1) Introduction:
a) Attention Getter: Imagine a calm and peaceful Sunday morning. Nothing stirs except for the occasional warbling of an early bird and no one has yet awoken from their dream filled sleep. Suddenly the low hum of engines rumbles in the distance, and in a few short minutes the roar of fighter planes breaks the silence. While many of you may be thinking I am describing the terrorist attacks of 9/11, I am actually describing events that occurred sixty years earlier. The attack at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 7th, 1941.
b) Credibility: While researching the attack, I discovered the numerical evidence of the destruction. The Japanese sunk five U.S. Navy battleships, leaving one minelayer, and two destroyers beyond repair, and it destroyed 188 aircraft (National Geographic). More importantly, besides the destruction of the entire U.S Pacific Naval fleet, 2,390 people were killed and 1,178 were wounded (National Geographic).
c) Preview of Main Points: While the nation reeled in shock and horror, during the aftermath of such devastation, those in Washington quickly attempted to calm a grieving public. One day after the catastrophic attack, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivered a heart-rending speech that not only honored those who lost their lives, but also called a nation to address the grievous wrongs the Japanese had inflicted on America
d) Thesis: By declaring December 7, 1941 a “date which will live in infamy”, FDR insured that his address to the nation and the vicious attack on our country would never be forgotten.
2) Transition to Body: There are many reasons which led to President Roosevelt addressing the American people.
3) Exigence/Occasion:
a) Firstly, American soil had just been invaded for what many considered the first time in the entire history of the nation.
i) While it was not the first invasion of U.S territory (that occurred on April 12, 1861 at Fort Sumter, South Carolina (American Civil War)). It was the first time a foreign nation, who had previously been in good standing with the U.S, attacked American soil.
b) Also, FDR’s main concern was with addressing the fear of the nation and trying to calm the distraught public.
c) Not only that, but this speech helped incite the previously isolationist American people into action and provided a united front to the other countries of the world.
i) According to Arthur Krock of the New York Times, “…officials and members of congress who [were once] critical of various aspects of the president’s foreign policy, of the methods and record of rearmament… [now did not] reflect those views so recently held and asserted...”
d) By uniting the country, the Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation boosted America’s confidence and provided morale in the looming face of war.
i) Krock remarked, “The circumstances of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor were such that national unity was an instant consequence.”
e) Another reason FDR chose to address the nation was to urge congress to declare war on Japan and eventually on its ally Nazi Germany.
f) Summary: Clearly, a number of important events not only propelled the country into a foreign war but also gave President Roosevelt numerous reasons to address the American nation.
4) Transition: I previously mentioned the reasons for the Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation, but now I would like to talk about the different audiences to which President Roosevelt was speaking.
5) Audience:
a) First and foremost he was addressing the members of congress present when he delivered his speech.
i) More specifically, FDR was speaking to the Vice President, the Speaker of the house, and members of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
b) The president was also indirectly addressing the Japanese and the other Axis powers, condemning them for the attack and alerting these nations to the fact that they would soon be at war with the United States.
c) In a similar way, the Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation was also directed to the Allies and especially Great Britain.
i) FDR was assuring them that America was on their side, and would be joining them in the Grand Alliance.
d) Most importantly, the president was also communicating with the American people, comforting them, consoling them, and commemorating those who died.
e) Summary: It is obvious that while addressing his speech specifically to members of the government and of congress, President Roosevelt was in fact directing his speech to a much larger audience the world over.
6) Transition: Having established why the “Infamy Speech” was given and who it was directed at, some questions still remain about the delivery of the speech.
7) Constraints:
a) With such a somber backdrop as the attacks, for FDR’s driving reason for delivering the speech, it would have been callous of him to act in a manner unbefitting to a president of a grieving nation.
i) By joking or acting too casual, the president would have sent the wrong message to the distraught public.
b) Consequently, the speech had to have a strong emotional impact on Americans.
i) By appealing to a sense of moral outrage, FDR was able to draw a sharp contrast between the righteous indignation of America and the low moral values of the unwarranted attack.
ii) This allowed him to play off the theme of “violated innocence” that helped spur American support for entering the war.
c) One of the main constraints FDR had to deal with was an absence on fear.
i) If the president had allowed his speech to be anything less than the calm, straightforward communication that it was, the nation may have felt unsure and unsafe in the hands of their commander-in-chief.
ii) While he did choose to address the danger the nation was in, Roosevelt also made sure to remind the people that with “the confidence in our armed forces — with the unbounding determination of our people — we will gain the inevitable triumph — so help us God.”
d) Another constraint that FDR had to be careful to address was his plan of action.
i) Rather than making any abstract appeal to congress and the public in general, FDR had to have a clearly defined and thought out plan of action for addressing the wrongs done to America.
e) Summary: Clearly, there were a number of limitations which FDR faced when delivering his Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation speech, but by acting calm and unafraid he presented the American people and the world with the unerring might of the United States.
8) Transition from Body: By looking at the background and reasons for which the Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation was given, one can see what a lasting and important speech President Roosevelt delivered.
9) Conclusion:
a) Thesis: By declaring December 7, 1941 a “date which will live in infamy”, FDR insured that his address to the nation and the vicious attack on our country would never be forgotten.
b) Review of Main Points: a number of important events, like uniting the nation and addressing the invasion of American soil and the loss of American life, not only propelled the nation into a foreign war but also gave President Roosevelt numerous reasons to address the American people. While directing his speech specifically to members of the government and congress, President Roosevelt was in fact also addressing the distressed and grieving public, the militant Japanese attackers, and the entire world. And finally, the constraints prompted by such an assault, left the president with little choice in the manner of his delivery.
c) Decisive Closing: Roosevelt’s declaration of December 7th 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) “American Civil War.” 2008. Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 31 Jan. 2008 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_War>.
b) Krock, Arthur. “Unity clicks into place: Capital dissensions fade out in necessity of common cause.” New York Times. 8 Dec. 1941: 6.
c) National Geographic Society. Remembering Pearl Harbor. 2001. 26 Jan. 2008 <http://www.nationalgeographic.com/pearlharbor/>.
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