Alex Walsh Dr.

Freymiller CAS137H Section 010 October 8, 2013 A Rhetorical Analysis of Roosevelts Pearl Harbor Address The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor had arguably one of the most profound impacts on American history in the last century. On the day following the attack, however, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivered an address that essentially made the decision for the United States to engage in World War II. With the entire nation as his audience, the President eloquently yet bluntly relayed the gruesome information to awaiting ears. There is no questioning the effectiveness of this address though, as both the Senate and House of Representatives passed a declaration of war nearly unanimously thirty three minutes later (Five Things You Should Know About FDRs Pearl Harbor Speech).Within this speech, President Roosevelt makes clear appeals to persuade listeners to support going to war through the use of ethos, logos, and pathos. He is keen to elicit his own high morals, credentials, and character, along with using factual arguments and human sentiment, to influence the country enough to achieve his objective. An appeal to his ethics and credibility is the first tactic used by President Roosevelt in his address after Pearl Harbor. What enables this appeal to precede the others is the fact that its merit is present before the speech even begins. Simply the fact that the speaker is widely known to be the most important person in the United States of America should speak to the idea of ethos. Rightly so, the President does not explicitly state this. However, he does express certain qualities that indicate his responsibility with statements such as, As Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, and I believe that I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people

(Roosevelt). FDR drew upon his titles to reinforce that he would not falter in times of struggle, and that the responsibility he bore should speak to his credibility. A little known fact about this address is that the President wrote it completely by himself. FDRs speechwriters were out of town and could not be reached, so he had to prepare the most important speech of his presidency on his own (Gillon). Usually, presidents contribute only the main ideas to their speeches and let their professional speechwriters work out the rest of the intricacies. In this case, Roosevelt used the newspaper writing and editing skills he attained from writing for The Harvard Crimson during college to single-handedly devise and dictate his statement to his secretary, Grace Tully (Gillon). In less than twenty four hours, the president was able to formulate a speech that would be quoted by history books indefinitely. With this in mind, a memorable line appears in FDRs speech that stated, But always will our whole nation remember the character of the onslaught against us. Roosevelt's use of the future tense - "always will" - reflected a sense of moral certainty that reinforced his role as commander in chief (Five Things You Should Know About FDRs Pearl Harbor Speech). In conjunction with the unforgettable statement made by the second line of the address, this excerpt marked the fact that the attack would always exist as a significant point in history. The President recognized this and knew that it was imperative to embrace the positives of the matter, further demonstrating his quality of strong morals and leadership. As history has shown, people need to have something or someone to lean on in times of distress. Being one of the most powerful men in the world, Franklin D. Roosevelt was this someone for American citizens after Pearl Harbor and his use of ethos in his address substantiates this. Aside from his character and credibility, FDR appeals with logical arguments that support his viewpoint. Using facts to sway the country in favor of his view was no secret, either.

The President explicitly stated in the address, The facts of yesterday and today speak for themselves. With the exception of his dramatic reference to "infamy" and one mention of "treachery," FDR never offered a personal opinion on the Japanese attacks in his address. Instead, he solemnly detailed the facts of the event, relying on listeners to draw their own conclusions (Five Things You Should Know About FDRs Pearl Harbor Speech). This is evident when the President retold the event of how the Japanese ambassador to America made no mention of the attack in a letter delivered an hour after the barrage began. According to Roosevelts speech, the letter stated that it seemed useless to continue the diplomatic negotiations. Moreover, Japan had frequently voiced hope for peace between themselves and the United States in the weeks leading up to the onslaught. The fact that the Japanese went out of their way to deceive Americans was important in that it displayed the true negative intentions of Japan towards America. FDR went on to note that the proximity of Japan and Hawaii was quite favorable for an assault, and that the attack was clearly planned and well-coordinated. U.S. citizens were easily able to draw their own conclusions from these occurrences displayed visibly before them through the Presidents presentation. During the actual delivery, a technique known as parallel wording was used by FDR to emphasize the scale of the offensive launched by Japan. This was yet another logical but effective means used to convey the sensitive matter at hand. He used four repetitions of the phrase last night, followed by the various American or ally locations that had been attacked by Japanese forces. The logical arguments and factual, real-time evidence declared by President Roosevelt incited a degree of anger in the American public, and ultimately instilled the sense of nationalism that passed the declaration of Americas involvement in WWII.

To build upon the previous notions of ethos and logos, President Roosevelt makes a strong appeal to his audiences thoughts and emotions through the use of pathos. As stated before, U.S. citizens came together with a sense of national pride following the devastation, as they have done countless times throughout history. In his speech, the President was able to effectively access the sentiments of his viewers and listeners by presenting the disheartening realities that came with the tragedy at hand. The most profound of these statements is perhaps, I regret to tell you that very many American lives have been lost. Anyone, let alone a U.S. citizen, would certainly agree that hearing about a massive loss of their countrymen is one of the most awful feelings imaginable. In fact, 2,403 Americans died in the attack (FDRs Day of Infamy Speech: Crafting a Call to Arms). Another emotionally charged quote from the Presidents address has more of a positive connotation. With confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounding determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph -- so help us God. In this quote, it is important to note that the pronouns our, we, and us are utilized. Through the use of these words, the nation was able to see their president in a light that was more like their own. When the audience listened to these words, they were able to get the feeling that Roosevelt was talking with them, instead of at them. In addition to the use of personal pronouns, FDR uses the word God. By use of this all-encompassing term for a higher religious being, God was able to serve as a means of uniting a majority of the audience through their belief in a higher power. The entire phrase so help us God (Roosevelt) brought the speech to a personal level, furthering his approach of bringing a feeling of unity to the country amidst difficult times. By appealing to his audiences sentiments, President Roosevelt assured the nation that they could view him not just as a staunch policy maker and representative, but as a human being and American citizen.

The address made by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt on December 8, 1941 was clearly a turning point in American history. Not only did it signal the beginning of our involvement in World War II, it proved once again that the nation as a whole would always stand tall in the face of adversity. By using ethos, logos, and pathos, the President was able to successfully convince the nation to feel the same way he did to fight the good war and work towards the goal of achieving victory.

Works Cited FDRs Day of Infamy Speech: Crafting a Call to Arms. Prologue Magazine. The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, 2001. Web. 7 Oct. 2013. Five Things You Should Know About FDRs Pearl Harbor Speech PR Newswire Association LLC. Dec. 4. Web. 7 Oct. 2013. Gillon, Steven M. Pearl Harbor: FDR Leads the Nation into War. New York: Basic Books, 2011. Print. Roosevelt, Franklin D. "Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation." Speech. Washington D.C. 8 Dec. 1941. American Rhetoric. Web. 7 Oct. 2013.