“Yesterday, December 7, 1941, a date which will live in infamy.” Those are the famous words from President Franklin Roosevelt regarding the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. The purpose in Roosevelt’s “Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation” was to educate the nation on what had happened and to justify his reasons for declaring war upon the Japanese Empire. Each word in this memorable speech tugged on the emotions of the American people. His emotional and passionate appeal about his duty as President and former commander and chief showed while delivering this speech. In this rhetorical essay I will evaluate his effectiveness in persuading his argument as to why we should declare war on the Japanese Empire. President Roosevelt’s persuasion in
“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 Philippine Islands. Last night, Japanese forces attacked Wake Island. And this morning, the Japanese attacked Midway Island. Japan has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday and today speak for themselves.” These facts create an ethical argument why we should declare war on Japan. He also provides credibility in his speech saying “As commander and chief in the Army and Navy…”. This gives him some credibility in knowing what to do in this type of situation because he was commander in chief of the Army and Navy. By stating, “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” gives an example of a logical appeal. This displays the logic appeal because it states the fact about the date. The date December 7, 1941 will always be known as the day Pearl Harbor was suddenly attacked. Throughout President Franklin Roosevelt’s speech on the attack on Pearl Harbor he uses many different strategies to persuade Congress to declare war on the Japanese Empire. He uses