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Rhetorical Analysis of President Roosevelt's Pearl Harbor Speech

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“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 …show more content…

The President knew that at a time like this the people of the United States felt that their lives were in great danger. He let the people know that all measures would be taken for the country’s defense. He knew that many people would be afraid to enter the war so he gave the country determination to win the war.

Throughout the speech FDR presented facts and evidence to prove that the attack was a surprise and to demonstrate that he was familiar with the events that took place. One of the reasons why FDR was declaring war against Japan was because the attack on Pearl Harbor was deliberately planned. He stated that the distance from Hawaii to Japan made it obvious that the attack was planned many days or even weeks in advance. He gave details about the time leading up to the attack when the Japanese government misled the United States by giving false statements of hope for continued peace. By presenting these facts in his speech, FDR proved to his audience that the attack was intentional. Many people would believe that someone knew about the attack, and the President clarified that the attack was a surprise by giving information on the events that took place leading up to the attack. Parts of his speech were logic driven to provide evidence for why the United States was declaring war.

In another part of his speech he used short

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