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Monica Garcia
Jennifer Bray
ENGL 1302.480
28 Jan. 2011
Draft 1
In this speech President Roosevelt addresses the nation on December 8, 1941 about
Japan's surprise attack at Pearl Harbor on Sunday December 7, 1941. (Franklin Delano Roosevelt
was a democrat) This sentence is not really necessary and it does not fit with what you are
currently saying. At the end of this speech President Roosevelt declares war against Japan.
President Roosevelt is addressing to the nation on what happen at Pearl Harbor and what he
wants the United States to do, this leads to the beginning of World War II.
The political context of the speech is when Roosevelt says, "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." In that moment,
he declares war with Japan and the beginning of World War II starts.
The background and main issues addressed in the speech were that the United States was
in World War I with Germany and Japan at been planning a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor for
days or weeks. You tend to repeat a lot of the same information try to expand it out or say it
differently
One quote I would use from this chapter in my paper would be "The President predicted
that we were likely to be attacked perhaps next Monday.The question was how we should
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maneuver them into the position of firing the fist shot" This quotation has been made much of by
those trying to prove conspiracy between F.D.R and his cabinet to get us into war."
According to this quote many people believed that President Roosevelt wanted the United
States to go into War with Japan, that is why he did not let Hawaii know of the spies being
reported and clues of the attack before December 7th. This information in this quote is important
because it leaves some people to wonder if the attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise or a motive
to begin a war with Japan. How do the people feel about this?
One emotional appeal that Roosevelt uses is "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 he is trying to convince the nation that with the help of God the U.S will
overcome this tragedy and triumph in victory.
Another emotional appeal would be at the beginning of his speech when he says,
“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.
One example of a logical appeal would be "The attack yesterday on Hawaiian islands has
caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. I regret to tell you that very many
American lives have been lost. In addition, American ships have been reported torpedoed on the
high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu.” In this sentence President Roosevelt is
informing the nation that many American lives were lost in the attacked at Pearl Harbor. I
believe many American felt a sense of sympathy and sorrow when President Roosevelt said these
words.
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Another example of a logical appeal is when Roosevelt says. “As commander in chief of
the Army and Navy, I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense. But always will
our whole nation remember the character of the onslaught against us.” In this quote I think that
he is trying to give the nation a sense of hope that America will attacked back at Japan and over
come this tragedy.
President Roosevelt uses repetition in his "Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation" when he
says, "Yesterday, the Japanese government also launched an attack against Malaya. Last night,
Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong. Last night, Japanese forces attacked Guam. Last night,
Japanese forces attacked the Philippines Islands. Last night, the Japanese attacked Wake Island.
And this morning, the Japanese attacked Midway Island.” I think that he uses the rhetorical
device “repetition” to make it clear that the in one night; the nation was change in a dramatic
way that would take years to rebuild and recover from. Good paragraph
Writers tone is formal.
Writer does have a works cited page.
The paper could be improved if the writer expands the information she has and talk more
about how the people feel about this situation.
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Works Cited
Brinkley, Alan. Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010. Print.
Borg, Dorothy, and Shumpei Okamoto. Pearl Harbor as History: Japanese-American Relations,
1931-1941. New York: Columbia University Press, 1973. Print.
Dan Reiter and John M. Schuessler. "FDR, U.S. Entry into World War II, and Selection Effects
Theory." International Security 35.2 (2010): 176-185. Project MUSE. Web. 21 Jan. 2011.
Roosevelt, Frankin D. "Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation." American Rhetoric: The Power of
Oratory in the United States. Michael E. Eidenmuller. Web. 25 Jan. 2011.
Schuessler M. John. "The Deception Dividend: FDR's Undeclared War." International Security
34.4 (2010): 133-165. Project MUSE. Web. 21 Jan. 2011.
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Waller, George M. Pearl Harbor: Roosevelt and the Coming of the War. Lexington, Mass:
Heath, 1976. Print.
Workman, Andrew A. "Creating the National War Labor Board: Franklin Roosevelt and the
Politics of State Building in the Early 1940s." Journal of Policy History 12.2 (2000): 233264. Project MUSE. Web. 21 Jan. 2011.
Edited by Kristy Rincon