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Raymon Garza
Professor Collins
ENGL 1302
23 February 2016
Roosevelt's Rhetorical Response
On December 7th, 1941, the Japanese forces attacked American Naval base, Pearl Harbor,
igniting the United States to join World War II. After the attack, former President, Franklin D.
Roosevelt was forced to address the nation about the tragedy and make solutions on what the
country was going to do next. United States citizens from all over the nation tuned in to hear
what the President's stance was. Ethos, logos, and fallacies from Franklin D. Roosevelt's "Pearl
Harbor Speech" proposes the idea of going to war against Japan to the American people.
The ethics Franklin D. Roosevelt presents in the Pearl Harbor Address enhances the
audience with a sense of hatred towards the Japanese people. Franklin D. Roosevelt was a
credible source to the population because he was the President and a trustworthy figure. In
paragraph three, Franklin D. Roosevelt explains the situation America was in, "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." The United
States population now understands the position they were in before the attacks. America did not
want to enter World War II, they were still trying to find peace with not only Japan, but with the
other countries across the Pacific. Franklin D. Roosevelt later gives the audience details about
the destruction the bombings caused. American ships were torpedoed into the high seas of the
Pacific Ocean and numerous American soldiers lives were lost. Franklin D. Roosevelt's ethical

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appeal persuades the audience to agree with his solution of entering World War II because of his
credibility as the President.
Franklin D. Roosevelt's use of logic throughout the speech was the most important appeal
used to persuade the audience of his ideas. He used this device to not only explain to the United
States population how he knew Japan was the country that executed the Pearl Harbor bombings,
but how the United States was going to retaliate against them as well. At the beginning of the
speech, United State citizens first wanted to know who organized the attacks. After hearing the
knowledge that President Franklin D. Roosevelt had to say, their question was answered. "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" (Roosevelt, Franklin D. par. 5). The
audience now knows that Japan planned the attacks. How were the United States forces going to
retaliate? In the last paragraph of the address, Franklin D. Roosevelt acknowledges that question
as well. "There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory, and our interests are in
grave danger... I ask that the Congress declare that since... Sunday, December 7 th, 1941, a state of
war has existed between the United States and the Japanese empire." It was made very clear to
the audience that their country and lives were in tremendous danger. This gave the United States
no other option but declare war. The facts and knowledge that Franklin D. Roosevelt provided
the United States citizens gives them a better understanding of why the United States needed to
declare war against Japan.
Both logical and emotional fallacies were used by Franklin D. Roosevelt to clarify to the
audience of the betrayal Japan planned against the United States. The logical fallacy used in the
speech was equivocation, " the Japanese government has deliberately sought to deceive the
United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace" (Roosevelt,

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Franklin D. par. 5). The American people had no idea that the United States naval base was not
prepared for the attacks. When United State citizens are given the information that they were lied
to by Japan, the hostility towards Japan grows even more; causing the audience to side with
Franklin D. Roosevelt's idea of entry into World War II. Roosevelt also connected with the
American population with overly sentimental appeals. In the eighteenth paragraph, just before
the conclusion, Roosevelt states, "With confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounding
determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph so help us God." The
emotions the United State citizens felt the day after the tragedy of the Pearl Harbor attacks were
obviously mournful and helpless. Franklin D. Roosevelt used the overly sentimental strategy to
bring the nation together and give the citizens a sense of hope that the nation will once again
reach jubilation. The fallacy techniques used by Roosevelt result in the United States citizens
acceptance of entry into World War II.
Japan's bombing of American naval base Pearl Harbor will always be remembered as one
of the most tragic events in America's history. The day after the attacks, Franklin D. Roosevelt
had the impossible task of asking congress to declare war; while at the same time try and assure
the United State citizens that the entry into World War II was the only way America would find
peace again. Not only was Roosevelt able to accomplish this assignment, but he had the citizens
rally with his idea of retaliation against Japan. Franklin D. Roosevelt's "Pearl Harbor Address"
was successful in persuading the U.S citizens of entering World War II because of his choice of
fallacies and his logical and ethical appeals.

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Works Cited
Roosevelt, Franklin D. "American Rhetoric: Franklin Delano Roosevelt - Pearl Harbor Address
to the Nation (12-08-41)." American Rhetoric. American Rhetoric, n.d. Web. 10 Feb.
2016.