The Day of Infamy December 7, 1941 was a day of great tragedy. At 07:48 in the morning the Empire of Japan launched a surprise attack on the United States at the Pearl Harbor naval base in Hawaii. This attacked caused the destruction of seventeen ships and one hundred and eighty eight aircraft as well as killing two thousand four hundred and three Americans. The next day, President Franklin Roosevelt took to the microphone to address congress and the American people. This speech by President Roosevelt was effective in convincing congress to declare war on Japan by using ethos, pathos, and also logos. Franklin Roosevelt use of logos promotes the organization and shape of his rhetorical response. When Roosevelt begins speaking, he addresses Franklin Roosevelt struck people 's emotions with his patriotic and nationalistic quotes. “With confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounding determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph – so help us God.” This quote strikes at the hearts of Americans filling them with a sense of pride and determination. President Roosevelt makes it clear that no matter what other nations will do to the United States, the American people will be filled with resilience and rebound to make the nation as great and powerful as it ever was. When the President speaks about the attacks on Pearl Harbor, his tone creates a feeling of anger. The feeling of anger is created when he states that the Japanese launched this attack with no warning. The Empire of Japan had its ambassador and a colleague meeting with the Secretary of State to give them a message that they didn 't want to continue to negotiate with the United States. The message however showed no signs of the forthcoming attack on Pearl Harbor. The President also creates emotions in the audience by his use of tone and emphasis. His tone is stern yet caring showing that he believes in the American people. It also shows that while the United States was attacked, he has faith that the American troops, citizens, and government will rally behind him to terminate the
Previous to the surprise Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour on December 7th 1941, tensions had been forming between the USA and Japan in the pacific. The US had cut of most supplies to Japan with the fear of Japanese expansion. The conflict that had been escalating between Japan and China since 1937 had the US treating Japan with great cautiousness. They had been monitoring Japanese Americans in anticipation of a surprise attack. However the attack on Pearl Harbour still shocked and outraged the American nation and affected the American psyche. After being assured that “a Japanese attack on Hawaii is regarded as the most unlikely thing in the world”(1), the sudden mass destruction of the U.S Navy’s Pacific fleet and deaths of roughly 2400 U.S soldiers and civilians as a result of such an attack undoubtedly lead to confusion and racial hatred amongst many US citizens. The assumption on the War Department’s behalf that Japan’s Navy were incapable of launching a full scale assault on the US Navy’s chief Pacific base was more than inaccurate. As a result, the US Naval base was unprepared and was quickly taken out. A hidden bias would soon become evident in both average civilians and higher positioned government officials. This bias against Japan aided in the formation of the Executive Order 9066, signed by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) on February 19th 1942.
The author of this essay is Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He was the president of the United States at the time of the Pearl Harbor attack. The purpose of this speech was to inform the entire United States about what had happened the day before at Pearl Harbor. The nation was to be warned that the United States was going to declare war against Japan. The intended audience is everyone in the United States. President Roosevelt ef...
Nearly everyone has heard the words, “Yesterday, December 7th, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked.” These words, delivered by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, are but a small piece of an elaborate example of a well-executed rhetorical speech. He used rhetorical devices and strategies such as anaphora, repetition, and amplification, in order to achieve his purpose of informing the people of the United States of the attack on Pearl Harbor the day before, to persuade the people to support the war effort, and to remember those innocent lives lost.
The United States was at peace with Japan following peace negotiations that had been made. The President expresses his concern that the United States was still in conversation with Japanese government and its Emperor looking towards the continuation of peace in the pacific. Japanese had a series of secret plans to bomb America. The president says that the previous day’s attack on Hawaii Islands had caused severe destruction to American naval and military forces. In his speech, he expresses his regrets to inform the Congress that Americans had lost their lives. He continues to state that American ships had been submerged in elevated seas starting from San Francisco and Honolulu. Consequently, these harsh actions by Japanese government made Roosevelt, as commander in chief of the army and navy, dictate on the possible measures to fight back. He is very confident to state that even if it takes a long period for the United States to conquer the enemies’ actions, which he refers to as old-fashioned invention, the people of America will emerge the absolute victory. He believes that, through defending his nation against enemies, he will be acting upon the will of his people and of the Congress. He promises his people that such attacks w...
FDR uses pathos to connect with the audience on a personal level, but more importantly to influence the listeners. FDR uses emotional appeal effectively by his particular choice in words and the tone of his voice during the delivery. While presenting, he showed anger, sorrow, and patriotism, standing as a representative of the United States, while relating with each individual American. First he says that America was ‘suddenly and deliberately attacked’, sparking the audience’s anger as they realize America was targeted with no warning. He then states that America was deceived and ‘under the impression that [Japan's] emperor [was] looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific’. This makes the listener conclude that the United States was the innocent victim, while making Japan look corrupt and strongly disliked for attacking unexpectedly. FDR then goes on to repeatedl...
Roosevelt’s inaugural address focused on the current situation of the nation and he intended to declare war on the Great Depression. He stated a need to move as a nation through his leadership and become a better nation. Roosevelt took a strong stand and proclaimed, "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. He looks to the future asking the nation to fulfill their “true destiny” of ministering to themselves and their fellow men.
The Attack on Pearl Harbor Shapes American History “Yesterday, December 7, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy. . .” These famous lines were spoken the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor. President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave this speech to the U.S. Congress on December 8, 1941. Many criticized the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, but the decision to attack America was wisely made. The Americans were going to enter the war sooner or later, and on the allies’ side.
Roosevelt states how the attack “caused severe damage to American naval and military forces.” He continues to state persuasive evidence to declare war on Japan, such as the fact that an hour after the bombing, the Japanese Ambassador and his colleague that was accompanying him, delivered a message that said that it was “useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations,” but “contained no threat or hint of war or of armed attack.” He states this to show that the Japanese deceived America, giving them false hope that maybe there would be peace, but in reality they were trying to lower America’s guard down. Roosevelt’s speech was so persuasive that only three days later, after Germany and Italy declared war on America, Congress declared war on Japan, thus ushering in World War
Wake Forest University, Spring 2002. Web. The Web. The Web. 29 Jan. 2014. Franklin D. Roosevelt's Pearl Harbor Speech.
Why did Franklin D. Roosevelt hinder any warnings to go though to Pearl Harbor? He knew that most of American society before the Pearl Harbor bombing believed in the idea of isolationism. The only wa...
President Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) described Pearl Harbor as “a day that will live in infamy”. On the morning of December 7th, 1941, over 350 Japanese attack planes, bombers, and torpedo planes in two different waves took off from several different battle ships in the Pacific Ocean, all with the same destination: Pearl Harbor in Oahu, Hawaii. Since most American Soldiers were off-duty for the current day, it would be a relatively easy task for the Japanese Attackers. The attack was intended as a preventive action in order to keep the U.S. Pacific Fleet from interfering with military actions the Empire of Japan was planning in Southeast Asia against overseas territories of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and the United States. There were simultaneous Japanese attacks on the U.S.-held Philippines and on the British Empire in Malaya, Singapore, and Hong Kong. All eight U.S. Navy Battleships were damaged, with four being sunk. All but one was later raised, and six of the eight battleships returned to service and fought in the war. 188 U.S. aircraft were destroyed; 2,402 Americans were killed and 1,282 wounded. The attack forced America into joining World War II and FDR into carrying out Executive Order 9066.
On December 7, 1941 the Japanese Empire attacked the island of Oahu. The next day president Roosevelt addressed the Vice president, Congress and the nation over the radio. He alerted the nation on the problems the United States were faced with and the actions the country would take in its defense. The purpose of the broadcast was to let his audience know that the premeditated, surprise attack on Pearl Harbor would not be stood for. Roosevelt very clearly stated that the U...
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a tragic event in American history. President Franklin Roosevelt called December 7, 1941, "a date which will live in infamy." On that day, Japanese planes attacked the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor and killed more than 2,300 Americans during the attack. The attack took the United States by surprise and especially the undefended naval base. There were a lot of factors that played a role in the attack, including why Japan thought they had to attack, how they were able to achieve surprise, and the damage they inflicted on the American fleet.
“ 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” (Dlugan). Roosevelt knew that to gain the American people’s support for the war, he would have to invoke a feeling of patriotism and belief in American superiority. “last night Japanese forces attacked…” (Dlugan), was repeated as a way of showing the American people all of the places that Japan had attacked in such a short amount of time. It showed that Japan had no regard for anything and were on a path of total war and destruction throughout the pacific. Roosevelt went on to name many American territories attacked by the Japanese using this repetition method. “ I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7, 1941, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese Empire” (Dlugan). His speech was so powerful and moving that it motivated and compelled America to enter the Second World War. Congress would sign a formal declaration of war just after President Roosevelt’s
On December 7, 1941, Imperial Japan launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. In the attack, 2,403 Americans were killed, including 68 civilians. When news of the attack reached the rest of the United States, there was an immediate shift in the country, and people looked at the Japanese with disgust, as if they were potential threats to the United States. The next day, President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered his well-known Infamy speech, calling for a declaration of war on Japan. Congress and the House of Representatives obliged, and only an hour later the United States had declared war on Japan. Consequently, Germany and Italy declared war on the U.S. as well on December 11, three days after the U.S. declared war on Japan. At