A Declaration of War in Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s “Pearl Harbor Address” Essay Example

Within the chambers of Congress, the United States of America has witnessed the most landmark decisions and developments in its history along with the spectacle of speeches, addresses, and political debate. One speech which echoes within the chambers of Congress is President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s “Pearl Harbor Address,” delivered on December 8th, 1941. Delivered the day after the surprise attack by the Japanese Empire, Roosevelt presents the facts of the attack and other information to create a sense of shock, betrayal, and anger within the American people. Roosevelt’s primary audience is Congress and, by extension, the American people as the speech was broadcasted on every major news network. Within the speech, Roosevelt continues building the tone and makes continuous calls for unity before ultimately asking Congress to declare war on Japan. Roosevelt applies rhetorical devices such as anaphora, personification, and allusion, along with a moral and justified diction grounded in betrayal, and a firm yet angry tone to convey the significance of the attack and the invasion of other territories in the Pacific. By combining all of these strategies, Roosevelt creates a sense of unity, determination, and bitter anger within the American people and Congress when he eventually asks Congress for a declaration of war.

On the day the speech was delivered, the United States was in a state of shock. Just the day before, the Japanese launched a surprise aerial and naval attack on the American naval base of Pearl Harbor. The surprise attack resulted in the deaths of 2,400 people that were both military and civilian (History). Reports broadcast over the news and radios in the evening and the next morning detailed Japanese Mitsubishi Zero fighter aircraft strafing civilians who were fleeing on the beaches and the sinking of US warships via torpedoes. The total casualty report lists 3,400 people, both military and civilian, were killed or injured in the attack (History). Along with the horrifying body count, 20 American naval vessels and 300 aircrafts were destroyed (History). With the staggering amount of losses, both of life and firepower, everything within the nation, even the whole world, seemed to freeze. With the attention of all nations focused on the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt visited Congress on a cold morning on December 8th, 1941 and delivered the “Pearl Harbor Address.” The speech would completely alter history, as the United States would enter the Second World War on the exact same day with only one dissenting vote in all of Congress. 

The shock and bitter anger of the United States is perfectly reflected in the tone of the “Pearl Harbor Address,” created by a strong moral diction grounded in betrayal. More specifically, Roosevelt’s word choice throughout the speech such as “deceive,” “treachery,” and “false” (Roosevelt). These word choices, combined with Roosevelt speaking on Japan actively lying to the United States, creates a tone of betrayal. With the tone of betrayal at the forefront of the speech, Roosevelt does not hesitate to explain that America was deceived: “During the intervening time, the Japanese government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements” (Roosevelt). Later on in the speech, Roosevelt continues to detail how Japan had surprised the United States by using phrases such as “surprise offensive” and “onslaught against us” while growing increasingly louder and more angry (Roosevelt). As Roosevelt’s voice rose in power, he affirmed Congress that “this form of treachery shall never again endanger us” (Roosevelt). The sense of betrayal and building anger, along with the use of words like “us,” leads to a sense of unity as Roosevelt states that all of America is in “grave danger” (Roosevelt).

Roosevelt’s speech did not only rely on tone and diction. Roosevelt also employs many rhetorical devices and strategies such as anaphora and personification and masterfully inserts them throughout the speech to inform his audience on the seriousness of the situation along with the sense of destruction of the attack. Informing Congress of the details, Roosevelt applies anaphora to increasingly build on the tension and seriousness of the threat Japan poses: “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” (Roosevelt). Roosevelt’s use of anaphora to build tension further builds the fear within his audience, which is essential in convincing the audience of the threat Japan poses. Building on this tension, Roosevelt utilizes personification to explain how the “facts of yesterday and today speak for themselves” and urge Congress to “remember the character of the onslaught against us” (Roosevelt). This tension, used in combination with the known facts, perfectly builds a sense of urgency within Roosevelt’s audience and further heightens the desired response of Roosevelt: Congress declaring war. 

The “Pearl Harbor Address” is not actually a declaration of war, instead it is Roosevelt asking Congress to declare war on Japan; Therefore, Roosevelt employs many rhetorical strategies, such as allusion, and a transparency with his audience to justify a declaration of war. Specifically, towards the end of the speech Roosevelt states “there is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory, and our interests are in grave danger” (Roosevelt). Roosevelt’s rather blunt statement quickly delivers a point to his audience that the United States is in danger. While the statement is not special on its own, the fact Roosevelt is open and honest the entire speech beforehand, like stating how the attack has caused “severe damage” and “many american lives have been lost,” convinces his audience to seriously consider his warning (Roosevelt). After sobering his audience with a harsh reality, Roosevelt then completely shifts the tone and reassures them by stating that “with confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounding determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph – so help us God” (Roosevelt). Roosevelt alluding to religion leads to a comforting sense of unity, as it appeals to the pathos of his audience – Congress – who are primarily christian. This unity, along with the religious undertone, leads to a sense of justification. Much like the past ideals of Manifest Destiny, Roosevelt provides justification for war against Japan through a religious undertone. Through the use of this religious justification and transparency, Roosevelt further drives his audience towards declaring war on Japan.

Roosevelt’s “Pearl Harbor Address,” while not being heavy in rhetoric, achieves its goal of convincing Congress to declare war by creating a sense of unity and anger. Roosevelt achieves this by establishing a strong moral diction, explaining the United States was betrayed by Japan. Another strategy is the use of the few rhetorical devices the speech contains to quickly spread a message of seriousness and eliminate any arrogance his audience may have. And towards the end of the speech, Roosevelt’s warning statement and transparency combined with the reaffirming statements and religious justification leads to an emotional and unified audience. By using all three of these major strategies, Roosevelt successfully convinces the audience to declare war on Japan. The famous “Sleeping Giant” statement by Admiral Yamamoto, a famous Japanese naval commander who served during the Second World War,  may be false, but America’s entrance into the war will unreservedly alter the outcome of the world forever. However, before the Giant could fully awaken, it is Roosevelt’s speech that convinces the same “Sleeping Giant” to stand and fight.