1)      Introduction:

a)      Attention Getter: Picture yourself living in the United States in 1941. Europe and the Pacific are at war, the economy is still struggling to recover from a decade long depression and now the Japanese have attacked your country. Things are looking pretty bleak for America, but with a strong government and a president who knows how to speak to the people, you can only hope things will turn out for the best. 

b)      Credibility: Before, I talked to you about the rhetorical situation for the Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation; I discussed the reasons behind the delivery of the speech, the constraints and who it was delivered to, but, now, let’s take a closer look at the content.

c)      Preview of Main Points: Today, I’m going to talk to you about the stylistic choices FDR made and the language he used, to play off the outrage of the American people. I’m also going to analyze the tone of the speech and the influence the Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation had then and its continuing impact on our lives today.

d)      Thesis: The tone and stylistic language of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s “Infamy Speech” has served as a reminder of a “date which will live in infamy”.

2)      Transition to Body: There are many obvious reasons President Roosevelt wanted his speech to have a strong emotional impact on the American people, so let’s look at the language and stylistic aspects he used to have this impression.

3)      Stylistic Choices:

a)      All of the following examples will show that FDR structured his speech so that it would emphasize America’s role as a victim and also emotionally appeal to the nation.   

b)      Firstly, Roosevelt purposefully framed the speech around the perceived low moral character of the Japanese government.

i)        He drew a sharp contrast between the “righteous might” of the American people and the aggressive and deceitful nature of the Japanese regime.

c)      According to Emily S. Rosenberg, who specializes in United States foreign relations in the twentieth century, “the most famous line of the speech originally read ‘a date which will live in world history’; Roosevelt crossed out ‘world history’ and replaced it with ‘infamy’” (Rosenberg). 

i)        This revision was made all the stronger due to its insistence that posterity would forever endorse the American view of the attack.

(1)   It was intended not merely as a personal response by the president, but as a statement on behalf of the entire American people in the face of a great collective trauma.

d)      Roosevelt carefully worded the first paragraph of the speech to enforce the portrayal of the U.S. as an innocent victim of unprovoked Japanese aggression.

i)        Neil Smelser, a UC Berkley sociologist said, “rather than taking the more usual active voice, Roosevelt deliberately chose to put in the foreground the object of the United States being acted upon, to emphasize America’s status as a victim” (Smelser).

e)       This idea of “violated innocence” was also reinforced by Roosevelt’s emphasis on the ongoing diplomatic negotiations with Japan, which he characterized as having been pursued dishonestly by the Japanese government because it was secretly preparing for war against the United States.

i)        In the text of the speech FDR states, “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. 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.”

f)        Summary: Clearly, President Roosevelt used powerful language and ideas to stress America’s role as a victim, in order to appeal to the nation. 

4)      Transition: While Roosevelt placed a great deal of emphasis on the stylistic aspects of his speech, he also gave the speech an overall tone of unwavering practicality.

5)      Tone:

a)      Roosevelt did not attempt to cover up or downplay the extent of the damage to the U.S Pacific Naval Fleet.

b)       Instead, he noted that “very many American lives have been lost” in the attack.

i)        However, he did not mention the exact statistics, because casualty reports were still being compiled.

ii)       Roosevelt emphasized his confidence in the strength of the American people to face up to the challenge posed by Japan.

c)      The speech itself was short compared to appeals issued by previous presidents, running just shy of seven minutes

i)        Secretary of State, Cordell Hull, wanted the president to devote more time to the lengthy, but unsuccessful, effort to find a peaceful solution.

(1)   In fact, Hull’s major effort during the later stages of the war was that of planning an international organization dedicated to the maintenance of peace and endowed with sufficient legislative, economic, and military power to achieve it (The Nobel Foundation).

ii)       However, Roosevelt kept the speech short in the belief that it would have a more dramatic effect.

d)      Roosevelt spoke slowly and somberly, emphasizing the seriousness of the situation and the massive damage the Japanese had inflicted not only on America but also throughout the Pacific.

e)      Summary: Obviously, the determined realism and sober tone of FDR’s Pearl Harbor Address to Nation reinforced the stylistic choices he made, in order to incite the previously isolationist American people.

6)      Transition: Now that we have seen the devices Roosevelt used to petition American support for the war, let’s look at the actual effects the speech had.

7)      Effects (Then and Now):

a)        Firstly, only thirty-three minutes after he finished speaking, Congress declared war on Japan.

i)        According to a New York Times article from December 9, 1941, only one Representative, Jeannette Rankin of Montana, voted against the declaration.

b)      Secondly, the speech was broadcast live by radio and attracted the largest audience in US radio history, with over 81 percent of American homes tuning in to hear the president (Brown).

c)      Not only did Roosevelt’s speech reach an unprecedented number of people, but it also turned America from a nation of isolationists into a country determined to avenge the grievous wrongs inflicted on it.

i)        Noted historian Steven Ambrose said, “40 percent or more of the American people believed on December 6, 1941 that it would be silly for the United States to get involved in another bloodletting like [World War I]” (National Geographic).  

ii)       Then the attack on Pearl Harbor occurred, and suddenly, it turned American opinion.

(1)   “You had more enlistments on December 8 than any other day in American history” (National Geographic).

d)      Roosevelt’s framing of the attack became, in effect, the standard American narrative of the events of December 7, 1941.

e)      Not only did the Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation affect the generation of men and women living during World War II, but it has also impacted us today.

i)        In the days following the attacks, there was a deliberate attempt on the part of the Bush administration to link September 11, 2001 to the attack on Pearl Harbor itself.

(1)   In his speech, Bush contrasted the “evil, despicable acts of terror” with the “brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity” that America represented in his view (Presidential Statement).

f)        Summary: Clearly, the Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation has had a lasting impact on American society.

8)      Transition from Body:  By studying the effects, the stylistic language and the tone of the speech, one can see what a lasting and important speech President Roosevelt delivered.

9)      Conclusion:  

a)      Thesis: The tone and emotional emphasis of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s “Infamy Speech” has served as a reminder of a “date which will live in infamy”.

b)      Review of Main Points: President Roosevelt used powerful emotive language and ideas to stress America’s role as a victim, in order to appeal to the nation. Also, the determined realism and sober tone of FDR’s Pearl Harbor Address to Nation mixed with the emotional appeals he made in order to incite the previously isolationist American people. Not only did his speech impact the American nation and propel the country into a foreign war, but it also has provided fodder for contemporary political speeches.

c)      Decisive Closing: Roosevelt’s declaration of December 7^th as “a date which will live in infamy” very quickly became a symbol for the Pearl Harbor attack in much the same way that September 11 has became inextricably associated with the 2001 terrorist attacks. As clearly as the image of smoke pouring from the Twin Towers is etched in the minds of our generation, so too is the collapse of the U.S Pacific Fleet etched in the minds of the generation of men and women who lived through the horrific events of Pearl Harbor.

10) References:

a)       “Asks Miss Rankin Recant: Montana Republican Leader Says State Deplores Anti-War Vote.” New York Times. 9 Dec. 1941: 8.

b)      Brown, Robert J. Manipulating the Ether: The Power of Broadcast Radio in Thirties America. McFarland & Company, 1998.

c)      “Cordell Hull.” 1945. The Nobel Foundation. 17 Feb. 2008 <http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1945/hull-bio.html>.

d)      Querna, Betsy. “World War II Gave Birth to ‘American Spirit,’ Says Historian Ambrose.” National Geographic Today. May 24, 2001.

e)      Rosenberg, Emily S. A Date Which Will Live: Pearl Harbor in American Memory. Duke University Press, 2003.

f)        Smelser, Neil J. Cultural Trauma and Collective Identity. University of California Press, 2004.

g)      “Statement by the President in His Address to the Nation.” 2001. The White House. 17 Feb. 2008 <http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010911-16.html>.