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Pearl Harbor and its Rhetorical Choices and Genre Conventions

Galiz Perez-Lago

Florida State University

ENC 2135 Dr. Frances Tran

March 26, 2024

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Introduction

On December 7th, 1941, Japanese fighter jets attacked Pearl Harbor, one of the United

States’ major naval bases. This attack ended up resulting in the death of almost 2500 Americans

and wounded over 1000 Americans. After this occurrence there was a sense of a national

emergency. Nobody knew what to do, or how to react. The United States of America was under

the impression that there was peace between Japan and the US. After the attack, Franklin Delano

Roosevelt gave a speech that will forever be remembered as one of the most iconic speeches in

American history. In this speech, he asked Congress to declare war on Japan. It was a call to

action to the United States, forcing them to take part in this war despite its previous isolationist

role. Many political cartoons also urged the United States to respond in a similar manner and

declare war, such as a political cartoon created by Charles Alston a popular political cartoonist at

the time who urged for the war.

Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, there were different actions and reactions to what

the US should have done in response. These actions display the different rhetorical situation and

attitudes taken. My goal is to analyze the context and situation of the time and find different

artifacts and compare and contrast their stance on America’s involvement in the war. I want to

analyze the different effects and responses that audiences will give to FDR’s speech, and another

artifact like a political cartoon. Before writing his speech and delivering it to the Americans he

had to make sure that he understood his audience’s thoughts sentiments and emotions.

Understanding his exigence helps listeners truly grasp and feel the effect of his speech even

decades after horrific events of Pearl Harbor

Artifact 1
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The first artifact that I am discussing is FDR’s speech after the attack on Pearl Harbor. It

was presented in December of 1941 as a speech that is known as the “Day of Infamy” speech and

its main message was to urge Americans and Congress to declare war against the Japanese after

the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Its purpose was to address the events of Pearl Harbor and the state of the United States of

America. FDR was able to effectively sway the American citizens by describing the tragic events

of Pearl Harbor and appealing to the emotions of Americans after suffering such great loss.

Roosevelt uses pathos when saying that the day would “live in infamy”, and how he “regrets to

inform” that many American lives have been lost (Roosevelt, 1941). He appeals to the

Americans’ emotions since they understand the loss that the United States suffered. Using the

word infamy helps to emphasize that these lives were precious, and this loss is not something

that will simply become forgotten. Roosevelt using regret to inform demonstrates how deeply he

is impacted by the loss that the United States has suffered.

Roosevelt also appeals to the logical aspects of American citizens; he does this by

explaining how Japan had been planning this attack for many weeks in advance (Roosevelt,

1941). FDR having explained the attack being premeditated and thought out, makes Americans

realize that Japan had horrible intentions. Using this argument, it appeals to Americans logical

reasoning, making them want the United States to declare war against Japan and support him in

his call urging congress to go to war.

The medium that FDR chose to deliver his message was through a speech. This was done

to address the United States since he was the president at the time. It is necessary to address such

a grave and horrific event in person, so that the American citizens hear their president and feel

empowered and moved. The mode that FDR chose to deliver his speech was face-to-face. Doing
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this allows his audience to see his reactions and gestures which furthers his message. This puts

fear in Americans and inspires them to urge Congress to go to war. His speech is written in a

formal tone and in first person. Although it is a formal tone, the vocabulary level is fairly easy to

understand. His speech was delivered in this manner to ensure everybody understood what he

meant and the gravity and severity of the situation that the United States was in.

There are many elements of genre that Roosevelt uses throughout his speech. Patterns

become prevalent, such as repetition. Throughout his speech, he emphasized the attacks the

Japanese forces made by repeating the phrase “last night Japanese forces attacked” (Roosevelt,

1941). He kept repeating this phrase a total of four times before announcing Japan's attack on the

United States. Having this build up to the announcement of the attack allows for his speech to be

more powerful and more persuasive. It allows the listener to be moved by his words and gain a

real impact from his speech. The repetition makes his audience view Japan as an enemy that

must be attacked in order to gain justice. He also uses repetition to create a sense of unity when

referencing the amount of peril and danger that the United States is in. He says, “there is no

blinking at the fact that our people, our territory, and our interests, are in grave danger”

(Roosevelt, 1941). He also used unifying diction in this repetition. Continually emphasizing

“our” makes the audience feel like one united force that must stick together.

Throughout his speech, he mentions events leading up to the attack and observations

made in the previous weeks (Roosevelt, 1941). FDR describes how the Japanese and Americans,

had been on good terms, he is referencing personal experience as him being the president. This

mention of the United States’ relations demonstrates that he is credible as the president and is

well informed. It appeals to the audiences’ credibility expanding his trust with the audience.
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The use of these rhetorical choices and genre conventions allowed for Franklin Delano

Roosevelt to effectively deliver his message to his audience, American Citizens, urging them to

get involved in war and support their country and demand Congress to declare war on the

Japanese because of the horrific attack. Through a face-to-face medium and appealing to his

audiences’ emotions, logic, and credibility, he was able to successfully get his message across.

Artifact 2

Not only did the President of the United States give a speech to state his stance on the

situation, but there were also many political cartoons that wanted to deliver the same message to

the people. The next artifact that I am choosing to discuss is a political cartoon from 1943 called

“Remember Pearl Harbor- work- fight- sacrifice" (Alston, 1943). This political cartoon shows

lady liberty stabbed in the back with the words Pearl Harbor written on her dress. She was

stabbed in the back by a Japanese soldier or general to display the surprise ambush that was Pearl

Harbor. In this image you see an arm wearing an American flag with the words “130,000 United

Americans” (Alston, 1943). This arm is removing the Japanese soldier's hand from lady justice.

This cartoon was created in order to convey the message that Americans need to work together to

stop the Japanese and continue working together in war. Although this cartoon was created two

years after the attack, it was done to further encourage Americans to stay involved in war efforts

and it was reminding them of the horror of Pearl Harbor using that reminder to encourage

participation.

The illustrator of this image was Charles Alston. Alston was a popular political cartoonist

throughout World War 2 and he was communicating to the American citizens and encouraging

participation in war efforts. Alston encourages the audience to become involved in the war by

using pathos, the appeal to the emotions of the audience by reminding them of the tragic loss of
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the United States of America suffered the day of Pearl Harbor. He does this by painting the event

of Pearl Harbor as an innocent woman stabbed in the back (Alston, 1943). By illustrating lady

liberty as being attacked, it demonstrates that this attack from Japan is actively threatening our

liberty.

It can also be interpreted that the author was using logos to appeal to the logical

reasoning of his audience as well. He was able to display how many Americans were helping out

after Pearl Harbor occurred by including the statistic of “130,000” Americans helping stop Japan

from further attacking (Alston, 1943). Including this statistic does a successful job at calling

upon more people to join the movement and become involved in the war.

This artifact was delivered as an illustration. This artifact being an illustration allows for

there to be more emotion behind it. A graphic picture with more violent scenes makes Americans

feel sympathy and encouraged in the war. The inclusion of the Japanese soldier also helps to

display how vicious Japan was in their attack. The inclusion of the American flag also acts as a

uniting force for the audience to remind them that this is America, and it must be defended. Had

this been done through a different medium the same effect would not have been accomplished.

This is because seeing the brutality of someone stabbed in the back create a sense of pity and

defense that many American citizens would be willing to contribute to.

Comparing, Contrasting, and Concluding

The political cartoon and FDR’s speech were given in response to Pearl Harbor. They

both had the same purpose of urging Americans to fend for their country and become involved in

war efforts and bringing about the United States participating in World War 2. However, even

though the political cartoonist is experienced by having published many well-recognized

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cartoons, a speech from the president offers more credibility and emphasizes the gravity of the

matter at hand. Meanwhile, a political cartoon makes you envision the pain that was suffered.

They both do a great job at underlining the importance of American participation in the war.

They accomplished their tasks in two very different ways. FDR focused on the communication

and language, while Alston focused on the visual impact. The political cartoon allows for more

people to understand the brutality of the situation. Although it does not depict the exact events of

December 7th, it shows the tragic nature of the atrocity that occurred. To conclude, there are

many different ways to address an audience regarding one specific situation. The use of Franklin

Delano Roosevelt speech and the political cartoon demonstrate that even in just responding to

one event and urging an audience to act a certain way, it can be done in two completely different

modes. This just demonstrates how the response to a rhetorical situation can vary. Franklin

Delano Roosevelt and Alston successfully encouraged Americans to defend their country and

participate in war efforts.

References

Alston, Charles H., "Remember Pearl Harbor - Work - Fight - Sacrifice!!"/"We'll Remember

And By God, You Won't Forget!!" 1943. Courtesy of National Archives

Speech by Franklin D. Roosevelt, New York (Transcript). (1941). Library of Congress,

Washington, D.C. 20540 USA.

https://www.loc.gov/resource/afc1986022.afc1986022_ms2201/?st=text&r=-0.001

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