“December 7, 1941 – a date which will live in infamy-” is when Pearl Harbor was suddenly and intentionally attacked by “naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.” President Franklin Roosevelt in his speech asserts that the attack on Pearl Harbor is a justified reason for the United States to go to war, because of the damage and tragedy done to the nation. He supports this claim by, first using situational irony and diction appealing to logos, then anaphora appealing to pathos, finally authority appealing to ethos. President Roosevelt’s purpose is to persuade Congress in order to convince them into allowing the United States to enter the war. President Roosevelt begins his speech to the American people and Congress by recalling the events
Olivia Blanda Professor Seo-young Park English 102 16 February 2018 Rhetorical Strategies in FDR 's Pearl Harbor Address "December 7th, 1941-a date which will live in infamy" are the famous words Franklin Delano Roosevelt used to describe one of the most damaging surprise attacks placed on the United States of America. On this day of heartbreak, Japanese planes attacked the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, killing over two thousand people and leaving several Americans terrified. The day after Japan attacked the U.S, Franklin Delano Roosevelt (one of the only presidents in history to be elected four times to office) delivered a speech to the nation, now known as FDR 's Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation. With the use of pathos,
December 7th, 1941 is a day changed the lives of all Americans. It is the day Japan deliberately attacked the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii killing many U.S. soldiers and destroying a lot of the U.S. naval fleet. This day which turned the tide of World War II, up until this point the U.S. had not chosen to intervene in the conflict overseas, but Japan’s attack had given the U.S. a reason to enter the fight. This speech given by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on December 8th, 1941 was his own passionate plea to the U.S. government and people to support the U.S. entering the war and fighting back against the tyranny occurring overseas. President Franklin D. Roosevelt effectively appeals to the emotions of the U.S. population by establishing trust with his audience through the use of emotional diction, and repetition which allow him to rally support for the war effort.
In addition to Roosevelt using ethos, it uses many details pertaining to the attacks from Japan in America and also other attacks around the world, especially around the pacific where the peace between Japan and America relied on keeping war out of the pacific area. Due to Roosevelt’s many great details of the attacks, Japan has accumulated, it helped the nation completely trust Roosevelt to enter war. Roosevelt’s speech was the most fitting response to the betrayal of the Japanese empire and their attack on American soil. His decision to declare war on Japan was appropriate to do, since Japan target the largest air forces and naval base and caused severe damage. If Roosevelt did not declare war on Japan, Japan would have only expanded its attacks on other nations including attacking America again.
The battle of Pearl Harbor was a brutal surprise attack on the United states Pacific fleet and it was the kickoff point for the US to join World War II. Its something we should never forget. Pearl Harbor was one of the most memorable events in the history of the United states. When Japan attacked the US Pacific fleet it was totally unexpected on this Sunday morning December 7, 194. Japan wanted to attack Pearl Harbor because it was afraid the US would be able to attack from the Pacific.
The president stated “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.” (Roosevelt) He knew that when speaking to the crowd before him that playing to their ego was the most appropriate route, which proved to be true. In the social climate that they were in during this period it was the pest possible decision to ensure the desired outcome. Another reason that the argument was effective was due to the president being able to accentuate the lack of morals in our opponent. He was able to show the crowd how many different areas they had wronged, and pointed out that the U.S. had received a letter just one hour afterwards that had no hint of an attack within it. He stated “Japan has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area.
Roosevelt’s purpose is to convince Congress to declare war against Japan in order to defend the American people and their homes. Adopting a factual and urgent tone, Roosevelt reaches his
Roosevelt’s goal was to try to convince the congress and senate to get their approval to go to war with Japan. He intended to get a positive response and the documents were signed hours after his address. Roosevelt had documents that Japan made false statements of holding peace weeks before the attacks of Hong Kong, Guam, The
Although he did approve of the bomb, Roosevelt was unconcerned about actually dropping the bomb on Japan. Instead he supported the idea that since Germany was possibly looking into the same type of destructive weapon, the U.S. needed to advance in the field in order to prevent detrimental attacks against them. He had the Great Depression on his hands as well and was less motivated during his time to destroy Japan to end the war more efficiently. On the other hand, Truman saw his opportunity of bringing the United States to the end of the war in a quick manner by releasing the bombs since Japan had no intentions of taking an easy surrender. To prevent going through an invasion, Truman made a hasty decision to drop the bombs.
This unknown fact of American being neutral or not, ultimately lead to the United States needing to enter World War I. Although the United States President at the time, Woodrow Wilson, explained the reasoning for the U.S. entering WWI was because of Germany’s submarine warfare, the violence toll that Germany took on America relates back to the concealed matter of the nation of the United States actually being neutral throughout the time before war