AustinCountry.com | A Day of Infamy

The Day of Infamy:
FDR's Declaration of War

Austin Helms
Mississippi College
2003

Considered one of the greatest presidents in American history, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was a powerful speaker in and after his time. He was a man who spoke “beautifully, simply, and persuasively” (Richter, 1982). Being the only president that served for four consecutive terms, Roosevelt spoke often. He was a voice to a needy people during the Great Depression and the Second World War.

Although his opponents were many, none could deny that he had a strong ability to move an audience and get his ideas across. “He was a magnetic personality,” commented Gerald Ford, former U.S. president, “He intrigued me as a politician. I was impressed by him as a persuader” (Richter, 1982).

In Roosevelt’s Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation, he voiced the thoughts of a stunned people. This passionate, yet deliberate, speech told the enemies of America, basically, to watch out. This study will provide an analysis of that speech in an attempt to successfully gauge the effectiveness of FDR as a speaker and as the president of a world superpower.

Significance of the Study

An analysis of this speech will hopefully help the general public gain a better knowledge of the events leading up to World War II. Also, a more comprehensive understanding of Franklin Roosevelt as a person can be gained from this study.

Moreover, communication scholars may use this analysis to add to other rhetorical criticisms of FDR’s speeches. The study may also help them better understand the speaking style and the overall effectiveness of Roosevelt’s addresses.

Finally, communications departments of universities and colleges can use this study as a teaching aid, either in rhetorical criticism or speech analyses in general. Also, historical societies can use this report to better understand FDR as a man and as a president.

Description of the Artifact

In the pursuit of a better understanding of the occasion and implications of this speech, it is important to gain some basic background knowledge. For that reason, this study will take a look back. First, a history FDR’s life up to the date of this speech is provided. Next, the audience and setting are explained further. Then, the speech itself and the way it was delivered are examined. Finally, the response of the audience, both then and in following days will be evaluated.

The man. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born as the only child of James and Sarah Delano Roosevelt on January 10, 1882. He grew up relatively sheltered from the world problems at his family home at Hyde Park in New York. In 1900, he entered Harvard, spending most of his time on social activities and leaving with an undistinguished academic record (Roosevelt, 2003). While at school, he gained great respect for his fifth cousin, Theodore Roosevelt, and fell in love with Teddy’s “favorite niece,” and Franklin’s distant relative Eleanor Roosevelt, whom he married in 1905 (Richter, 1982). He even had a brief dabble in law, attending the Columbia University Law School and passing the New York bar exam (Roosevelt, 2003).

Soon, he got a chance to start a political career when, in 1910, Democrats encouraged him to pursue a seat in the New York Senate. After a strenuous campaign, he became the first Democrat in 38 years to be elected as senator of his district (Richter, 1982). In 1913, President Woodrow Wilson appointed him to the position of Assistant Secretary to the U.S. Navy, a position once held by Teddy Roosevelt, for the help Roosevelt provided during Wilson’s presidential campaign. This position allowed him to view firsthand the fighting in Europe when the First World War broke out. Later, in 1920, he had an unsuccessful run for the Vice President of the United States with running mate Governor George Cox. However, he gained a lot of friends and contacts on the campaign trail (Richter, 1982).

The summer of 1921 was a disastrous one for FDR. While swimming in the icy waters off the coast of main, Roosevelt contracted polio and lost the use of both his legs. He overcame his handicap, however, with extensive therapy and new braces for his inept legs. There were many who were even unaware that FDR was paralyzed from the waist down (Richter, 1982).

With his political career kept alive largely, in part, by his wife Eleanor, Roosevelt made a triumphal return in 1924 when he nominated Alfred E. Smith, the governor of New York, for the Democratic ticket for President. He did the same for Smith again in the 1928 elections. At the urging of Smith, Roosevelt successfully ran for the governor of New York in 1928.

FDR then set his sights higher. In the 1932 elections, Roosevelt ran against the Republican incumbent, Herbert Hoover. With the Great Depression in full swing, the people wanted action. Roosevelt gained a landslide victory. There were more than 13 million people unemployed when FDR took his oaths of office (Friedal, 2000). Through his New Deal, he gave jobs to two-thirds of American people and began the recovery out of the Depression (Richter, 1982).

During his second term, war broke out in Europe. France fell in 1940 and ears were turned to the presidential candidates on their position on the war. Most Americans desired to be isolationists and take a stance of noninvolvement. FDR constantly disclosed his experience with war and his hatred of it. After his reelection to his unprecedented third term, however, he began moving the American people toward eventual war. Not wanting to be caught unaware, Roosevelt launched the country’s first peacetime draft. He began supplying England with weapons and warships in Roosevelt’s Lend-Lease Act, what he called making America the “great arsenal of democracy.” On one occasion, he even told British Prime Minister Winston Churchill that he was just waiting for an event to justify his involvement (Richter, 1982).

That event came in the sudden attack of Pearl Harbor by Japanese air and naval forces. The next morning, in a joint session Congress, Roosevelt delivered the speech that this study will analyze.

The audience and the setting. France had fallen to the Germans just as most of Europe had. England was the last country that stood between the U.S. and Adolf Hitler. The country had just come out of the Great Depression and was enjoying a time of peace. In fact, most Americans considered the fighting that “war over there” (Richter, 1982). Eyes were on England however. Polls showed that 70 percent of the country did not want to be involved in the war, but they also showed that about 70 percent wanted England to succeed (Richter, 1982).

Diplomatic negotiations with Japan had been taking place during the earlier parts of the year. Roosevelt had been restricting trade of supplies essential to making war. The ambassadors from Japan had been trying to get those supplies back, particularly oil. Japan had begun preparing the attack when it became clear that the outcome of these negotiations would not be a favorable one (Roosevelt, 2003). The government knew that an attack was looming toward the end of November. They had succeeded in breaking the Japanese code, but they had not been able to decipher the location. Pearl Harbor was not the site they would have picked; it was a complete shock.

The speech took place in the House of Representatives at 12:30 p.m. in front of men who just the night before had been in a near state of panic (Gunther, 1950). The men and women gathered here were accustomed to a strong president. He had pulled them out of the Great Depression, and although he had enemies, he was still the President. “To Americans in the Roosevelt years, it seemed that no one else could be president. He dominated the country and its daily life like none they had ever seen before” (Richter, 1982).

It was a frightening time. People were anxious, and needed to hear from someone who knew what was going on. It was in this air of preemptive panic that FDR spoke.

The speech and the delivery. Roosevelt was a man who had learned how to take attacks from his political opponents and turn them to his advantage. Often, he did this with humor or just his general personality and charm. “He always talked in idealistic terms, but he was an opportunist,” observed Richard Nixon, former U.S. president, “He was pragmatic” (Richter, 1982).

He had always been considered a voice of hope. President Jimmy Carter once noted, “It was that optimism and exuberance and his ability to calm fears that make him so effective.” When he spoke, everyone listened, and on this day, people nationwide had their ears on a radio. With that kind of expectation, it would be hard for a man not to be effective.

Roosevelt wrote this speech in a relatively short amount of time, and for the most part, he wrote it without aid. Normally, a speech took anywhere between three and ten days to prepare and that with help. His normal speechwriters did not even assist in the drafting of this address.

He approached the podium in solemnity. He spoke deliberately, yet he his words were impassioned. He was interrupted by applause three times during the speech, one such time lasting a full 28 seconds. He departed from the original wording only a few times, and then only to further clarify some of the points.

FDR began the speech with the now-famous line, “Yesterday, December 7th, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States were suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.” Right off, he appealed to the Americans nationalism. He then went on to talk about the standing with Japan before the attack. Roosevelt explained how Japan had betrayed the U.S. by continuing diplomatic relations with us, even “one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in the American island of Oahu.” With these emotions swimming around in the audience’s ears, Roosevelt then hit home. “I regret to tell you that very many American lives have been lost.”

Next, he listed off other attacks be Japan that very same night. He read them off in the style of journalists of the day. It was very dramatic. Now, he said what he intended to do and what he had already done. Then he gave hope, something he was very famous for. “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.” He then made an appeal to God and finally to Congress to formally declare war on the Japanese empire. A standing ovation followed and applause continued long after the President had stepped down from the lectern.

The response. Congress then proceeded to vote on the declaration of war on the Empire of Japan. All but one voted in favor of the President’s request. Three days later, Germany and Italy declared war on the U.S. America was then involved in the Second World War, and they fought for the freedom of the people of Europe and the spread of democracy.

This speech was obviously a very important one. In fact, when FDR could not find his final draft after he had already delivered the speech, he was distraught. He wrote his son, stressing the need to find it, “It probably ought to be in the Government permanently because they have everything else and this particular one is just about the equal in importance to the First Inaugural Address” (FDR, 2001). It has endured today as one of the greatest speeches in American History because of its immediacy and lasting impact on Americans.

Methodology

In this study, the Pearl Harbor Address was analyzed using Neo-Aristitilian Criticism. This method attempts to reconstruct the context of the historical setting for the artifact, which this analysis has already done. The method then dictates to look at the artifact itself, in this case, FDR’s speech, in the following five ways: (1) invention, what the speaker has under his control and what he does not, (2) the speaker’s organization, (3) his style, or type of language used, (4) memory, or the speaker’s mastery of the subject matter, and finally, (5) delivery. This also has been covered in the previous sections. Finally, Neo-Aristitilian Criticism requires a look into the response of and/or impact on the audience, which has also been looked at. The following sections will carry what has already been disclosed and discuss the implications of it.

Results

Does this speech actually show Franklin D. Roosevelt as an effective speaker? According to this study, the answer is an overwhelming “yes.” This was a man who ran on an antiwar platform and then turned that around with little or no repercussions. He had been thinking ahead. Even in 1940, he was “speaking peace, but thinking war” (Richter, 1982). All the speeches leading up to this one were seemingly designed to turn American attitudes away from that of isolationism to that of a healthy worldview.

Of course, even if FDR were not an effective speaker, Congress probably would have still declared war. However, it is doubtful that the vote would have been one shy of unanimous as it were in his case. Also, the full support of the American people might not have been there. The Pearl Harbor Address gives Americans now a chance to look back on the war effort with a sort of pride. It pulls together all of thoughts and ideals of the time into a single seven minute address.

FDR was effective. Not only in this speech, but nearly every other one he made as President of the United States of America.

Discussion

This study is obviously very limited in its evaluation of FDR as an effective speaker. To continue this research, a more extensive study of the speeches of Roosevelt must be done. A report, similar to this one, should be conducted on every major speech and fireside chat that FDR gave, not only as president, but also before his presidency. This task is far from impossible. FDR is a current enough figure that nearly every artifact of his speaking career has an existing hardcopy, most have audio. The time involved, however, would be tremendous.

Another way to look at FDR would be to look at other influential men and women and evaluate their speeches. Then a comparison could be made between all of them. This would show one speaker’s effectiveness against another’s in an attempt to rank their lasting impact. Also, there are many alive today who remember FDR and the emotions he stirred. An comprehensive interview of those people would help to better understand Roosevelt’s audiences and therefore better understand his thought processes.

More evaluations will certainly be performed. As long as there are classes and courses on public speaking, speeches will be analyzed. Perhaps an attempt to gather all of those findings together is all that is lacking to finally attain a complete knowledge of Franklin Roosevelt and his impression on, not just the United States of America, but the entire world.

References

FDR’s “day of infamy” speech: A call to arms. (2001, Winter). Prologue, 33(4). Retrieved October 11, 2003 from http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/winter_2001_crafting_day_of_infamy_speech.html

Friedal, F. (2000). Biography of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Presidents of the United States of America. Retrieved October 11, 2003, from http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/fr32.html

Gunther, J. (1950). Roosevelt in retrospect. New York: Harper & Row.

Richter, R. & Frye, R. (Producers). (1982). FDR [Motion Picture]. United States: ABC News.

Roosevelt, Franklin D. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved October 12, 2003, from Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service. http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?eu=117433

Bibliography

Davis, K. S. (1972). FDR: The beckoning of destiny, 1882-1928. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons.

Honan, W. H. (1991). Visions of infamy. New York: St. Martin’s Press.

Kimball, W. F. (1991). The juggler: Franklin Roosevelt as wartime statesman. New Jersey: Princeton University Press.

Moore, D. (Producer) & Conley, J. (Associate Producer). (1988). The speeches of Franklin D. Roosevelt [Motion Picture]. United States: MPI Home Video.

Waller, G. M. (1950). Pearl Harbor: Roosevelt and the coming of the war. Boston: D. C. Heath.

Ward, G. C. (1985). Before the trumpet. New York: Harper & Row.