"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" (). These are the words the 32nd President of the United States begin his Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation on December 8th, 1941. FDR's speech was a call to action, and in his speech, he expressed outstanding distaste towards Japan. The speech was directed to Congress for them to declare war against Japan which would bring the United States into World War II. FDR's speech was an outstanding success in bringing the United States into World War II because FDR explained why going to war needed to be declared and used righteous indignation which would give the United
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One of the reasons why FDR was declaring war against Japan was because the attack on Pearl Harbor was deliberately planned. He stated that the distance from Hawaii to Japan made it obvious that the attack was planned many days or even weeks in advance. He gave details about the time leading up to the attack when the Japanese government misled the United States by giving false statements of hope for continued peace. By presenting these facts in his speech, FDR proved to his audience that the attack was intentional. Many people would believe that someone knew about the attack, and the President clarified that the attack was a surprise by giving information on the events that took place leading up to the attack. Parts of his speech were logic driven to provide evidence for why the United States was declaring …show more content…
The President stated that the attack on Pearl Harbor caused severe damage to the country and was another reason why the President wanted to declare war on Japan. In less than two hours the U.S. Pacific Fleet was devastated, and more than 3500 Americans were killed or wounded. In addition to the attack on Pearl Harbor, American ships were also torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu. FDR presented these terrible facts to remind the nation of the losses they had gone through. When FDR states, "I regret to tell you that very many American lives have been lost" (2), he is evoking emotions of sadness for lost lives and evoking emotions of anger towards Japan. By evoking feelings of anger towards Japan, the President is making the country more motivated to go to war. The President wanted to declare war because of the great damage that the nation suffered and to be certain that this form of deceitfulness would never endanger the United States
One of the reasons why FDR was declaring war against Japan was because the attack on Pearl Harbor was deliberately planned. He stated that the distance from Hawaii to Japan made it obvious that the attack was planned many days or even weeks in advance. He gave details about the time leading up to the attack when the Japanese government misled the United States by giving false statements of hope for continued peace. By presenting these facts in his speech, FDR proved to his audience that the attack was intentional. Many people would believe that someone knew about the attack, and the President clarified that the attack was a surprise by giving information on the events that took place leading up to the attack. Parts of his speech were logic driven to provide evidence for why the United States was declaring …show more content…
The President stated that the attack on Pearl Harbor caused severe damage to the country and was another reason why the President wanted to declare war on Japan. In less than two hours the U.S. Pacific Fleet was devastated, and more than 3500 Americans were killed or wounded. In addition to the attack on Pearl Harbor, American ships were also torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu. FDR presented these terrible facts to remind the nation of the losses they had gone through. When FDR states, "I regret to tell you that very many American lives have been lost" (2), he is evoking emotions of sadness for lost lives and evoking emotions of anger towards Japan. By evoking feelings of anger towards Japan, the President is making the country more motivated to go to war. The President wanted to declare war because of the great damage that the nation suffered and to be certain that this form of deceitfulness would never endanger the United States