Rhetorical Analysis Of Roosevelt's Infamy 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.

In the speech President F.D. Roosevelt explains that Japan attacked the naval base in Honolulu, Hawaii and torpedoed the ships in the seas between Hawaii and San Francisco, California. He states that we lost many american lives, evoking emotions of sorrow and the need for revenge. With this all one

“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.

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.

As not only President but Commander in Chief, Roosevelt had an obvious ethical appeal to the general public, and his advice concerning war involvement and interpretation of this event will forever depict most American’s view of the attack. Seeing as ethics aren’t in question here, it was not necessary for Roosevelt to spend much time proving himself trustworthy. However, he does show strength and courage in the midst of in a time of fear and dismay. He also plays on the values of Americans by

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

Franklin Roosevelt was the thirty-second president of the United States. He served twelve years and four terms. He fought to keep the United States out of the war and helped those nations that were threatened or attacked. As a result, when France fell and Great Britain came under siege in 1940; he began to send all possible aid short of military involvement. The nation’s largest contribution was made to Great Britain in the form of fifty old and out dated destroyers that were built between 1918 and 1920. The Lend Lease Program and the Destroyers Bases Program was a major way the U.S. supported the Allies was efforts in 1940. At this point as a country we were anti-war and isolationist. So

And this morning the Japanese attacked Midway Island.” It is repetition because he says last night over and over to increasingly prove his point that the Japanese will be defeated and to give hope to all Americans that the people that died at pearl harbor will not have died in vain. It This works for FDR because he is trying to convince Congress to go to war with Japan and is showing the devastation the Japanese have caused and will continue doing.

“A date that will live in infamy” is a quote coined by President Franklin on December 8th ,1941 the day after Pearl Harbor was bombed. This surprise attack left 2,403 American civilians dead, destroyed 188 planes and crippled a pacific fleet that included 8 destroyed battleships (Eyewitnesses to History). The

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