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David Zimmerman

Engl 211

10 March 2020

Rallying the Nation to War with Japan

Through the use of several rhetorical strategies that include Kairos, anaphora, ethos,

claiming authority and large amounts of pathos, President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave one of the

most powerful and memorable speeches in the Twentieth century. The day after the sudden and

unprovoked attack by the Japanese Empire saw Franklin D. Roosevelt give a moving speech to a

joint session of Congress that was broadcast over the radio to the American public. On

December 8th, 1941 President Roosevelt delivered a relatively short speech that would be a

turning point in American and World history. He was able to drive home his message to the

Members of Congress and the American people by using the different rhetorical methods.

He was motivated by the attack which cost massive loss of lives and cause incredible

damage to the military assets in the Pacific. He used the emotions of the day following the

attack to ask Congress for a Declaration of War. By addressing Congress in a publicly broadcast

speech in such a short time after the attack he ensured that the raw emotions of the day he was

able to create Kairos.

He starts his speech with the use of ethos to show a lack of ethics by the Japanese

government when he states “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.”[ CITATION Roo15 \l 1033 ] He continues to show

the under-handed manner that the Japanese government had dealt with the United States. To

paraphrase he said that they delivered a message an hour after the attack had begun saying the
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negotiations were useless but did not include any mention of war or armed attack. To ensure that

Congress and the American people understood the under-handed nature he went on to explain

that due to the distance between Hawaii and Japan that the planning had begun days or weeks

earlier. His word choice left no doubt that the Japanese government had been acting in an

unethical manner when he states “…the Japanese government has deliberately sought to deceive

the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.”[ CITATION

Roo15 \l 1033 ]

He emphasizes the magnitude of the situation by using anaphora as he lists all of the

attacks by the Japanese in hours since Pearl Harbor “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. “[ CITATION Roo15 \l 1033 ]

The use of pathos extends throughout the speech. One of the more powerful statements

he uses is “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.”[ CITATION Roo15 \l 1033 ]

President Roosevelt continued to use the emotions of the day to drive home his message and to

ensure that Congress agreed to the Declaration of War.

Extending his use of pathos further, he says “Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the

fact that our people, our territory, and our interests are in grave danger.”[ CITATION Roo15 \l 1033 ]

And then follows it with a statement that works to build national pride when he talks of

confidence in the military and the “…unbounding determination of our people…”[ CITATION

Roo15 \l 1033 ] and ends with “so help us God”[ CITATION Roo15 \l 1033 ]

Roosevelt goes on to establish his authority when he states, “As Commander in Chief of

the Army and Navy.”[ CITATION Roo15 \l 1033 ] He then goes on to plead his case further when
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he states “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.”[ CITATION

Roo15 \l 1033 ] The President goes on to speak of interpret the will of Congress and the people.

He ends his speech Congress in a plain yet authoritative manner for the declaration of war then

he say “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.

The speech which only took just short of 8 minutes to deliver forever alter the course of

American history and ultimately human history. With the use of very well chosen words and by

people to feel the raw emotions of the events that had come to pass he was able to fuel the

American people in to doing whatever was necessary to win the war. Without this speech and its

usage of so many rhetorical tools, the outcome of the war may have been different. The pure

power of the speech can be found in the fact that Congress formally created and voted on the

declaration within forty minutes of the speech being delivered. The passion that it drew from the

Congress can be see in the fact that the Senate voted unanimously to approve and there was only

one dissenting vote in the House and the was from a pacifist. The resolve that the speech gave

the American public and the fighting men of the military can be found in the final victory of the

war. I believe without this speech in the way it was crafted and delivered that the war would

have potentially gone on much longer and possibly the atomic bomb would have taken many

more years to complete.

Works Cited
Roosevelt, Franklin D. "americanrhetoric.com/speeches/fdrpearlharbor.htm." 2015.
AmericanRhetoric.com. website. 8 March 2020.
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