"a date that will live in infamy" - the rhetoric behind the speech

“A Date that will Live in Infamy”

The Rhetoric Behind the Speech

Robert C. Taylor

June 14, 2011

“A Date that Will Live in Infamy” – The Rhetoric Behind the Speech Robert C. Taylor

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“A Date that Will Live in Infamy” – The Rhetoric Behind the Speech

If Roosevelt’s goal was war, then his speech was the instrument that he used to bring

warfare. Congress, after hearing his speech, voted almost unanimously in favor of war. In fact,

Roosevelt’s speech, the famous speech where “a date that will live in Infamy” originates, can be

accurately described as a persuasive piece whose purpose is to gain a war declaration. This

speech calls for a declaration of war by combining fact with rhetorical technique to produce a

strong undeniable argument which convinces the congressional representatives to retaliate with

military action in response to Japan’s attack. Unsurprisingly, the arguments in the speech rely

heavily on preceding events for emotional basis, logical basis, and justification as these events

are still fresh in congresses’ mind. Because the speech was convincing, it can still be heard and is

still relatable today despite the fact the speech’s native emotional atmosphere has all but

dissipated. Also, the significance of the speech has caused the speech’s words to still resound in

America’s history due to the speech’s role in triggering America’s involvement in World War II.

Roosevelt’s effective use of rhetoric convinced the congressional representatives to declare war

on the Japanese Empire.

First, Japan's ethos is destroyed from Roosevelt's manipulation of fact and emotion.

Roosevelt’s begins his attack very early in his speech by describing Japan’s attack as both

sudden and deliberate to evoke hostile feelings in the congressional representatives. Essentially,

he sets the mood in which the congressmen will come to receive the information he presents and

he defines the emotional memory these congressmen will take away after hearing his speech.

Next, Roosevelt builds logic for his attack on Japan’s ethos through the use of faulty reasoning

by making use of an overgeneralization to prove Japan cannot be trusted. The overgeneralization

is built from the way Japan’s diplomats terminated peace negotiations. That is, the deceitful


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statement the diplomats made claiming the pointlessness in continuing peace negotiations

without hint of the attack which began hour before against Pearl Harbor. Thus, Roosevelt uses

the diplomat’s deceitful behavior as factual basis for his conclusion that Japan is neither a

country of honor, nor one that can be trusted. Additionally, to added further credibility to his

claim of deceit, Roosevelt mentions that Japan, not the United States, had chosen to begin the

peace talks making Japan appear hypocritical. Lastly, to ensure that his overgeneralization is

accepted, Roosevelt notes the distance between Japan and Hawaii and communicates that the

attack could not have been done out of opportunity but planned long ahead because the distance

between Japan and Hawaii is too great. Thus, Roosevelt leaves congress with the conclusion that

the nature of Japan’s attack is premeditated which shatter any remaining ethos held by congress

making way for anger, distrust, and hostility.

Next, facts were distorted and concealed to present a threatening image of Japan.

Roosevelt had to do so because Japan could not fuel an effective war machine due to Japan’s

limited access to resources (Jarmul). Additionally, Japan’s industrial complex when compared to

the United States was a 10th in size (Buchanan). However, Roosevelt chooses to conceal these

two facts by claiming to have mobilized the army to defend against Japan. Also, Japan had little

interest in the mainland United States and was more interested in Indochina (Jarmul). But,

Roosevelt describes Japan’s actions as a “grave danger” to American territories and interest to

make Japan look highly interested in the American Mainland. Additionally, Roosevelt’s list of

places attacked by Japan was used purely to over portray the scale of the attack because most of

the locations listed are located in the Indochina region. Therefore, the United States could have

simply used economic sanctions against Japan instead of war which would be very much in the

interest of American isolationist. However, Roosevelt did not want economic sanctions which is


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why he chose to mislead the congressional representatives (“World War II”). Thus, to prevent

America from slipping back into isolationism, Roosevelt presents Japan as dangerous and

belligerent to convince congress of the futility of pursuing an alternative course of action. These

false portrayals of Japan are accepted by congress which further pushes them toward the decision

to declare war.

Additionally, Roosevelt ensured that congress believes that action against Japan needs to

be taken immediately. Roosevelt describes the attack as a surprise and executed suddenly. He

describes the scope of the attack as involving the entire Pacific Rim which includes the western

part of the United States. Additionally, He makes use of repetitive structure to state the places

Japan attacked to communicate a sense of urgency from his speech. Also, he makes use of

slanted language to communicate the need to act urgently by describing the attack as an

onslaught which evokes images of vast armies overrunning American military bases.

Furthermore, he alludes to a civilian threat by stating, “American ships had been reported

torpedoed on the high seas.” Consequently, the threat to civilians will make congress feel

motivated because civilian America placed them into power expecting them to be effective

leaders ready to defend America against threat. Lastly, the brevity of the speech sends a message

of haste action because the shortness of the speech implies there is limited time for discussion.

Essentially, these rhetorical techniques all convey to congress that something must be done, and

when the mood is combined with the state of mind created from Roosevelt’s threatening,

ruthless, unethical image of Japan a feeling of anxiety develops. Since anxiety is a highly

undesirable mood to exist in, naturally congress will feel motivate to declare war because

Roosevelt implies that conflict will bring relief to the congressman’s anxiety. Thus, he pushes

congress to act out of passion rather than logic.


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Moreover, Roosevelt ensures that congress yields a declaration of war by making use of

skilled political maneuvers. First, he makes the congressmen police their thoughts and makes

them question their thoughts against his argument through the introduction of peer pressure. He

introduces peer pressure by claiming that he has interpreted the will of congress. Essentially, to

the lone congressman, Roosevelt makes it appear that all of the congressmen around the lone

congressman are in support of war. Consequently, this creates a group effect as each

congressman comes to believe his peers support war leading him to vote in favor of war. This

political maneuver causes congress to behave as a single unit working toward his goal of war.

Second, Roosevelt makes congress believe that America wants war by claiming he interprets the

will of the public. Since he interprets the American public’s will, and since he is advocating war,

congress is sent the message that America wants war. Additionally, he further reinforces his idea

that America wants war in his statement, “The people of the United States have already formed

their opinions and … understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation.”

Ultimately, the resulting mindset from these political maneuvers leads to success and success is

demonstrated by Rosenman statement, “This day was different. The applause, the spirit of

cooperation, came equally from both sides,” which shows the amount of unity that resulted from

political manipulation (Deskofbrian).

Lastly, to gain the declaration of war, Roosevelt uses nationalistic feelings to convince

the congressmen to choose fighting. First, through his statement, “Make it very certain that this

form of treachery shall never again endanger us.” he presents a multifaceted statement which

appeals to multiple values simultaneously. The statement appeals to the classic political

argument named “For the Children” because Roosevelt is claiming war will ensure the safety of

America’s young. Additionally, this statement draws on nationalism because nationalistic feeling


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desire safety and security of both the now and the future. Second, he plays on the natural

tendency for revenge by making an abstract claim about the sum of lives lost due to Japan’s

attacks on United States territories. He details the scale of the attack involving both civilian and

military installations and activities to ensure congress realizes the threat is to the entirety of the

United States. Also, Roosevelt mentions that many lives are lost to both enrage congress and

arouse feelings of military support. Finally, he assures congress of America’s inevitable triumph

over Japan by portraying America’s fight as good versus evil, godly versus godless. He assures

congress, through a brief reference, that God is on America’s side and he assures congress of the

American people’s desire to exercise their duty to defend America. Thus, Roosevelt leaves

congress desiring war and feeling empowered to wage an effective war.

Hence, Roosevelt’s choice of structure and presentation successfully led to a declaration

of war upon Japan. His speech was highly effective at not only unifying congress, but was highly

effective in persuading congress to cast aside isolationism and instead pursue a course of war.

His argument was highly effective, the American First Committee, an organization designed to

advance the isolationist agenda, voted to dissolve its self four days after Roosevelt’s speech

(World War II). Additionally, his speech was highly effective at destroying the Japanese image

because during the course of the war over 127,000 Japanese Americans were imprisoned in

American concentration camps (Ushistory.org). Moreover, the speech became ingrained in our

history because the speech gave birth to a feeling of unity and direction in congress and in the

population. Also, the speech was the main instigator of America’s involvement in World War II

which places the speech firmly in America’s history. Finally, Roosevelt’s famous opening

phrase, “A date that will live in infamy,” has forever defined the attack on Pearl Harbor. All of

these events came about because Roosevelt’s carefully wrote his speech, paid attention to


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rhetorical strategies, and paid attention to the needs and weaknesses of his audience.

Consequently, Roosevelt tactics result in congress giving forth a declaration of war against

Japan.


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Works Cited

Buchanan, Patrick. “Why Did Japan Attack Us?.” The American Cause. The American Cause,

2008. Web. 6 June 2011.

Deskofbrian. “FDR “Day of Infamy” Speech 12/07/1941.” The Desk of Brian. The Desk of

Brian, 3 Oct. 2011. Web. 4 June 2011.

Jarmul, David. “THE MAKING OF A NATION.” www.ManyThings.org. Charles

Kelly and Lawrence Kelly, 1997-2011. Web. 8 June 201l.

Roosevelt, Franklin. “Address to Congress, December 8, 1941.” Elements of Argument: A Text

and Reader. Ed. Annette T. Rottenberg, and Donna Haisty Winchell. Boston, MA:

Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009. 368-369. Print.

Ushistory.org, “Japanese-American Internment.” U.S. History Online Textbook. U.S. History,

2011. Web. 4 June. 2011.

“World War II.” Rutgers – Eagleton Institute of Politics. Eagleton Institute of Politics Rutgers,

1995–2009. Web. 8 June 2011.

http://aitech.ac.jp/~lkelly/


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“A Date that Will Live in Infamy” – The Rhetoric Behind the Speech by Robert Christian Taylor

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