public embrace is a series of well loved but deeply kitschy paintings by Norman Rockwell. (Check these out if you want your skin to crawl from all the wholesomeness.)

The Bad

Unfortunately, there also exists an undeniable shadow that dims FDR's virtuous legacy. Despite the powerful message of civil liberties for everyone, the Four Freedoms were not enough to prevent certain injustices occurring within the United States during the course of World War II.

In a wave of social and political paranoia, many American citizens of German, Italian, but mostly Japanese heritage were detained and moved to specific military areas known as internment camps. Set in motion by FDR's official signing of Executive Order 9066, this racist mass relocation is an undeniable and sad moment of hypocrisy in American history. In retrospect, it has to be weighed against the idealism of FDR's vision for a free and just world.

The Enduring

Many decades have past since FDR delivered his address on January 6th, 1941, but references to this quartet of civil liberties remain fresh and constant. Across the United States, tributes abound, such as a Four Freedoms Monument in Madison, Florida, and another in Evansville, Indiana. FDR even has a Four Freedoms Memorial Park located in the middle of NYC's East River on a patch of land conveniently named Roosevelt Island.

Even more importantly? The Four Freedoms made it into the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The U.N. decided that four didn't quite cut it, though, so they added another 26 of 'em, bringing the number of freedoms up to 30.

And that declaration, while drafted in 1948, is still going strong today. Not only did it define the concept of human rights for the world, but it's also still used as a diplomatic tool. Oh, yeah, and it's generally regarded as being the founding document for human rights law today. No biggie. (Source)