Franklin D Roosevelt's Infamy Speech

Also in this speech there is a lot of repetition and parallelism to portray Japan as the enemy. Roosevelt does a very good job at this. He states, “Last night, Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong. Last night, Japanese forces attacked Guam. Last night…” in which he is telling facts about the negative things Japan had done the day before. This is showing his audience in an indirect way how bad japan is towards other countries and not just America, which is proving his point on why they need to declare war on japan and stop their military from advancing

“December, 1941, a date which will live in infamy …. no matter how long it may take to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people, in their righteous might, will win through to absolute victory.” This famous quotation from President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s speech was used to show that America is strong and nothing would stop America until it has absolute victory. In President Roosevelt's’ speech, he used ethos, pathos, and logos to show how Japan was a threat to America and to assure the nation that it can overcome any obstacles if the people work together.

The famous speech, Pearl Harbor address to the nation by Franklin D. Roosevelt (president at the time) shows us a vast amount of rhetorical appeals: Pathos, Ethos, and Logos to the nation. This speech announced to us that the intended audience and the persuasion used in order to change the peoples’ minds to defend our nation. The Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation speech was given to tell the U.S. that Japan has initiated war by attacking Oahu, Hawaii; while also attacking islands on the Pacific coast. Roosevelt addressed to the nation the stance we must take in order to protect ourselves from Japan and from attacks in the future. It was also revealed that Japan deliberately planned and attacked Hawaii do to the distance between each other. The Japanese ambush caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. It was then that America made a move to attack the Japanese Empire on December 8, 1941.

Hours after Pearl Harbor was bombed by Japan, gaining worldwide headlines, giving millions unanswered questions, the speech, Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation was given one day after the event. On December 8th 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave a speech to be remembered today, by using rhetorical devices and figurative language to strongly picture his message to the public, making great use of parallel structure, personification, parallelism, and climax ordering to enforce his key point of wanting Americans to stand up against the Japanese forces for the deliberate actions done towards there peaceful country, with no threat or hint of war or of an armed attack. With hopes of gathering support for the decision to declare war on Japan.

Repetition is used to reinforce the idea that Japan had attacked not just Pearl Harbor but the entirety of America. Roosevelt used the phrase "Japanese forces attacked" multiple times to remind them who committed this tragedy. He later states "our people, our territory, ad our interests are in grave danger." When Japan attacked, they struck our entire nation. America had been neutral until this point, however with the attack on Pearl Harbor, Roosevelt wanted everyone to realize more hostilities would materialise if they continued to remain neutral.

In The American Journey, David Goldfield et al. state that “Americans in the 1930s wanted no part of another overseas war by a wide margin.” Americans were still recovering for the ramifications of World War I and feared our intervention in any foreign conflict. In the fall of 1941, their reluctance was still abounding even though Germany achieved many victories abroad, the British were toiling to save their empire and Japan’s monumental aggression towards China escalated. In fact, Goldfield et al. noted that, “President Roosevelt’s challenge was to lead the United States toward rearmament and support for Great Britain and China without alarming the public.” Unfortunately, the aftermaths of World War I had set the tone for World War II since many small new nations in Europe felt the upper hand of Germany, Japan, Italy and the Soviet Union. Furthermore, the United States was not highly regarded by these nations, especially Japan, whose nationalists felt that they were unjustly treated after World War I. As much as the United States was trying to remain neutral and President Roosevelt wanted Americans to stay out of World War I, the inevitable came to fruition when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Goldfield et al. indicated that, “Speaking to Congress the following day, Roosevelt proclaimed December 7, 1941, “a date which will live in infamy.” He asked for and got a declaration of war against Japan. Hitler and Mussolini declared war on the United States

“A date which will live in infamy (Roosevelt).” There were three part to this attack, what lead to the attack, the actual attack and the aftermath. The world was at war and the United States didn’t want to get too involved until the attack happened. During the attack on Pearl Harbor the United States made the decision to join the War. The United States joining the war brought the most crucial years to follow along with the dropping of the atomic bomb. The attack on Pearl Harbor was the beginning of the a very long war that cost the lives of many people but brought a nation together.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered his war speech and asserted December 7, 1941 as, “a date which will live in infamy.” The United States’ naval bases stationed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii were struck by Japanese planes intentionally and promptly. The news of this attack on the Pearl Harbor shocked the world. It was devastating to the nation that were still in the throes of depression. Witnesses of this event painted a portrait of a nation stunned, but determined to rise again. The United States’ government had not disclosed a Pearl Harbor story to the public--that the U.S. had failed to act on advance information about a planned Japanese attack. Japan 's move against the United States was audacious enough to be considered no more than a slight possibility, although the potential for an attack had been widely discussed.

Roosevelt wants Congress and the American people to understand that the attack was planned in advance and was a surprise to the United States.

The first rhetorical appeal that President Roosevelt uses in this speech is ethos. The ethos in Roosevelt’s speech is quite apparent. As the President of the United States, he is already viewed as a credible source for information. Roosevelt provides a significant number of details pertaining to the attack on Pearl Harbor and other attacks that the Japanese carried out in conjunction with the bombing of Pearl Harbor, further establishing his ethos as a good source of information. By sharing additional details about the events of December 7th, it lends credibility to what he was saying about the bombings of Pearl Harbor. Roosevelt also strengthens his ethos by flaunting his sizeable vocabulary, “[A] date which will live in infamy... / [A]t the solicitation of Japan... / [T]his premeditated invasion...” By Roosevelt’s determination to use these vigorous words, he is hinting at the fact that he is indubitably well educated, which adds to his credibility. Roosevelt also tells everyone,”As the commander in chief of the Army and Navy, I have

“Yesterday, December 7th, 1941- a date which will live in infamy- the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan” (1). These are the words Franklin Delano Roosevelt chose to begin his Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation the day after Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japan. FDR’s speech was a call to arms, and in his speech he expressed outrage towards Japan and confidence in inevitable triumph. The speech was a request to declare war against Japan and to bring the United States into World War II. FDR’s speech was successful in bringing the United States into World War II because FDR presented facts explaining why war needed to be declared and used righteous indignation

Could you imagine being a kid in the 1940s? Sitting in your living room on a Sunday afternoon waiting by the radio to hear your favorite radio talk show host, but instead the President’s voice comes through the airways and announces a national state of emergency. How would you feel? How would you react? What would you do? As President Roosevelt delivered his speech he had two main points that he wanted to relay to the nation. The first point was to encourage Congress to formally declare war on Japan. Insisting that the attack was just a start to the many more to come. The second point was to gather the support of the American people; in the war efforts that he was proposing, President Franklin used major American cities such as San Francisco, Chicago, and New Orleans as examples to show the American people that if one United States territory could be attacked, so could their neighborhoods. Both points touched their intended audiences. Moments after the speech Congress approved the declaration of war on Japan. The news sent a shockwave across the country, resulting in a tremendous percentage of young volunteers into the U.S. recruiting offices across the nation.

“Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 -- a date which will live in infamy -- the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan…It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time, the Japanese government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.” (Senate Document No. 148) This speech would echo through history as the moment the United States officially entered the most costly five year period in all of human history. President Roosevelt continued stating multiple islands and American

By listing each individual attack, Roosevelt depicted the Japanese people as villains and monsters to assist in the unification of all American citizens, for his vilification united the U.S. population under one common enemy: Japan. Additionally, the president displayed numerous tones throughout his speech; his first line provided his audience with a solemn and grave attitude that they were expecting with the word “infamy”. Furthermore, as he progresses with the speech, he acknowledged the countless American lives lost, thus provoking the vindictive nature within all humans. However, the public at this time were in fear and shock of the recent attack. Roosevelt alleviated their sense of panic and defeat by reassuring that justice will be sought and the nation will recover from the tragic devastation with a strength in their impending war with the Japanese--he gave them optimism and hope of a new future in spite of the recent occurrences

The speech given by Franklin D. Roosevelt on December 8, 1941, at 12:30 p.m was known as the Infamy Speech and was delivered with power and the steely resolve required of a leader going to war. President Roosevelt informed the people of our nation about the attack on Pearl Harbor and rallied the citizens of the U.S. against an enemy that struck without warning. The words he used and the way he delivered them conveyed his anger at this unprovoked attack and his determination to ensure the defense of the country with burning desire to ensure that the perpetrating country would not go unpunished, thus endearing him to the people he would be leading into the war to come. President Roosevelt rallied the people looking to him after the tragedy of Pearl Harbor by