Jess Mannion
FDR’s Address to Congress Following
The Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor
**I. ****INTRODUCTION:
A. ATTENTION GETTER:
i. Could all of you close your eyes for a minute and pretend like you’re sleeping, relax, and imagine floating like this balloon (hold up a balloon). Once everyone’s eyes close I will pop the balloon.
B. Were any of you expecting that? No, and it was this same feeling of surprise experienced by the people of Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, a date Roosevelt coined as a “day that will live in infamy.” (“The President’s Message”) An alarm clock they would surely not forget.
C. It was 7:55am when the Japanese carried out a secretly planned air raid attack on Pearl Harbor, an American naval base in Hawaii.
i. 350 Japanese planes, two waves of attacks and 2,390 people dead. (Allen)
D. “Pearl Harbor is in flame and smoke gasping helplessly” (Allen)
i. - These are the words from a Japanese pilot, aiding in the attack against the United States as he heads back to his aircraft carrier.
E. (THESIS): It was this sequence of tragic events that brought U.S. president, Franklin D. Roosevelt to formally address the need to declare war against Japan. A declaration that would lead our nation into a war that would last for 44 long, devastating months. (HistoryLink Essay) FDR not only addressed Congress on this day, but he addressed his people, his nation, and the world. An address that would “live in infamy” itself.
(Transition): Like a Phoenix rising from fiery ashes, Roosevelt’s speech emerged from the ruins of tragedy, providing reassurance and hope for a nation devastated by tragedy. (Pause)
**II. ****AUDIENCE
A. It is obvious in the title of this speech that FDR is addressing the members of Congress.
i. More specifically he says, “Mr. Vice President, Mr. Speaker, members of the Senate and the House of Representatives” (“The President’s Message”)
B. On a broader spectrum, Roosevelt was addressing a much larger audience.
i. Radio broadcasting provided coast to coast coverage. (Freeman et al.)
1. Loudspeakers in schools broadcasted the message to students and teachers.
2. Military troops and civilians listened in to hear the fate of their nation. (HistoryLink Essay)
ii. In addition to Americans, Roosevelt was indirectly addressing the world.
1. The Japanese were given insight of consequences to come
2. Other countries involved in WWII were informed on the United State’s new stance in the war.
(Transition): It was the very same audience that led us to identify the constraints restricting the limits of FDR’s infamous speech.
III. ****CONSTRAINTS
A. Originally using the phrase “a date which will live in world history.”
i. FDR did not want to give false praise to the Japanese for a “historic act” (Safire)
1. Instead he chose “infamy” saying that it portrayed, “shame, disgrace, evil reputation, obloquy, opprobrium” (Safire)
a. The only problem was the fact that people of that time period rarely heard that word. However, they would quickly learn and embrace the meaning. (Safire)
B. Religious and ethical constraints also put restrictions on the parameters of the speech.
i. Originally Roosevelt intended to write, “Deity” instead of “God”, however one of his speechwriters crossed it out and suggested the stronger, yet riskier of the two.
1. A risk taken despite possible rage from agnostics and nonbelievers. (Safire)
C. There were also several minor constraints such as time and the choice of personally writing the speech himself.
(Transition): Now you may be asking yourselves, so why was there a need for this speech?
IV. ****EXIGENCE:
A. It was obvious that disaster had struck; it was therefore the responsibility of the nation’s leader to address the situation accordingly.
B. The key intention of this speech was to pose a request to Congress declaring war on Japan.
i. “I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, Dec. 7, 1941, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese empire.”( “The President’s Message”)
C. The speech offered assurance that justice would be served for all those affected by the attack. As well as reassurance that the nation could and would recover stronger.
i. “No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people will in their righteous might win through to absolute victory.” (“The President’s Message”)
ii. A solution needed to be implemented to eliminate the sense of defeat that had come over the nation.
1. The first step in reassuring the people of proper reaction to the attack was through condemnation of the act itself.
2. He provided a sense of hope and positive outlook for the future.
3. “To lift the spirit of a stunned nation”( Safire)
iii. It was apparent that the Japanese needed to recognize that the United States would not act passively or silently towards there invasive actions.
(Transition): The necessity of this speech thus leads us to our conclusion.
V. ****CONCLUSION:
A. The necessity and impact of these six minutes was far more important than anyone could have anticipated.
B. Rising from the ashes of a fallen nation, came one of the most recognized speeches of all time, Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “Day of Infamy”.
C. A speech directed towards more than just a nation, with the intent of declaring war against Japan, while instilling hope back to a devastated and surprised people.
Jess Mannion
CAS 100C
Speech #1
February 6, 2008
Bibliography**
Allen, B. Thomas. “Remembering Pearl Harbor.” Interactive Timeline. National Geographic. 2001.
Freeman, Elsie, Wynell Burroughs Schamel and Jean West. “A Date Which Will Live in Infamy’”: The First Typed Draft of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s War Address.” Social Education 55, 7 (November/December 1991): 467-470
Safire, William. “Day of Infamy” The New York Times 7 Dec. 1997:SM30.
“The President’s Message.” The New York Times 9 Dec. 1941: pg. 1. ProQuest Historical Newspapers. The New York Times (1851-2004)
“United States declares war on Japan on December 8, 1941.” HistoryLink Essay. 2007
Comments:
Michael Chiang: I liked your speech a lot. I think your transitions, pace, and the choice of words you used were great. Good eye contact and introduction. I really liked your attention getter too.
Alex: You're introduction was really cute, and a creative way of setting up your speech. You also had an orgainzed set-up and good transitions. You seemed a little nervous towards the end, but thats no big deal, so was I! I'm sure that'll just get easier with time.
Derek: You're intro was great! Original and definately woke people up and gave us a sense of what the setting would have been like. You stumbled a little bit here and there and need a little work on eye contact, but over all great job!
Carolyn: Loved loved loved your introduction- very creative, and a great representation of the feeling of Pearl Harbor. You had good enthusiasm and inflection throughout your speech and good volume as well. As Derek said other than being a little hesitant in a few places, overall I think it was well done.
Joe DeArmitt: Interesting introduction, you should have put the balloon behind you back and popped it with a tack so we didn't see it coming; it was still cool though. One thing I would work on is a little less reading and a little more eye contact.
Sarah Dunning: Hey Jess! Your intro was sooo creative, out of the box, just as Mrs. Jones had asked us to do, so that was awesome! I think that you could work on improvising a little bit more so you aren't focusing on saying every single word from your note cards, it may help you to not stumble over missing words or anything like that. But overall you had a great conflusion, great info, and it was a great first speech!
Liz Peters: Great choice of an introduction with popping the balloon! I would definitely do something unique like that for your next speech too. You had a lot of good information in your speech and I could tell you did your research. I think i overheard you say that you were sick that day for your speech and that is probably why you were soft spoken, but just make sure you keep up your voice for the people in the back.
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