Rhetorical Analysis of President Roosevelt's Pearl Harbor Speech

832 Words2 Pages

Rhetorical Analysis of President Roosevelt's Pearl Harbor Speech The Pearl Harbor address to the nation is probably one of the most famous speeches made throughout time. In this essay I will evaluate the rhetorical effectiveness of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's famous speech and show that his speech is a successful argument for the United States of America. I will focus on the speaker's credibility, all the different appeals made throughout the speech, as well as the purpose and the audience of the speech. Also, I will discuss whether or not there are any logical fallacies that may have weakened his speech. President Roosevelt does a few specific things to be able to establish his credibility as a speaker. Since Roosevelt was the current president, the United States was inclined to listen to him and believe what he was saying. Being the president, the people knew that he was a credible source to receive information from. The president had also been appointed Assistant Secretary of the Navy in 1920. This shows that he had experience with the United States military services and knew how to handle the Pearl Harbor situation. Roosevelt?s speech is short, but it still utilizes pathos, ethos, and logos and has just enough detail to let the world know what was going on. 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... ... middle of paper ... ... was a well-written and very credible speech that President Roosevelt gave to the United States of America. Through all the different appeals he makes a successful argument for declaring was. He makes many statements that could have only been made by someone who really knew what was going on. With all the facts he proves that he does know what he is talking about and that everyone should believe him. This speech gave just the right amount of information to be able to let people know what was going on without too much detail that may confuse them. The president did not commit logical fallacies in his speech. It was strictly facts and events that had taken place. The fact that there are no logical fallacies makes it a more credible speech, as well as a successful argument. So, this speech was very successful in the way that the ideas were put together and written.

Show More
Related

  • Similarities Between 9/11 And Pearl Harbor

    1303 Words  | 3 Pages

    This paper will discuss similarities between 9/11 and Pearl Harbor that describe the Presidential responses to the attacks, as well as investigate the roles that class, culture, religion, and nations of superiority played in these attacks on the United States.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Devices In Fdr's Last Speech

    550 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Day of Infamy Speech by President Roosevelt

    605 Words  | 2 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Tora Compare And Contrast Essay

    2275 Words  | 5 Pages

    This paper will compare Gordon W. Prange's book "At Dawn We Slept - The Untold Story of Pearl Harbor" with the film "Tora! Tora! Tora!" directed by Richard Fleischer, Kinji Fukasaku, and Toshio Masuda. While the film provides little background to the attack, its focal point is on the Pearl Harbor assault and the inquiry of why it was not prevented, or at least foreseen in adequate time to decrease damage. Prange's book examines the assault on Pearl Harbor from both the Japanese and American viewpoints to gain a global view of the situation and the vast provision undertaken by Japanese intelligence. The film and book present the Japanese side, the American side, the events that lead up to the attack, and the aftermath.

    Read More

  • Roosevelt Vs Hoover Essay

    741 Words  | 2 Pages

    The approach, however, that was taken to deal with the matter is what will ultimately separate Hoover and Roosevelt when the debates to categorize the greatest and worst presidents the nation has seen begin. Hoover was known for false promises, as he would speak optimistically to his audience and never deliver. The people began to resent his words, knowing they would all fall through eventually. Roosevelt in his inaugural address knew the people were tired of hearing speeches that never pulled through and only spoke with truth as he stated: “I am certain that my fellow Americans expect that on my induction into the Presidency I will address them with candor and a decision which the present situation of our people impels. This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly.”

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of The Day Of Infamy

    826 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Reasons for the Attack on Pearl Harbor

    1675 Words  | 4 Pages

    Wake Forest University, Spring 2002. Web. The Web. The Web. 29 Jan. 2014. Franklin D. Roosevelt's Pearl Harbor Speech.

    Read More

  • Islam in America

    2522 Words  | 6 Pages

    Islam in America has historically been misunderstood, and this is due to the misconception of culture and religion as well as lack of education and incorrect portrayal in the media, which gives a skewed idea of Islam. Especially in the United States, Islam has been seen as the “terrorist religion” or a religion for the extremists and a religion in which freedom is not an option. Among the countless misconceptions, the basis of stereotypes by Americans is due to the mix up between religion and culture. Furthermore, the media only fuels fire to these misunderstandings and lack of factual information about Islam causing Americans to lash out on American Muslims without reason.

    Read More

  • Huntington's Disease

    1558 Words  | 4 Pages

    Miller, Marsha L. “HD Research – Past and Future.” Huntington’s Disease Society of America. 2011. Web. 23 March 2012.

    Read More

  • Animal Abuse Essay

    640 Words  | 2 Pages

    Should animals have to go through pain and suffering? Should they have to go without food and/or water? The answer is no. Animal abuse happens everyday and it happens because people are barbarous or because they don’t know how to take the best care of an animal that they have. Whatever the reason it’s still not right and will never be okay. This paper will cover a brief history of animal abuse, the statistics, the signs of animal abuse, and what can be done to stop animal abuse. Animal abuse needs to end for the animals that can’t speak for themselves.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On Animal Abuse

    1130 Words  | 3 Pages

    “There can be many reason for animal cruelty, like any other form of violence, is often committed by a person who feels powerless, unnoticed, or under control of others. Some who are cruel to animals copy acts what they have seen or that have been done to them, others see harming an animal as a safe way to get revenge against--or threaten-- someone who cares about that animal”. (“Animal… Statistics”) Concerns towards abusing animals have gone up in the past. Although there are not many cases on animal abuse, many have occurred. Abusers are charged with Criminal Animal Abuse and then sentenced to life in prison. Some animals that are physically abused are sometimes rescued by Animal Control, and are taken it to an animal shelter. However, many shelters have not had the space to keep the animals so the workers would have to put them down (Carol Roach). Researchers have shown that the main animals getting abused are dogs, chickens, horses, and livestock (“Animal...

    Read More

  • Franklin D Roosevelt's Infamy Speech Essay

    851 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout his speech, he used factual information about what the Japanese had committed. First, FDR conveyed his message by using the concept “infamy” to establish his speech. Roosevelt stated factual points like “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”. He pointed out what evil things Japan had committed. For example, he said “The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. I regret to tell you that very many American lives have been lost. He shared his remorse with the families who lost their loved ones in the tragic event. He used the message to provoke congress and the American people’s mind to feel sad and angry and seek revenge against the Japanese. FDR also explained how the Japanese “deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace” to gain the US attention and attack them from behind. In addition he also explained why Pearl Harbor was the target saying “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”. FDR went on to talk about other attacks the Empire of Japan had committed in conjunction with the

    Read More

  • Examples of Animal Cruelty

    1166 Words  | 3 Pages

    ... at least spread the word and tell people to help prevent animal cruelty and to adopt. Anything people do can help safe an animals life even a call can change everything. We are their voice!

    Read More

  • Huntington's Disease Analysis

    550 Words  | 2 Pages

    In some families there is an abnormal copy of the gene and that gets passed to their children. If someone has a parent with Huntington’s disease, then they have a fifty percent chance of having the gene and developing the disease. If the parents don’t have the abnormal HD gene, then they cannot get it and pass it on to their children. Men and woman are equally able to inherit the abnormal gene. It is not more common in woman or men. Once the abnormal gene is in the family it does not skip generations. The gene defect involves extra of one specific chemical code in a small section of chromosome four. The normal huntingtin gene includes seventeen to twenty repetitions of the code. This defect causes forty or more repeats. There is a genetic test to measure the number of repeats in the protein

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On Animal Abuse

    1062 Words  | 3 Pages

    The solution is to get the animal legal justice by going to court with the case or at least report it to a police station or animal shelter. This awful thing has happened to many animals and many of them have never had anyone care about what has happened to them enough to save them from this abuse. Help save one of the 1,432 animals abuse a year and bring them to

    Read More

More about Rhetorical Analysis of President Roosevelt's Pearl Harbor Speech

Open Document