Rhetorical Analysis Of Pearl Harbor Speech

FDR's Pearl Harbor, and Bush's 9/11 speech were presented in a time of hurt and devastation and were used to reassure the country of its greatness and power. To reassure what was once a territory that it was still under US rule, and to reassure families of victims that everything was alright. At a time of confusion, both president George Bush and president Franklin Roosevelt spoke in front of the country after as series of tragic events struck the nation. Even though both speeches were presented, one was more beneficial to the nation.

Throughout his speech, Roosevelt uses themes of nationalism through his diction, repetition, and metaphor. The first example of this is in the first ten paragraphs where he compares the situation in America to their history. He makes the current situation seem very extreme and urgent which calls the citizens to act against this new threat. Throughout this, he addresses the audience as “We” clearly making them feel American. Roosevelt also used a metaphor about an eagle having its wings clipped. In this, America is represented by the eagle while the bird stealing its feathers is meant to portray the dictators in Europe. This creates nationalism because the eagle, normally the strongest bird and a common symbol of the United States, is being stolen from, and there was nothing done to stop it. He also uses forms of repetition to inspire the people to support the country. In the thirteenth paragraph, Roosevelt uses a polysyndeton by repeating the word “or” to emphasize the American ideals that peace with the Germans would not bring to the world. He does this because in 1941, most of continental Europe had fallen to the Germans and if Germany were to win this war, those countries were likely to never become democratic again. He uses the nationalism convince

It is those emotions and feelings of pride and patriotism towards their country that President Roosevelt plays upon within the American public the most. FDR uses many tactics within his speech to make sure that feelings of patriotism and pride are created within the American public. As one of the tactics that the President uses to instill feelings of patriotism and pride is by boosting their pride by saying things that make them feel good about their country and themselves. Throughout the whole speech the president consistently throws in quotes like, “We have the men. The skill, they wealth, and above all, the will,”(440) and “I call upon our people with absolute confidence that our common cause will greatly succeed,”(441) to boost American morale. FDR uses quotes like this throughout his whole speech to make them feel proud to be Americans and make them feel like they could take on anyone in the world and win. Another one of those tactics that FDR uses throughout his speech that helped create those feelings was by taking certain quotes from the axis powers that were derogatory toward the US and turning them around for his benefit. The statement located in the fifth paragraph states that, “…I can

“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.

On December 7, 1941, tragety struck America when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. During the aftermath of this horror, America declaired war on Japan thus taking a side in world war two. Presedent Franklin Delano Roosevelt presented a speech the next day to inform the nation of his declaration of war on Japan as well as to inspire Americans in to suport the war. Roosevelt used rhetorical devices including repetition, his perspective, and personification to further his point.

The famous speech Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation by Franklin D. Roosevelt shows us a vast amount of rhetorical appeals: Pathos, Ethos, and Logos to the nation. The speech given by Franklin D. Roosevelt shows us the intended audience and the persuasion used in order to change the peoples’ minds to defend our nation. Let’s begin with the Pathos for this particular speech.

“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.

“Yesterday, December 7th, 1941’” began President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the day following Japan’s fateful attack on Pearl Harbor, resulting in the in the tragic loss of nearly two and a half thousand American lives. A date so famously proclaimed to ‘forever live in infamy,’ and so it has. This inspiring speech to Congress and the American people employed appeals and other techniques in it’s mission to touch America’s heart, both with sympathy and indignation. President Roosevelt’s use of rhetoric is extremely effective in rallying the American people to the cause of entering a war so many were reluctant to support.

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.” This was spoken by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt during his Address to the Nation on December 8th, 1941. During President Roosevelt’s speech, he used logical appeals (logos), emotional appeals (pathos), and credibility appeals (ethos). Even though President Roosevelt was sitting in a wheel chair during his speech, it was still considered formal because he was the President. The reason this speech took place was to inform the nation about what Japan had done to our country and also to declare war.

“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

He uses phrases such as, “Righteous might,” and “unprovoked and dastardly act,” to help make his audience feel something towards the bombing and therefore making them connected to what happened. Throughout his entire speech he uses vivid, emotional phrases for example “deliberately planned,” “suddenly and deliberately attacked,” and “this form of treachery. When he uses these phrases to get congress to feel that the attack was unjustified and that they should declare war on Japan. He also appeals to the logic of what has happened within the speech. He lists the other islands that Japan also attacked as a reason why they should take action against Japan. When he says, “There is no blinking at the blinking at the fact that our people, our territory, and our interest are in grave danger,” he creates an obvious need to attack Japan in order to protect our country from other attacks. He also points out how the United States was in contact with Japan in the hours after the attack began and no hint of aggression was given. Another example is when he said “It will be recorded that the distance between Hawaii and 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.

I would like to talk about President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his Pearl Harbor Speech. The occasion of this speech was on the attack on Pearl harbor by the Japanese on December 7th, 1941. The purpose of this speech is to address the nation about the recent attack on Pearl Harbor, to explain the actions he has taken in response and to declare a state of war. I believe that President Roosevelt practices “fearless speech” as he fulfills each of the five requirements “fearless speech”. In this speech, the speaker, President Roosevelt’s tone is urgent, authoritative and logical. Ethos is used in this speech as it seems like the speaker is trying to say the information delicately, as it is a crisis and he needs to protect the people of his country

"Yesterday, December 7, 1941, a day 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," delivered by Franklin D. Roosevelt is regarded as one of the most important speeches given in US History to date. The speech was delivered to the State of the Union marking the United States' entrance into the Second World War against Japan and Germany.