rhetorical devices used in day of infamy speech

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Speech Analysis: Franklin Roosevelt Pearl Harbor Address

The next day, Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed the United States Congress with his memorable “a date which will live in infamy” speech .

This speech had two purposes:

• To urge Congress to formally declare war on Japan (which they did just minutes later), and
• To rally the American people to support the war effort.

In this speech analysis article, we focus on Roosevelt’s choice of words to see how they helped communicate his message. Then, from these choices, we extract 5 key speech writing lessons for you .

This is the latest in a series of speech critiques here on Six Minutes .

I encourage you to:

• Watch the speech video;
• Read the analysis in this speech critique;
• Study the annotated speech transcript; and
• Share your thoughts on this speech in in the comments.

Video of Franklin Roosevelt’s Pearl Harbor Address

I was unable to find a complete recording with video, but did find these two options:

• Audio-only of full speech , but without video, or
• (Shown below) Video of Roosevelt delivering the speech, but with a few sections omitted.

Emotional, polarizing words: “…a date which will live in infamy…”

Yesterday, December 7, 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.

The most memorable phrase of this speech comes in its first line. The label “infamy” foreshadows the tone of the entire speech. Consider the very different tone  resulting from the following alternatives:

• Yesterday, December 7, 1941 — a tragic date — …
• Yesterday, December 7, 1941 — a pivotal day for our country — …
• Yesterday, December 7, 1941 — a date which we experienced sorrow…
• Yesterday, December 7, 1941, the United States of America was… [that is, suppose no labelling phrase was used at all]

None of these alternatives are consistent with Roosevelt’s goal.

Roosevelt continues to use vivid, emotional words throughout the speech, including:

• “suddenly and deliberately attacked”
• “deliberately planned”
• “deliberately sought to deceive”
• “surprise offensive”
• “unprovoked and dastardly”
• “premeditated invasion”
• “onslaught against us”
• “this form of treachery”

These phrases continue the “infamy” theme, and characterize the Japanese actions as duplicitous and dishonorable.

What’s the lesson for you on your next speech?

Choose words deliberately which match the tone of your speech . If your goal is to ignite polarizing emotions, then choose emotionally charged words as Roosevelt has done. On the other hand, more neutral words would be more appropriate if your goal was to heal wounds.

Variations of “Japan” and “Japanese”

Consider the following phrases:

[…] the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan .

And, later:

Yesterday the Japanese Government also launched an attack against Malaya. Last night Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong. Last night Japanese forces attacked Guam. Last night Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands. Last night the Japanese attacked Wake Island. And this morning the Japanese attacked Midway Island. Japan has therefore undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area.

By using this exhaustive variety of word forms (“Empire of Japan”, “Japanese Government”, “Japanese forces”, “the Japanese”, “Japan”), Roosevelt makes it clear that the many components of Japan cannot be separated. That is, the attack was not made simply by the Japanese military, but by the Empire, the government, the armed forces, and Japan itself.

Use a variety of related terms to emphasize the whole .

For example, suppose you want to voice opposition to a particular industrial development in your community. In this case, you might use a variety of phrases to communicate the widespread opposition:

[…] the residents of this neighbourhood are opposed […] the business community is opposed […] the taxpayers are opposed […] the media opposes the development […] this environmental impact study blasts it […]

Repetition: “Last night Japanese forces attacked…”

Imagine if the entire passage (“… last night Japanese forces attacked …”) quoted above had been abbreviated to the following sentence, which is identical in meaning:

Yesterday, Japanese forces attacked Malaya, Hong Kong, Guam, the Philippine Islands, Wake Island, and Midway Island.

Would this have had the same rhetorical effect as the six individual sentences? No, not even close!

Roosevelt’s use of repetition amplifies the message and draws more attention to the two key words: “Japanese” and “attacked”. If one were asked to narrow the speech down to just two words, those two words would be “Japanese attacked”.

Use repetition strategically to highlight key words or phrases that carry the weight of your message. Forceful repetition will help these words resonate with your audience.

Pathos: the Emotional Appeal

Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger.

This is the only triad used in the entire speech. More importantly, this is the only appeal to logic (logos) within the speech. Most of the rest of the Roosevelt’s speech is an appeal to emotion (pathos). He seems to be consciously aiming for an emotional, gut-level response from Congress and from the American people.

This is in sharp contrast to the speech which led the United States into World War I, which relied heavily on appeals to logic (i.e. we should enter the war because it is a just war).

Understand the roles of ethos, pathos, and logos in a persuasive speech . Make conscious decisions about when to invoke each one depending on your audience and your message.

A Clear Call-to-Action

Roosevelt’s immediate audience for this speech was the members of the United State Congress. In the final sentence of the speech, Roosevelt clearly asks Congress to make the formal declaration of war:

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.

The other audience for this speech was the United States public as a whole. In the sentences which precede the final one above, Roosevelt makes his call-to-action clear to the American people:

[…] that always will our whole nation remember the character of the onslaught against us. 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 . I believe that I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost but will make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again endanger us. Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger. With confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounding determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph , so help us God.

Make your call-to-action clear so that your audience will never wonder what you are asking from them. If your audience is comprised of different groups, use your audience analysis to match a call-to-action to each group.

Legend to Annotations

In the complete speech transcript below, the 8 charismatic leadership tactics are annotated with the following colors. A similar color-coding analysis was performed on Winston Churchill’s “Iron Curtain” speech .

Speech Transcript

Yesterday, December 7, 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. The United States was at peace with that nation , and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its government and its Emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific . Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in the American island of Oahu, the Japanese Ambassador to the United States and his colleague delivered to our Secretary of State a formal reply to a recent American message. And, while this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or of armed attack. 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. During the intervening time the Japanese Government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace. 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. In addition, American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu. Yesterday the Japanese Government also launched an attack against Malaya. Last night Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong. Last night Japanese forces attacked Guam. Last night Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands. Last night the Japanese attacked Wake Island. And this morning the Japanese attacked Midway Island. Japan has therefore undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday and today speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation. As Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense, that always will our whole nation remember the character of the onslaught against us . 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. I believe that I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost but will make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again endanger us . Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger. With confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounding determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph , so help us God . 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.

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great use of language, pauses, tone of voice-very uplifting, motivating, and inspiring as well as reassuring confidence and security

Great speech analysis. Im currently in English 1110 at Ohio state and this has helped me a lot. Thank you for sharing this with us.

I learned from this speech that Franklin Roosevelt uses vivid, emotional words throughout his speech. When stating the main idea,FDR was very clear by declaring war on Japan and to rally the American people to support the war effort.

The speech analysis was very helpful. I am currently doing speech for dual enrollment, and this analysis helped by (1 showing the important points in this speech and (2 it also showed how I could apply the president’s speaking skills in my own speeches.

Thanks for this article! I am taking a Public Speaking class and I had to read this article. I will be asked to critique a speech and maybe even develop a speech of my own and your description of charismatic leadership tactics has been very helpful.

Thank you! Thou art brilliant!

Stay dazzling! Dilip Mukerjea

I would like to thank you for taking time to write this article, no matter how long ago it may have been written. Therefore, I don’t even know if you’ll ever see this. But regardless, this definitely helped me a lot for a test I will be having in my 8th Grade American History Class. We are to study Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Pearl Harbor Address thoroughly and this page gave me the ability to understand the tone to the speech, as well as the stress on words like “deliberate,” “Japan,” and “attacked.”

Thank you again for all of your help, Mr. Duglan.

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Pieces of History

Crafting a Call to Arms: FDR’s Day of Infamy Speech

In the early afternoon of December 7, 1941, Franklin D. Roosevelt was just finishing lunch in his oval study on the second floor of the White House, preparing to work on his stamp album.

The phone rang, and he was informed that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, shortly before 1 p.m. Washington time, 8 a.m. Hawaii time.

“It was just the kind of unexpected thing the Japanese would do. At the very time they were discussing peace in the Pacific, they were plotting to overthrow it,” he remarked to his assistant.

For the rest of that afternoon, Roosevelt and his advisers were busy at the White House receiving fragmentary reports about the damage to U.S. installations, ships, and planes in Hawaii.

Security was increased around the White House, and plans were under way for a bomb shelter for the President underneath the nearby Treasury Department building. Across the nation, news of the attack spread by radio and word of mouth, and Americans began thinking about what life in a nation at war was going to be like.

A First Draft

Roosevelt decided to go before Congress the next day to report on the attack and ask for a declaration of war. In early evening, he called in his secretary, Grace Tully. “I’m going before Congress tomorrow, and I’d like to dictate my message,” he told her. “It will be short.”

Short it was. But it became one of the most famous speeches of the twentieth century, giving birth to one of the most famous phrases of the century.

“Yesterday, December seventh, 1941, a date which will live in world history,” he began as Tully took down the words, “the United States was simultaneously and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.”

Tully typed up what Roosevelt had dictated, and the President went to work on this first draft by hand. Roosevelt changed “a date which will live in world history” to “a date which will live in infamy,” providing the speech its most famous phrase and giving birth to the term, “day of infamy.”

A few words later, he changed his report that United States was “simultaneously and deliberately attacked” to “suddenly and deliberately attacked.” At the end of the first sentence, he wrote the words, “without warning,” but later crossed them out.

Thus that first historic sentence—the one that is usually quoted from the speech—was born: “Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by the naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.”

As the speech went through drafts, FDR made other changes. Two of his regular speechwriters, Samuel Rosenman and Robert Sherwood, were out of town, and he had rejected a draft submitted by Undersecretary of State Sumner Welles.

One of the few changes to the speech not initiated by Roosevelt himself was an addition by one of his closest aides, Harry Hopkins. Under the heading “Deity,” Hopkins suggested the next-to-the-last sentence that evolved into:

 “With confidence in our armed forces—with the unbounding determination of our people—we will gain the inevitable triumph—so help us God.” Along with the first sentence, it became one of the most often heard quotes from the speech.

Roosevelt updated the speech too, as reports of Japanese actions arrived at the White House, adding lines to note Japanese attacks on Guam, the Philippines, and Wake and Midway islands, among others.

Usually a Long Process

Rosenman, Sherwood, and Hopkins were usually involved in drafting major speeches, along with others in the government, depending on the subject. And usually, a speech took from three to ten days to prepare, far longer than the December 8 speech.

“The remarkable thing is that on one of the busiest and most turbulent days of his life, he was able to spend so much time and give so much thought to his speech,” Rosenman recalled in his book, Working with Roosevelt.

Roosevelt’s speech amounted to a call to arms for a national audience that suddenly needed to shift to a war footing that meant wage and price controls; shortages of food, fuel, and other strategic materials; and, of course, the induction into the armed forces of their sons, husbands, fathers, and sweethearts.

Changes During Delivery

As he delivered the speech to Congress, FDR made a few changes, some involving word order, others were more updates of casualities and damage in the Pacific.

A postscript to this story: the National Archives holds typed copies of the final drafts, with a few handwritten corrections, one each in the files of the House and Senate in NARA’s Center for Legislative Archives. 

However, archivists at the FDR Library believe the original reading copy, like reading copies of other FDR speeches, was in a completely different form, very distinctive in size and format and different from the legislative copies in House and Senate files.

Apparently, neither FDR nor his son, James, who accompanied him, brought it back to the White House and its whereabouts, 70 years later, remains a mystery.

Information for this article was drawn from Rosenman’s book, as well as FDR: An Intimate History by Nathan Miller, My Boss by Grace Tully, and Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Rhetorical Presidency by Halford R. Ryan. All images here are from the Roosevelt Presidential Library in Hyde Park, NY.

This is a condensed version of an article on the Day of Infamy speech from Prologue: Quarterly of the National Archives . Images of all versions, including the “as-given” version, are accessible there.

What was it like on the decks of the ships in Pearl Harbor during the Japanese attack? Find out from the ships’ deck logs in an article in the upcoming Prologue.

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Day of Infamy Speech

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FDR's 'Day of Infamy' Speech

President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Speech to Congress on December 8, 1941

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At 12:30 p.m. on December 8, 1941, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt stood before Congress and gave what is now known as his "Day of Infamy" or "Pearl Harbor" speech. This speech was given only a day following the Empire of Japan's strike on the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii and the Japanese declaration of war on the United States and the British Empire.

Roosevelt's Declaration Against Japan

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii shocked almost everyone in the United States military and left Pearl Harbor vulnerable and unprepared. In his speech, Roosevelt declared that December 7, 1941, the day that the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor , would remain "a date which will live in infamy."

The word "infamy" derives from the root word "fame," and translates roughly to "fame gone bad." Infamy, in this case, also meant strong condemnation and public reproach due to the result of Japan's conduct. The particular line on infamy from Roosevelt has become so famous that it is hard to believe the first draft had the phrase written as "a date which will live in world history."

The Beginning of World War II

The nation was divided on entering the second war until the attack on Pearl Harbor occurred. This had everyone united against the Empire of Japan in remembrance and support of Pearl Harbor. At the end of the speech, Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war against Japan and his request was granted that same day.

Because Congress immediately declared war, the United States subsequently entered World War II officially. Official declarations of war must be done by Congress, who have the sole power to declare war and have done so on 11 total occasions since 1812. The last formal declaration of war was World War II.

The text below is the speech as Roosevelt delivered it, which differs slightly from his final written draft.

Full Text of FDR's "Day of Infamy" Speech

"Mr. Vice President, Mr. Speaker, Members of the Senate, and of the House of Representatives: 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. The United States was at peace with that nation and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its government and its emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific. Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in the American island of Oahu, the Japanese ambassador to the United States and his colleague delivered to our Secretary of State a formal reply to a recent American message. And while this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or of armed attack. 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. During the intervening time, the Japanese government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace. 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. In addition, American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu. Yesterday, the Japanese government also launched an attack against Malaya. Last night, Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong. Last night, Japanese forces attacked Guam. Last night, Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands. Last night, the Japanese attacked Wake Island . And this morning, the Japanese attacked Midway Island . Japan has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday and today speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation. As commander in chief of the Army and Navy, I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense. But always will our whole nation remember the character of the onslaught against us. 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. I believe that I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost, but will make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again endanger us. Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory, and our interests are in grave danger. With confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounding determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph—so help us God. I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7th, 1941, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese empire."

• Facts About the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor
• The Attack on Pearl Harbor
• Franklin D. Roosevelt Quotes
• Induction (Logic and Rhetoric)
• Hideki Tojo
• Heading Toward World War II in the Pacific
• 20th Century American Speeches as Literary Texts
• An Overview of the Key Events of World War II
• US and Japan Relations Before WWII
• 8 of the Scariest Days in America
• The Evolution of American Isolationism
• The Ludlow Amendment
• America First — 1940s Style
• World War II in Asia
• US Neutrality Acts of the 1930s and the Lend-Lease Act
• 10 Pictures of the Attack on Pearl Harbor

National News | 75 years later, remembering FDR’s day of…

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National News

National news | 75 years later, remembering fdr’s day of ‘infamy,’ a phrase that almost wasn’t.

A Japanese plane goes into its last dive as it heads toward the ground in flames after it was hit by U.S. Navy anti-aircraft fire during a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

This Japanese navy took this aerial view of U.S. ships on fire during the Pearl Harbor attack.

American ships burn during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

U.S. Navy seamen examine the wreckage of a Japanese torpedo plane shot down at Pearl harbor during the Japanese raid Dec. 7, 1941.

Keystone / Getty Images

The USS Shaw explodes during the Japanese attack on the U.S. Pacific fleet at its base in Pearl Harbor, on the island of Oahu, Hawaii.

Wreckage, identified by the U.S. Navy as a Japanese torpedo plane, was salvaged from the bottom of Pearl Harbor following the surprise attack Dec. 7, 1941.

Hulton Archive / Getty Images

A damaged B-17C Flying Fortress bomber sits on the tarmac near Hangar Number 5 at Hickam Field, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Three U.S. battleships are hit from the air during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. From left are the USS West Virginia, severely damaged; USS Tennessee, damaged; and USS Arizona, sunk.

Fox Photos / Getty Images

The USS California burns in Pearl Harbor after the Japanese attack.

The shattered wreckage of American planes bombed by the Japanese in their attack on Pearl Harbor is strewn on Hickam Field, Dec. 7, 1941.

Mary Naiden / AP

Officers' wives head to their quarters after investigating the sound of an explosion and seeing smoke in the distance over Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The two heard neighbor Mary Naiden, then an Army hostess who took this picture, exclaim: "There are red circles on those planes overhead. They are Japanese!"

The time was 1:47 p.m. The day was Dec. 7, 1941.

Across the country and thousands of miles away, Japanese bombs were raining on Pearl Harbor. Ships were sinking. Men were dying. The Secretary of the Navy was calling with the news.

In that privacy of his office, without a grand audience, the president’s response was spontaneous and unrestrained:

“No!”

But it was just three hours later, as some of the wounded and dying were brought ashore, their foreheads marked with a lipstick “M” for morphine, that the 32nd president of the United States wrote a different response, measured but defiant for the world, a speech that would last less than seven minutes and ultimately transform his presidency and America’s role in the 20th century and beyond.

It is remembered for a single, indelible word – infamy – that almost didn’t get written.

The final version of FDR’s formal address to the joint congressional session on Dec. 8, the version of the speech we study in history books and hear in documentaries, went like this:

“Yesterday, December 7, 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.”

The 11th word of that sentence became the defining element of his war declaration. It was dubbed his “Day of Infamy” speech, and at times distilled even further to just “Infamy” speech.

But in Roosevelt’s first draft, “infamy” didn’t even exist.

The path to the “infamy” version began with a meeting between Roosevelt and his closest confidants, wrote Paul M. Sparrow, director of the FDR Presidential Library and Museum, in an essay for the Poughkeepsie Journal. It began just after 3 p.m. first lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who had hosted a luncheon that day, said her husband was “deadly calm,” Sparrow wrote.

The meeting, however, was contentious.

Roosevelt told the room he wanted his address to Congress to be concise and sweeping, a speech that captured the emotion of the moment. Secretary of State Cordell Hull pushed for something longer, a full and detailed accounting of Japan’s mounting offenses.

In his diary, Roosevelt’s closest adviser, Harry Hopkins, recalled the scene: “There was some discussion about the President’s message to Congress. The President expressed himself very strongly that he was going to submit a precise message. Hull urged very strongly that the President review the whole history of the Japanese relations in a strong document that might take a half an hour to read. The President objected.”

When the meeting broke at 4:15 p.m., the president waited for everyone to leave before calling his personal secretary, Grace Tully, into the Oval Study.

He was seated alone behind his desk, Tully wrote in her memoir, wearing a “gray sack jacket.” A collection of neat piles were stacked before him, notes taken since he’d gotten the news. As the secretary walked in, Roosevelt lit a cigarette and “took a deep drag.”

“Sit down, Grace,” Tully recalled the president saying. “I’m going before Congress tomorrow. I’d like to dictate my message. It will be short.”

Roosevelt’s speechwriters were out of town in New York. The president was on his own.

Tully detailed the speech’s genesis in her memoir:

“I sat down without a word; it was no time for words other than those to become part of the war effort.

“Once more he inhaled deeply, then he began in the same calm tone in which he dictated his mail. Only his diction was a little different as he spoke each word incisively and slowly, carefully specifying each punctuation mark and paragraph . ..

“The entire message ran under 500 words, a cold-blooded indictment of Japanese treachery and aggression, delivered to me without hesitation, interruption or second thoughts.”

The first version, though, said this: “Yesterday, December 7, 1941, a date which will live in world history, the United States of America was simultaneously and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.”

Roosevelt carried the first draft around with him all day, marking it up, adding dashes, eliminating words, writing in new ones, among them “infamy.”

“If you think about that word choice change . . . it’s not just a rhetorical flourish,” White House speechwriter Sarada Peri told the Post’s Lillian Cunningham in her Presidential podcast. “It actually, it gives greater meaning. He is making a judgment call about what this moment is. It is an act that is treacherous and requires some kind of response, and it’s part of what speech writing is about, which is clarifying to the point of finding the right word.”

Another alteration, a suggestion made by Vice President Henry Wallace, garnered the “greatest round of applause the next day,” Sparrow wrote in his essay: “No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people will in their righteous might win through to absolute victory.”

Just after noon on Dec. 8, the president attached his heavy steel leg braces and was driven to the Capitol, where he held onto his cane and his son, a Marine, and walked into the chamber.

Sparrow wrote:

“His presentation is truly remarkable, delivered with a solemn but determined tone, and with absolute conviction in his voice. It was a clarion call, a profound statement of national values and a fierce show of determination that justice would be served. When he gets to the part where he lists the many places the Japanese have attacked it takes on the rhythm of a sermon. And when he gets to the end, he makes clear his main point:

“With confidence in our armed forces – with the unbounding determination of our people – we will gain the inevitable triumph – so help us God.”

Less than an hour later, the Senate and House voted for war, with just one dissenting vote from pacifist Rep. Jeannette Rankin of Montana.

One untold element of the story, explained by founding editor of the Eleanor Roosevelt papers, Allida Black, involves the voice Americans heard a full day before the Infamy speech: the first lady’s.

During their time in the White House, Eleanor Roosevelt gave some 300 radio addresses, Black told the Presidential podcast. One such program was already scheduled for Dec. 7, 1941, long before the bombs came. Amid the destruction, the first lady spoke anyway.

For the first four minutes, she spoke directly to the American people.

“For months now the knowledge that something of this kind might happen has been hanging over our heads and yet it seemed impossible to believe, impossible to drop the everyday things of life and feel that there was only one thing which was important – preparation to meet an enemy no matter where he struck. That is all over now and there is no more uncertainty,” she said.

“We know what we have to face and we know that we are ready to face it.”

She ended in what Black called an “ultimate, triumphant, resolute note,” addressing the women of the nation.

“You cannot escape anxiety. You cannot escape a clutch of fear at your heart,” Eleanor said. “And yet I hope the certainty of what we have to meet will make you rise above these fears.”

It was, Black said, a critical moment for the first lady, the president and the country.

“That really sets the stage,” Black said, “for the president’s address to Congress the next day.”

Roosevelt’s phrase is ranked as one of the greatest and most memorable in U.S. history, along with “Four score and seven years ago,” “I have a dream” and “ask not what your country can do for you,” as well as a talisman of the World War II and postwar era, which included Winston Churchill’s “Iron Curtain” in March, 1946.

Sparrow considers Roosevelt’s speech the most important of the 20th century.

“FDR’s great leadership is perhaps best illustrated by his approach to this speech,” Sparrow wrote in his essay. “For it was much more than merely an address to Congress. It needed to be a statement to the world – a battle cry for freedom – an unquestioned call to arms.”

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A Day of Infamy: Speech Analysis

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Rhetorical analysis, impact and legacy.

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Rhetorical Analysis Outline of FDR’s Pearl Harbor Address

FDR’s Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation

Delivered: 8 December 1941, Washington, D.C. Speaker: FDR (President of the United States)

Direct Audience: Mr. Vice President, Mr. Speaker, Members of the Senate, and of the House of Representatives:

Eventual Audience: the American Public

Message: To inform about the events between U.S. and Japan at Pearl Harbor, and to convince why a state of war between U.S. and Japan is necessary. The United States did not want to get involved in the Second World War (Or the 1 st World War for that matter)

World War II has already broke out in Europe, and between China and Japan in the East. Japan is eager to industrialize, or follow the “blueprint” of the West.  Needs resources from China in order to do so…invades Manchuria. According to Wikipedia “The attack on Pearl Harbor was intended to neutralize the U.S. Pacific Fleet, and hence protect Japan’s advance into Malaya and the Dutch East Indies, where it sought access to natural resources such as oil and rubber.”

FDR was also a beloved president because many of his programs pulled the U.S. out of the Great Depression. In essence, people trusted him, making it easier for him to convince them of entrance into WWII.

“Suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.”

Trying to make U.S. seem one-hundred percent blameless

Attempt to make Japanese seem evil: “Japanese government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.”

“I regret to tell you that very many American lives have been lost. In addition, American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu.”

“The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation”

“the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.”

“Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory, and our interests are in grave danger.”

“With confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounding determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph — so help us God.”

“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”

Lists places Japan has also attacked: Hong Kong, Guam, Philippines, Wake Island, Midway Island

Ethos is also established through Kairos of the situation.

“As Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense. But always will our whole nation remember the character of the onslaught against us.”

5 responses to “ Rhetorical Analysis Outline of FDR’s Pearl Harbor Address ”

You have a lot of great facts already throughout this blog post. I think that the quotes you used throughout this outline will allow you to come up with a very successful paper. I think that this is a good topic to focus on and talk about because it is something most if not all of us know about, although you do a good job of assuming we know nothing therefore elaborating and explaining yourself and the situation just the right amount. Great job!

I think you have a great start with a speech with lots to work. I think its important to mention the lead up to the US involvement with its false pretense of neutrality as part of the kairos. Your analysis of pathos is extensive and well done. It would help to elaborate on the the use of logos and ethos. This speech also plays into the ideologies of racism against the Japanese which strengthens his argument.

I liked the layout of your outline a lot. I also think your artifact is good and you have already analyzed it well and understand the strategies used that made this speech successful. You also have a variety of quotes to support your ideas that I think will really enhance your essay.

Hello! I think that you have a great start right here. I would suggest perhaps outlining your conclusion and introduction and what you would like to leave the reader with. It is the final thought that you will leave the reader with and should be outlined in some way (in my point of view). I am sure that your paper will come with elaboration into the quotes, and therefore, I think that this outline will set you up for success.

Your pathos quotes were really good and emotional but your logos quotes might need to be elaborated on. I understand where you got them but maybe do some research into them to put some hard core stats into your essay to make it more effective. For example, if one of them made you think about something and then you researched that; just a thought. Your use of kairos is obvious and apparent and the use of ethos is also apparent. I think this outline would be effective in creating a successful essay.

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“Day of Infamy” Speech Summary, Text, & Analysis

February 19, 2023

US entered WWII when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec 7, 1941. The next day, President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed the nation in what is now known as his “Day of Infamy” speech. In this historic address, FDR not only declared war on Japan, but also rallied the American people with his stirring words and unwavering resolve. Below is a the iconic “Day of Infamy” Speech Summary, Text, & Analysis.

“Day of Infamy” Speech Summary

We ran FDR’s speech through Yoodli, the free AI powered speech coaching platform. You can get started at www.yoodli.ai and view results for FDR here .

• FDR is present to declare the attack by Japan on the Hawaiian Islands on December 7th, 1941.
• He shares that unprovoked attack has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces, and has resulted in the loss of many American lives.
• He conveys that the United States will take measures to ensure their defense and make sure that such an attack never happens again.
• FDR states that the people of the United States have the determination and confidence to gain the inevitable triumph.
• FDR requests that Congress declare a state of war between the United States and the Japanese Empire, since Japan’s attack on the US.

“ Day of Infamy ” Speech Text

The Yoodli AI-powered speech coach provides this “ Day of Infamy ” speech text:

" Mr. Vice President, and Mr. Speaker, and Members of the Senate and House of Representatives: Yesterday, December 7, 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. The United States was at peace with that Nation and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its Government and its Emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific. Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in the American Island of Oahu, the Japanese Ambassador to the United States and his colleague delivered to our Secretary of State a formal reply to a recent American message. And while this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or of armed attack. 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. During the intervening time the Japanese Government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace. 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. In addition American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu. Yesterday the Japanese Government also launched an attack against Malaya. Last night Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong. Last night Japanese forces attacked Guam. Last night Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands. Last night the Japanese attacked Wake Island. And this morning the Japanese attacked Midway Island. Japan has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday and today speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our Nation. As Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense. But always will our whole Nation remember the character of the onslaught against us. 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. I believe that I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost but will make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again endanger us. Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory, and our interests are in grave danger. With confidence in our armed forces—with the unbounding determination of our people—we will gain the inevitable triumph- so help us God. 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. "

“ Day of Infamy ” Speech Analysis

FDR’s speech on the Pearl Harbor attack demonstrated exceptional speaking skills. He effectively conveyed a message of strength, resilience, and determination to the American people, while acknowledging the gravity of the situation and the sacrifices that lay ahead. We ran this address through Yoodli’s AI-powered speech coach, and got back an analysis on various aspects of word choice and delivery. You can view the full results here .

Word Choice

FDR’s word choice in his speech on Pearl Harbor was deliberate and powerful. He used emotive language and imagery to rally Americans for the war. Yoodli’s analysis reflects this, as it shows that FDR’s most frequently used keywords were “people” and “forces.”

After the Pearl Harbor attack, President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed the nation in what is now known as his “Day of Infamy” speech. Check out our “Day of Infamy” speech summary, text, and analysis.

FDR was sure to not use any filler words, as indicated by Yoodli’s analysis. Doing so conveyed a sense of confidence and strength, which was important in such a trying time for America.

In the Delivery category, Yoodli provides scores on Centering, Pacing, Pauses, and Eye Contact. FDR maintained an incredibly relaxed demeanor, speaking at an average pace of just 90 words per minute. This ensure his message was clear, and pronounced, important traits for someone declaring war.

Wrapping Up

If you like this “Day of Infamy” speech summary, text, and quick analysis, sign up to Yoodli for free and see how you can get the same kind of feedback on any speech you upload or record. It’s a great way to practice your own public speaking skills as you learn to inspire a country, just as FDR did!

Start practicing with Yoodli.

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A Generation of Distrust

By Jay Caspian Kang

The student-protest encampment at the University of California, Berkeley, sits on the steps of Sproul Hall. Sixty years ago on the same site, Mario Savio, a leader of the Berkeley Free Speech Movement, gave a famous address in which he told his fellow-students that sometimes “the operation of the machine becomes so odious” that “you’ve got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you’ve got to make it stop.” At the time, students were forbidden from on-campus demonstrations about noncampus matters—the “machine” was the state-university system, which eventually gave into the Free Speech Movement’s demands. But Savio’s words have since assumed a broader resonance for dissent and civil disobedience of any stripe. Like many other élite institutions of higher learning in America, Berkeley presents itself as a place where historic change took place thanks to the bravery of its former students; in 1997, the university installed a small plaque at the base of the steps and named them after Savio.

Encampments are not an uncommon sight in Berkeley, but on my visits to Sproul Hall I was struck, nonetheless, by the tents, and what they seemed to evoke. In the Bay Area, tents sit on sidewalks, under nearly every highway overpass, and, until recently, in People’s Park, another famous site of Berkeley resistance, which was once a homeless encampment. The university has since blockaded the park with a fortress of shipping containers, stacked like Lincoln Logs. The university’s administration wants to build a dormitory on the site, and its early attempts to start construction were disrupted by a coalition of young students and old Berkeley radicals—a reminder that protest in America is always nostalgic and referential, shot through with the desire for a past radicalism, one with specifics that, like Savio’s speech, have been diluted over time.

But references change and can take on multiple meanings. Zach, a Palestinian American undergraduate who was participating in the Sproul Hall encampment, told me that the tents were meant to allude to conditions in Gaza, where more than a million people have been displaced. Zach grew up in California, and he told me that his mother had always been “really scared about advocacy for Palestine,” which she thought seemed dangerous. As a result, their household felt apolitical out of necessity. But Zach was drawn to Berkeley not only by its faculty but by its reputation as a place where dissent flourished. “I wanted to learn from the people who wrote the textbooks, but I also came because of its political advocacy and its history in the Free Speech Movement,” Zach said. After October 7th , Zach started taking part in actions organized by Students for Justice in Palestine. Across from Sproul Hall is Sather Gate, which leads to the heart of campus. For weeks, students partially blocked the passageway with large banners. The administration took the position that, so long as the protesters did not harass people or prevent them from moving freely around campus, they were not violating school policy.

In February, though, when the leader of a conservative Israeli think tank, who is also a reservist in the Israel Defense Forces, was scheduled to speak on campus, a pro-Palestine student group called for the talk to be shut down; when the talk went ahead, protesters showed up and, in the ensuing confrontation, a door was broken and a window was smashed. Afterward, an estimated three hundred faculty members and students held a march demanding that the university do more to insure the safety and well-being of Jewish people on campus. They insisted that the school clear the protest at Sather Gate, where, some said, protesters were making antisemitic remarks and discriminating against Jewish students. Mike Johnson, the Republican Speaker of the House, called for a federal investigation into antisemitism at Berkeley. The administration cleared the semi-blockade.

The university has not yet intervened with the encampment, in contrast to Columbia and other schools that have called in police to disperse protesters. (On Wednesday night, Berkeley’s administration met student protesters to begin negotiations, but no agreements were made.) Even so, no one at Berkeley seemed satisfied by the administration’s handling of things. “There’s so much repression by the university,” Zach said. “There’s so many attempts to silence us and the dusting off of rules so that we cannot do the work we were doing at Sather.” Zach told me that the encampment would remain in place until the university meets the protesters’ demands, which include the university’s financial divestment from “corporations that enable and profit from the Israeli apartheid, occupation, and genocide,” an academic boycott that would require the school to “permanently sever ties” with Israeli universities, and the enactment of policies that “protect the safety and academic freedoms of Palestinian, Arab, Muslim, and pro-Palestinian students and faculty.”

Protests are rarely about just one thing. At the encampment, I also met a nineteen-year-old Jewish student from Sacramento whom I’ll call Sam. (He asked that I not use his actual name.) He wore a watermelon kippah—a signal of solidarity with the Free Palestine movement. (Watermelons, which are grown in Gaza and the West Bank, are red, green, and black, like the Palestinian flag, which, for many years after the Arab-Israeli war in 1967, was barred from public display in Israel.) Sam saw his role in the encampment as an “untangler,” someone who could separate what he saw as real instances of antisemitism from criticism of Israel. He said that he and other Jewish students who were at the encampment “believe that our history as Jews, our long-standing history of oppression, informs us even further and compels us to act even more.”

Sam grew up in a Jewish Reform community that he described as “P.E.P.,” which stands for “progressive except Palestine.” “We declared ourselves a sanctuary synagogue and were always taking in refugees on the border, Syrian refugees, et cetera,” Sam explained. “And there was a lot of critique of Netanyahu, but never substantial critique of Israel itself.” In high school, Sam was assigned a project on the Israel-Palestine conflict. “I remember pulling up the initial partitions of land between Israel and Palestine, and formed my own opinions around that,” he said. “I have distinct memories of getting in screaming matches with other family members.”

At Berkeley, Sam joined Hillel International, a Jewish student organization, but, as someone who considered himself an “Israel skeptic,” he didn’t feel very welcome. After October 7th, he began what he described as a “process, in terms of changing of beliefs.” The claim, repeated by President Joe Biden, that Hamas had beheaded forty Israeli babies was a “major turning point” in his thinking, he said. “There’s a long history of institutions and government lying to the masses,” Sam told me. “But it’s another thing to experience it firsthand.”

“There’s this idea that we should put our faith in institutions and establishments that have deemed themselves credible, whether media or universities or politicians,” Sam went on. “And I think a large awakening in this generation has been seeing the complete opposite of that.” Sam pointed out that, just a short walk from where we were sitting, Berkeley ran a campus eatery called the Free Speech Movement Café . Like Zach, he suggested that the university had not actually learned anything from the prior movements that it now championed in its marketing pitch to prospective students.

Sam believed that the war in Gaza had exposed the contradictions, elisions, and hypocrisy of American institutions—not only the government and academia but the press. He contrasted what he and other students saw “every single day on our phones from civilians quite literally holding different mobile devices and videotaping the horrors” in Gaza with what he considered “the utter lack of reporting from the mainstream media.” Thanks to those civilians, he said, “this is the most documented genocide in history,” but people who watch only the news don’t know what’s really happening. “That’s been a large part in the stark difference between the youth’s opinion versus the older generation,” he told me.

During the past two weeks, many members of that older generation have asked what the protesters really want. Pundits have speculated, sometimes in embarrassing ways, about everything from wokeness and the narcissism of youth to downward trends in the sexual activity of young people. More focussed explanations have attributed the protests to, on one end, antisemitism or, on the other, the desire to stop the massacre of women and children.

After spending a significant part of the past decade covering protests, I try to resist linear declarations—not to maintain some veneer of journalistic objectivity but because my experience has suggested that protests tend to have many origins at once, and are neither fully righteous nor totally depraved. Beyond the horror and outrage about what is happening in Gaza, what struck me in conversations with young people were the repeated references to the kind of disillusionment that both Sam and Zach described. This has been noticeable even among those who fiercely disagree with them about Israel—more conservative Jewish students, for example, who feel abandoned by their universities and who do not understand why progressives who have stood up for other persecuted groups don’t stand up for them. It is also noticeable among Palestinian students and their allies, who believe those same institutions have warped their usual standards to silence dissent and provide cover for what they regard as a genocide. Both, in their way, have reached a strange but robust consensus about the hypocrisy of a university that cloaks itself in the history of free speech and the media that covers the protests at their school.

This nonpartisan disillusionment began before October 7th, but it has been deepened by the ways that the government, the media, and other institutions have responded to it. People see one thing on social media and something else on their TVs and in the news; like Sam, many of them conclude that the former is much closer to the truth and that the latter is largely propaganda. A recent CNN poll showed that eighty-one per cent of people below the age of thirty-five disapproved of Biden’s handling of the war. But what percentage of that eighty-one per cent would ever believe a story they saw on CNN?

When the war in Gaza ends, many of the students at Sproul Hall—but not all—will move on with their lives. Some might make their way up the hills, to the north of campus, where they will find charming brown-shingle houses filled with old, wealthy Berkeleyites, including former radicals who can tell them all about the Free Speech Movement, Students for a Democratic Society, and the things they did before they went to law school.

This is just what happens: young people get old. But the country does change. Most of the undergrads now at Berkeley and elsewhere watched the murder of George Floyd on their phones when they were in high school. They saw that the narratives put out by the police and by the media did not match what they were seeing with their own eyes. They had their high-school graduations cancelled by COVID , and started college on Zoom, and contended with the seeming possibility that the pandemic would end society as they knew it. Sitting in their bedrooms, they sunk deeper online, as the rest of us did. A shunt of disbelief opened up.

Some of these young people rediscovered the physical world during the protests that ran throughout the summer of 2020, and many of them witnessed police brutality, tear gas, and other forms of coercion. They also saw universities, politicians, and other leaders send out meek statements of support. This week, many of those eighty-one per cent who, like Sam, have spent six months scrolling through images of dead children, then watching footage of encampments on their phones, witnessed police shutdowns at Columbia, City College, U.C.L.A., and other campuses. They may not watch cable news, but they have likely encountered on social media the rhetoric from many in the press, including CNN’s Dana Bash, who compared the nationwide campus protests to the “nineteen-thirties in Europe.” Why wouldn’t they conclude that justice—and perhaps reality—can be found only on the picket lines, or in an encampment? The war in Gaza has taken that shunt of disbelief and ripped it wide open. They don’t trust us anymore. ♦

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