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Erin O’Neil
ENG 111 CB
Meg Prichard
December 10, 2009
“A Date Which will live in Infamy”

Pearl Harbor was one of the worst attacks the United States has ever experienced.

President Roosevelt had recently moved the entire naval fleet to Pearl Harbor to avoid

Japanese aggression. The attack conducted by the Japanese, on December 7,1941, left

naval bases destroyed, families broken, and the whole country devastated and mourning

for those who lost their lives. Five out the eight ships had been either sunk or destroyed.

Emerge Franklin D. Roosevelt, president and leader of the country at the time, who gave

the country hope and confidence in its darkest times. In Franklin D. Roosevelt’s address

to the nation after Pearl Harbor, he eloquently speaks to raise patriotism by appealing to

the morality, sadness, anger, and despair of the heartbroken Americans giving them a

cause to fight back for their country.

Roosevelt gives his speech to a recently broken and depressed America. Before

this America had never seen such a terrible act of war on their own soil, and this was a

shocking and terrifying experience for most Americans, so the purpose of his speech was

to brighten the spirits of Americans and let them know that America will fight back. He

wants to raise the spirits of the patriotism and pride. America is at its breaking point and

Roosevelt knows that the only way for America to gain its confidence back is to fight

back with a counter-attack on Japan. In his address to the nation he asks Congress to

declare a state of war on Japan: “I ask that congress declare that since the unprovoked

and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7th, 1941, a state of war has existed
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between the United States and the Japanese empire.”(Roosevelt, Franklin Delano. Pearl

Harbor address to the nation. December 8,1941).

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, also known as FDR, provides Americans with several

reasons that support declaring war on Japan that appeals to American’s sadness and

feelings of hatred toward the Japanese. Roosevelt states that the United States was a state

of peace with the Japanese empire when they attack the United States; therefore, the

United States is the victim and innocent. This provokes a hatred of the Japanese empire

and people out of the Americans. People were already not too fond of the Japanese

because they were allied with Germany. Roosevelt appeals the emotions of Americans by

showing that there is purpose for fighting, for those who lost their lives at Pearl Harbor.

Over 2,400 people were killed at the Pearl Harbor attack, so Roosevelt wants them to be

angry and sad for those who died, but to also be willing to fight back for their country. He

also wants to show Americans how the Japanese took advantage of the United States.

During World War II, neither Japan nor The United States had entered but both

had sided with either Germany (Japan) or Great Britain (United States); however, Japan

and the United States had tried to work out several peace negotiations. Japan attacked the

United States, while peaceful terms had not been fully dismissed and there were no signs

leading up to the attack. The attack seemed to have been planned several weeks or days

in advance. Therefore, Japan must have been planning the attack while negotiating peace

with the United States. Thousands of Americans died in the Pearl Harbor attack, by

declaring war on Japan American would be fighting for those who lost their lives. The

attack left severe damage to American naval and military forces. In just a small amount

of time, the Japanese successfully managed to sink five out of eight of the battleships at
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Pearl Harbor, which was at the time the main naval base for the United States. Roosevelt

makes the point that war is basically inevitable for America at this point and the whole

country is in danger. Roosevelt speaks with complete confidence that the armed forces

will lead our country to absolute victory and Congress should declare war.

As President and head of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt’s appearance is

extremely important to the impact of his speech. His appearance can define the way his

audience receives his speech. Roosevelt looks nice and presentable. Behind him a large

American flag hangs on the wall, just to remind people what our country stands for,

democracy and liberty. He looks confident with every word he speaks. His voice is

powerful and each word he pronounces clearly and gives each word meaning. He makes

everything he says important and all his words have meaning. He speaks powerfully,

using words that leave an impact, and eloquently, showing his pride and confidence in his

country, which makes a huge impact on the way people process his words. Roosevelt

does not pause or stop to compose himself in the middle of the speech. He is sympathique

for Americans, but he knows that he is one that needs to get the country out of this

disaster. The speech leaves people with confidence that he will lead our country to

victory. He sounds calm and confident, which assures people that America will fight back

and be victorious. A bias tone toward the Japanese can be heard through his voice and he

is warning the Japanese to watch out for America. Behind him there is an American flag,

which also gives a patriotic tone and feeling. When FDR stands up to makes his speech,

he needs to “click” his leg brace in place, showing that fighting back will be a struggle,

but it can be accomplished. The “clicking” of his leg brace symbolizes the fight he has

made through life and living with polio, which many Americans had no knowledge of
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while he was president. He did not let this disease interfere with politics or his political

career. This also relates the time he is making this address to the nation. The nation is

devastated, but FDR encourages them to keep positive and fight back for their country.

FDR is speaking to Congress asking them to declare war, but more importantly he

is speaking to all Americans. At first FDR is addressing the entire nation and he is

explaining what exactly happened at Pearl Harbor the previous day. He then addresses

the armed forces, giving them courage and confidence to fight for their brothers who died

in the attack at Pearl Harbor. “As commander in chief of the Army and Navy, I have

directed that all measures be taken for our defense”. With this quote he is urging the

armed forces to take charge and protect all Americans. He goes on to speak to the

mothers and fathers who lost a son in the attack and the terrified Hawaiians, who

experienced the attack first-hand and were dealing with the aftermath. He is speaking to

young men, urging them to potentially join the armed forces to get revenge on the

Japanese. “There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory, and our interests

are in grave danger” (FDR). This is urging people to join the army by appealing to their

emotions. He is stating the country is in danger and it is up to us to protect our country.

Men hear this and instantly want to help and protect their loved ones. He is also speaking

to all the housewives assuring them that even though their husband’s lives may be in

danger, they are fighting for our country and should be honored. “With confidence in our

armed forces, with the unbounding determination of our people, we will gain the

inevitable triumph -- so help us God”(FDR). He addressing all the housewives, who have

husbands and sons fighting to assure them their loved ones are fighting for a purpose and

will lead our country to victory. He is also stating that if they die in battle they will die
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with dignity. With this quote he is also asking women to urge their husbands or sons to

join the army, so they can help protect our country. He is also speaking to the whole

world to show them that America will fight back and win absolute victory. This is a way

to scare the Japanese and get America back on its feet and gain its confidence back.

Roosevelt finally addresses congress at the end of the speech asking them to declare war

on Japan. It is important for the audience to hear from him because he is the head of the

nation. He is the commander in chief and many people look to him for support and

guidance through hard times. This is the correct time to speech to Americans because a

huge disastrous attack just occurred and someone needs to take charge. FDR shows that

he is empathic as an American, but he is sympathique as a president. He is showing them

that he is mourning the same way, but he is prepared to take charge and lead the country

to victory. Everyone expects the president to take charge at times like these and to guide

the country in the correct direction. Americans had trust in FDR because he was the

president to get the country out of the Great Depression. They are willing to trust him

because of his previous actions. The president is usually one of the most influential

people, so Roosevelt needed to make a powerful lasting speech to influence Americans to

fight back and defend their country.

Pearl Harbor proved to be one of the most disastrous attacks ever on United States

soil. Thousands of men in the armed forces lost their lives fighting for the United States

and many civilians died in the attack as well. Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s address to

nation not only raised spirits of pride and courage, but it argued reasons why the United

States should declare war. He appealed to American’s emotions by showing that the

people who were killed in the attack died for a cause, to protect our nation. He also
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pointed out how the Japanese attacked us surprisingly and unprovoked. FDR spoke

powerfully and confidently in order to assure Americans he was commander-in-chief.

FDR’s address to the nation after Pearl Harbor spoke to all Americans and gave them

confident and security in the United States.

1st Writer’s Memo

The thesis or claim of my paper is: In Franklin D. Roosevelt’s address to the

nation after Pearl Harbor, he eloquently speaks to raise patriotism by appealing to the

morality and emotions of the heartbroken Americans giving them a cause to fight back

for their country. I believe that he used this speech to raise the moral of Americans after

they are devastated by the attack on Pearl Harbor. The purpose of writing this paper was

to analyze the Pearl Harbor address in detail and to explore how FDR appealed to his

audience.

In this paper I think I did a good job analyzing Roosevelt’s support for his claim

throughout the speech. He provided his audience several reasons to declare war on Japan

and his reasons were specific and appealed to everyone. However I think I could have

done a better job analyzing logos and ethos. I had trouble identifying logos and ethos

throughout the speech. I found it easy to find pathos in the speech because Roosevelt

used powerful words to appeal to people’s emotions. The easiest part of the paper to write

was the support of the claim, going to war. This was the most obvious part of the speech

that stuck out when I listened and watched the speech. The hardest part of the paper to

write was the introduction. When I began writing this paper I was lost on how to start my

paper, but after I organized my outline I found it easier. I organize my paper so I

discussed Roosevelt’s argument or claim first. I then went into detail on the support for
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the claim or argument. While identifying the support I analyzed the pathos, ethos, and

logos of the speech and how Roosevelt used them to appeal to his audience. However I

made sure not to specifically mention the words ethos, pathos, or logos and I tried to use

terms such as “emotions”, “logic”, or “ethics”. It was difficult trying to find substitutions

for these words. I tried not to specifically state something like “in this part of the speech

FDR is appealing to the logic of his audience”. I usually only used those terms to identify

the ethos, pathos, or logos. After I analyzed the support I went into his appearance and

tone. Then I went into his audience and how he speaks to all different people, but to all

Americans as a whole. I then ended my paper with a conclusion summarizing my paper

and the main points made in FDR’s speech. This worked out very well for me because I

stated the argument first and then went into detail for the support. I added on to the

support by analyzing the tone and appearance and the audience address in the speech. I

don’t know if I would have done it differently because I spent a lot of time thinking about

how to organize my paper, but I may have put how the audience part before the tone

because in order to understand the tone used the audience needs to be identified.

I went back in my paper and tried to make my examples more specific. For

instance instead of saying how FDR appealed to the American’s emotions I stated he

brought out the sadness and feelings of hatred. I added more details on his audience and I

stated whom he was speaking to at what times. I took out an unnecessary quote and

added a more powerful statement that explained how many people died at Pearl Harbor. I

took out unnecessary sentences and combined smaller sentences to make them more

powerful and meaningful.

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Works Cited

Roosevelt, Franklin Delano. Pearl Harbor address to the nation. December 8,1941

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/fdrpearlharbor.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2_bAd39pAA&feature=player_embedded