Rhetorical Devices Used In Pearl Harbor Speech

In most patriotic or any speeches given in history that try to prove an argument must have a strong dose of pathos. Pathos is the key to his speech because when something as bad as the Attack on Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt was a able to rally his fellow Americans to bear arms and ready to avenge this attack. Especially when President Roosevelt said this, “No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.(15)”. President Roosevelt was very successful with this and got the clear majority of the people ready to go to war. Although there were some people disagreeing, but they were silenced by the majority of the people .

“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

In the speech announced by John Fitzgerald Kennedy, he used persuasive tone and the emotion to express his ambition of reaching the peace of all worlds. In addition he also used his strongly words to win the trust from the American people. In the speech, he used some of the rhetorical strategies to make his context more vivid and persuasive.

The President continues his speech with talking about the “Deliberate” attack Japan planned. He says, “The Japanese government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace” (Lines 15-16). Once again, this is an example of Pathos. The US was misled by the Japanese into thinking they were allies, while in reality they were planning a massive attack on Pearl Harbor. This was a blatant lie by the Japanese. Roosevelt wants to emphasize this lie, which will create anger among the congressmen. This is another great technique Roosevelt uses to persuade Congress to go to war.

FDR’s use of rhetoric continues to motivate his audience and makes them understand the significance of entering the war. Prior to the speech FDR presented, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii which killed over 2,300 Americans. The attack also sank twelve battleships, hurting the American navy.

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.

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

By using these patriotic words, this caused Kennedy to evoke pathos throughout his speech. His primary goal was to influence the American people’s feelings by inspiring his citizens to be proud of living in the United States, even if there were numerous conflicts in the present day.

2,300 years ago, Aristotle founded the basic principle that almost every great speech since then has been written upon-the three persuasive appeals. Around 76 years ago, Franklin D. Roosevelt put these principles to practice himself; giving what is thought to be one of the most famous American political speeches of the 20th Century-his Infamy Speech. While the speech isn’t complex in neither wording nor depth, it has been analysed over and over again by scholars, politicians, historians, and the like for its direct and purposeful approach. Given the day after the Pearl Harbor attack, the speech had two purposes; to urge Congress to formally declare war on Japan (which

     Roosevelt was shocked to find out about the attack on Pearl Harbor, due to the Japanese cutting it close. They broke off talks only twenty minutes before the first attack on Pearl Harbor, and the message was delayed an hour in part because of a slow typist that only used two fingers on the keyboard.

Millions of Americans were used to hearing to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt speak on the radio. His fireside chats were a calming time for families to gather and listen to the leader of the country. But when citizens across the country turned on their radios on December 8th, 1941, they knew they weren't going to hear another talk by the fire, this would be done the next night when Roosevelt would expand on his short speech the day before. When FDR made his address during mid-day on the December 8th, he was informing congress and the nation of the treacherous attacks on the previous day and making a declaration of war on perpetrators; the Japanese Empire.

“December 7th 1941- A date that will live in infamy.” This opening statement is the first powerful line said by President Roosevelt to the American people after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. This greatness of this opening line will be forever be ingrained in the minds of every American citizen, especially the people who lived during the most significant war of the 20th century. The bombing of Pearl Harbor is an event that can never be forgotten, and President Roosevelt’s speech in response to this appalling attack is just as significant. The objective of this speech was to urge Congress to declare war on Japan. Roosevelt’s speech after Pearl Harbor is one of the more recognizable and important speeches in all of American history. His speech incorporates bountiful instances of rhetorical devices, such as logos, pathos, and ethos. By analyzing these rhetorical devices, one is able to see Roosevelt’s vigorous use of emotion, his strength in addressing his character and reputation rather than focusing too heavily upon appeals to logic and reason, ultimately to get the result he wants from his audience. The profound power of this speech resonates with all who read and hear it.

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.

In order for President Roosevelt to get his point across to the United States citizens and other governments was to have a demanding and serious tone. The tone of Roosevelt’s speech had to be extremely serious because United States military and citizens were in danger. Japan had lied to the United States government and tricked them to believing they were allies. The tone of the speech is one of them most important structures because if President Roosevelt were to be funny or happy then the citizens of the United States would not feel safe. Also, when Roosevelt is speaking serious and demanding the other countries who see the speech become more scared as they are intimated. President Roosevelt uses a serious tone to show examples of how the country of Japan lied to the United States to insure that American’s will agree with his decision to declare a state of War.

It was done so to make a point that the "great war effort" cant be stopped by anything unless we are willing to face the consequences. He wants all the stated reasons "those who put their own selfish interests above the interests of the nation" to not be an issue and for them to stand down. " Must" is very demanding. this shows leadership. President Roosevelt throws words like American, attacked, and Sacrifice throughout his speech.