RHETORICAL ANALYSIS OF HISTORICAL AND CONTEMPORARY FIGURES
Infamy
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Alex Manenica
Central Washington University
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RHETORICAL ANALYSIS OF HISTORICAL AND CONTEMPORARY FIGURES
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Abstract
This rhetorical analysis of a historical figure discusses Franklin D. Roosevelt’s
address to congress proposing war against Japan. This was given after the bombings
on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. This was a major event in history, still remembered every
year. It discusses Roosevelt’s standing as President at the time of the attack, the
content of the text and the style of the text. It discusses the effectiveness of
Roosevelt’s diction, persuasive appeals and discourse development. Roosevelt’s
speech is a significant speech in American history and shows how a country can
come together and fight for justice in times of uncertainty.
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December 7, 1941 went down in history as one of the most devastating days
for the American people. Early that morning Japanese bombers and torpedo planes
attacked the United States naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. 2,402 Americans
were killed and 1,282 wounded. The attack came as a shock and instantly led
America into World War II the next day. Franklin D. Roosevelt was serving as
president during the attacks, and was the one who asked congress to declare war on
Japan. This speech is known as one of his most famous speeches.
Roosevelt was elected more than any other president in history, 4 terms. He
served 3 full terms and then died in his fourth, with Vice President Harry S. Truman
taking over the office. During the attack on Pearl Harbor, Roosevelt was serving his
third term. He was a liberal democrat who had great support from his country. He
gave the speech December 8, 1941, the day after the attack. A quick summary of the
speech is that Japan attacked the U.S. military unexpectedly and many American
lives had been lost. He then went on to say that as Commander in Chief he would do
all he could to keep the rest of the nation safe, and he proposed to congress to
declare war between the United States and the Japanese Empire.
Because World War I ended in 1918, the United States of America did not
have large numbers in their defensive forces. Many people living in America at the
time were hesitant to go into World War II because they were unsure if they would
win. While Japan did end up surrendering, America was not a pleasant place in the
1940’s after the declaration of war against Japan. The country was consumed by the
war and sending rations to soldiers oversees. Many women took over their
husband’s jobs but they still had few rights.
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The speech begins by addressing the congress and informing them of the
situation at hand. There is no clear thesis statement. He explains the happenings of
the previous day, and then proposes to declare war at Japan at the end. I think that
the audience knew that a war was impending before the speech even took place. I
will focus mostly on Roosevelt’s chosen style and substance of the speech. Franklin
Roosevelt spoke in a clear, slow and booming voice while giving the speech. He was
successful in using pathos to persuade the congress and nation that going to war to
Japan was the right thing to do, and how he used simple language to get his words
heard by the entire nation.
The beginning of Roosevelt’s speech captured the audience’s attention with
the words, “Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy…”
(Roosevelt, F). These words brought the realization that The United States had
suffered grave consequences from the actions of Japan. He then goes on to explain
that the United States and Japan were at peace until the recent attack. He made this
point to tell the nation that the attack came as a surprise to the government as well
as the civilians. Mentioned in the next paragraph, “During the intervening time the
Japanese Government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false
statements and expressions of hope for continued peace” (Roosevelt). This
persuades the audience and congress that Japan is capable of lying and is a threat
not only to the U.S. but to other countries as well.
As the speech continues, he uses diction that builds up hope of all American’s
that the country would triumph over Japan. “No matter how long it may take us to
overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might
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will win through to absolute victory” (Roosevelt). This assures the nation that
although they will be going to a war, a win is inevitable. His conclusion is one that
strikes fear in the American people and would prompt them to agree that going to
war with Japan is the next logical step. “Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the
fact that our people, our territory, and our interests are in grave danger”
(Roosevelt). He then asks congress to declare a war between the United States and
Japan as his final conclusion.
The way he arranged his speech was tactful, to the point and easy to
understand. Because the speech was to be heard by Americans of all different
backgrounds, he chose to use diction that was slow and easy for the average
American to comprehend. He chose to repeat the fact that Japan had lied to the U.S.
about being peaceful, and surprise attacked. He did this to enrage the nation and
want to make the decision to defend their country. To really stick the point that
America should seek revenge he announced that because of the attacks, many lives
had been taken. I think the way Roosevelt structured his speech was very logical and
effective. To prove how effective it was, all but one congressperson voted in favor of
declaring war on Japan. He signed the declaration the same day as his speech.
The speech is considered persuasive, because he had to persuade congress to
take the nation to war. Like previously stated, he used pathos to take advantage of
the raw emotion that most American’s felt after being attacked. He also uses logos,
by explaining logically how Japan is now attacking multiple other countries. “Last
night Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong. Last night Japanese forces attacked
Guam. Last night Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands. Last night the
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Japanese attacked Wake Island. And this morning the Japanese attacked Midway
Island” (Roosevelt).
Looking back at this speech from today’s perspective 70 years later, you
could see some weaknesses and assumptions. Just like September 11, 2001 the
nation was outraged and willing to do anything to defend their country. It didn’t
need to take much convincing to declare war against an Empire that just killed
thousands of Americans. One major assumption at work is that he guarantees that
the United States will prevail in a war against the Japanese. While the Japanese did
end up surrendering, Franklin Roosevelt could not have been completely certain of
that at the time he proposed the declaration of war. The logic behind him making
such a grand statement like that is because he needed to gain the trust and support
of congress before they would agree to pass the declaration.
While Roosevelt did use assumptions in his speech, he did include strong
arguments as well. Not only did he include a list of other countries that Japan forces
attacked, he explains why Japan had been planning the attacks for at least days,
maybe weeks. “It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it
obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago”
(Roosevelt). These arguments proved that Japan was an active threat to not only our
nation, but multiple others as well. The right choice for the country to make was to
defend itself against the attacker.
Roosevelt chose not to include a counter-argument in his speech. While some
would say a good argument needs to include a counter-argument, I think the
absence of one was fitting in this scenario. Most American’s and the congress
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members making the big decision already had their minds made up about how the
situation should be handled. Like after September 11th, the nation was ready for
war. Roosevelt even mentions that in the speech, “The people of the United States
have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very
life and safety of our Nation” (Roosevelt). This shows that he knows the majority of
his fellow Americans already supported his decision to declare war.
The two features of style I feel are most important to the discourse are the
language, especially the tone of voice and the repetition. Roosevelt’s voice during
the duration of the speech was slow, yet strong with a sense of urgency. You could
tell that the context of his words was very serious just by listening to the tone of his
voice. The second style I felt was important was the repetition. While he didn’t
repeat anything word for word, he did repeat the same ideas throughout the speech.
One part of the speech where he did repeat two words was the part, “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 Midway Island” (Roosevelt). He made it clear that Japan was not to be
trusted and the United States needed to defend their nation. These features of style
enabled President Roosevelt to assure his country that going to war with Japan was
the right thing to do.
As a whole, this speech was highly effective. The audience could easily
understand Roosevelt’s objective and why it was important to agree with his
declaration of war. Because of his effect of style, using a slow but strong and steady
voice assured the public that he could be trusted. It was repeated again and again
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that America was in danger and that the country needed a call to action and protect
its civilians.
RHETORICAL ANALYSIS OF HISTORICAL AND CONTEMPORARY FIGURES
References
Roosevelt, Franklin D. “Infamy.” Records of the United States
Senate…Washington D.C. 8 Dec. 1941.
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