Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Infamy Speech

Superior Essays
During World War II, Japan attacked many places in the Pacific Ocean. Japan attacked: Malaya, Hong Kong, Guam, The Philippine Islands, Wake Island, Hawaii, and Midway Island in less than three days. When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, an American Naval Base in Hawaii, it was a bigger massacre than expected and many Americans perished. Franklin Delano Roosevelt gave his speech known as “The Infamy Speech” one day after Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japanese forces during World War II. Until this attack, the United States was neutral in World War II. The purpose of The Infamy Speech was to rally the nation into entering the war. Japan tricked the American people by informing through telegram that Japan wanted peace while their naval troops and …show more content…
Franklin Delano Roosevelt was against Japan because they were attacking many places, including the United States of America and one of its territories. Before the attack, The United States was neutral in the war and many of the citizens were very against entering the war because of a myriad of reasons. The war was far away, some people were anti Japanese, some people were anti-Semitic, and many people wanted to fix problems in America before going to Europe. Even with all of these reasons to oppose American involvement in the war, Roosevelt’s speech convinced many Americans of the need to retaliate against Japan and join the war on the side of the allies. Japan attacked a lot of places in the pacific, including a place that the United States technically owned, the Philippine Islands. In his speech, Roosevelt was specifically against the massacre in Hawaii and against Japan because they attacked many places including: Malaya, Hong Kong, Guam, The Philippine Islands, Wake Island and Midway Island in less than three days. President Roosevelt was especially against Japan because Japan tricked America into peace through telegram so America wasn’t expecting the attack to be as brutal as it was. Since America was so neutral for so long, many Americans were against joining the war …show more content…
To cover up America’s mistakes, he mentioned that when Americans at Pearl Harbor saw Japanese ships on the radar, Japan was trying to convince America that they wanted peace. There is no reason that so many Japanese ships would be traveling to America for peace, the people at Pearl Harbor knew there was going to be an attack. The people at Pearl Harbor knew about the attack because they had radars and saw the Japanese ships on the radars. He also left out that America broke the Japanese diplomatic code and that is why America was attacked . Another important omission of speech was European attacks. Even though Italy and Germany were also in the Axis Powers, only Japan was mentioned in the speech. This was partially because Japan had recently attacked America and FDR was explaining what happened. Another reason that only Japan was mentioned in the speech was because so much more of the country was German and Italian than Japanese and it is easier to know if a person is of Japanese descent than German or Italian descent. Roosevelt wrote his own speech for his own benefit over giving the American people enough information to make their own

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    “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.” On December 8th, 1941, Franklin Delano Roosevelt gave his famous “Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation” speech in which he reminisced upon the unforeseen attacks against the United States enacted upon by the Empire of Japan. The day before, Imperial Japan launched a surprise attack against the US naval port of Pearl Harbor leaving 2403 casualties on the American side and at least 8 ships damaged from bombing and torpedoes. With the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States was launched into a 3 year Pacific Theater against Imperial Japan that ultimately would…

    • 1051 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    (Franklin D. Roosevelt Authorizes Japanese Internment) when japan bombed Pearl Harbor it made America go in to World War…

    • 86 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Ww2 Dbq Analysis

    • 798 Words
    • 4 Pages

    When the United States decided to join World War II, it impacts the citizens on the homefront by forcing them to work harder to aid the soldiers abroad, so that the the U.S. would have better chance of winning the war. The whole reason why the United States joined WWII was because they were deliberately attacked by the Empire of Japan. On December 7, 1941, Japan bombed the naval base in Pearl Harbor, with the intended goal to destroy the Pacific Fleet and other military supplies that was located there. On that day, 2500 men died, with another 1000 wounded. Although the attack did heavy damage, the Japanese attackers were not successful in destroying the whole Pacific Fleet.…

    • 798 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Not So Pearly Harbor Rough Draft On December 8, 1941 U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt deals with an unprecedented attack on American forces in Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Because of this surprising turn of events, FDR faces no choice but to lead the U.S. into World War II. He uses rhetorical appeals to make his part in the war official. The choice did not exist for FDR to back down, he makes it clear that with the help of the American public, victory over the Japanese remains an easy accomplishment. He wants to convince Congress to declare war on Japan, to get all Americans to jump completely on the war wagon with him, and the entire country.…

    • 1462 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    World War II Dbq

    • 1314 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The Japanese were also furious as the Americans gave them a battery of economic sanctions and trade embargoes which meant that the Japanese had no access to money, goods and essential supplies like oil, which also meant that Japan had to rein in its expansionism (source F).The Japanese planned this attack because of the most critical result of the embargo was the loss of oil as the Japanese navy would be dry-docked within a year and its factories would shut down in about 18 months ( Source C) so this also meant that the industry level became low due to the embargo and the Japanese air force was still tied down fighting in China. The Japanese were planning to remove America from the Pacific equation for long enough to allow it to secure the resources it needed so desperately and planned to crush American morale sufficiently to prompt Roosevelt to sue for peace (Source B). The Japanese wanted to cripple the Pacific Fleet and give them the space to invade South-east Asia. The Japanese military leaders saw it as their only hope capturing Malaya and other countries they termed “Southern Resource…

    • 1314 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Pearl Harbor attack in 1941, was a considerable wake up call to the United States of America. It showed the holes that were in the national defense and opened the eyes of the not only the citizens but the elected officials as well, to the vulnerability of our nation and humbled the country. It also dramatically increased the United States attitude towards joining World War II from complete opposition to full blown support. On December 8th, 1941, one day after the attack on Pearl Harbor the president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, delivers a Congressional Speech to the Congress of the United States of America, addressing the recent Pearl Harbor attacks by the Japanese Empire. The purpose of his address is to persuade congress to declare war on the nation of Japan because they threatened the security and…

    • 936 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Conceivably never to be reunited again. Roosevelt was unjustified in ordering Executive Order 9066. The Japanese-Americans fought on the american side of the war, against their old country men. They lived in america and wanted to fight with the Americans for their new land, they created families and…

    • 596 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    He does not deserve to be counted as one of the greatest presidents. Human rights are the most important and crucial type of right, they are clearly stated in the Bill of Rights and Constitution; all men are created and born equal. Franklin D. Roosevelt wanted the United States to join World War II, but the people did not want to get involved after the last war. On Sunday, December 7, 1941, the Japanese bombing killed over 2,400 people, sank four battleships, damaged ten warships and completely obliterated 200 planes. Soon after the United States declared war on Japan on December 8, 1941 (Resch).…

    • 986 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    When he explains the beginning of what happened at Pearl Harbor, he deliberately emphasizes the words, “One hour after”--which was when the Japanese ambassador contacted American and said there was no attack from them--to show that the Japanese are violent, and they are liars, so he has a better chance of the audience to hear these specific words and persuade them more. He also deliberately persuades the people’s opinion when he changes his vocal pitch (as he does many times in the speech) from the sentence: “…deliberately sought (a pause) to (crescendo of vocal pitch) deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace (ends with low vocal)” (Roosevelt). He wanted to emphasize the words deceive and false statements and hope to show the imbalance between what the word means and what the Japan didn’t do for the United States. Nearing the end of the speech when he refers to the United States as “our nation,” the “whole nation,” “ourselves”, and “our forces our people,”…

    • 1381 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Franklin D. Roosevelt gives one of his most famous speeches only eleven months before the United States enters into World War Two. Europe has been at war for one year, four months and five days. In this address, FDR has two focuses, his plan to support the nation’s allies in Europe and build up the economy to aid both his international and domestic agenda. FDR uses the rhetorical appeals logos, ethos, and pathos to support his rally of the American people to the cause of the war effort in World War Two.…

    • 1624 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    This caused the Japanese to lose three-fourths of its overseas trade and 88 percent of their imported oil. President Roosevelt placed the embargo on Japan because the Japanese were occupying French Indo-China. This was not the only reason why the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. They also planned the attack to prevent the United States from interfering with Japan’s plans in Southeast…

    • 1332 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Decades after the atomic bombs were dropped on the Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Americans still question whether it was a good idea to drop them. One of the reasons the bombs should have been dropped is the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The United States and Japan were at peace until Japan bombed a military base in Hawaii and afterward, president Franklin D. Roosevelt declared war on Japan. In his well-known infamy speech, FDR stated, “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.” America and its people saw the bombing as an act of war and in return, they declared war.…

    • 798 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Franklin D. Roosevelt’s use of Rhetorical Strategies On March 4, 1933, the United States’ new president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR), recited his First Inaugural Address in which he reflected on unfortunate issues America had endured leading up to his initiation as the Chief of State. He also outlined his plan that would promote socioeconomic improvements and rekindle the traditional American spirit. In their essay, “The Rhetorical Presidency,” Robert E. Denton, Jr. and Dan F. Hahn, who are both political communication analysts and communications professors at notable universities, describe that presidents, including FDR, use five oratorical techniques to communicate meaningful and important messages to the nation’s people.…

    • 1187 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Pearl Harbor Attack Essay

    • 1471 Words
    • 6 Pages

    On December 7, 1941 Japanese aircraft attacked by surprise the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, where the fleet of American Pacific war was concentrated. Warships anchored in the harbor were easy targets for approximately 360 Japanese warplanes involved in the attack. The Americans suffered 3,400 casualties with 2,300 deaths. The attack badly damaged the US naval and air power in the Pacific.…

    • 1471 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    Discussion Question 4: Schweikart and Allen described U.S participation in World War II as reluctant, but once engaged in fighting, they became a powerful force. Zinn agreed, but also felt as though there were selfish, imperial intentions. Though described as warring with Hitler as a last resort, Roosevelt felt as though the United States’ interests and security were threatened, and therefore they entered the war. On December 7, 1941 the infamous bombing of Pearl Harbor occurred, shocking the secure, powerful nation of the United States. These historians described the motives behind this attack as Japan’s own imperialist intentions.…

    • 1660 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays