Paper #1: Rhetorical Analysis
In the "Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation," President Franklin D. Roosevelt presented a
speech on the following day of December 7th, 1941 to formally propose to Congress and urge
them to declare war on the Empire of Japan. (Roosevelt, Franklin D. “Pearl Harbor Address to
the Nation.”) Prior to the bombing President Roosevelt had promised in his election campaign
that they did not want to pursue in the war and would do what it takes to not be involved. He
assured the fathers of the previous wars that “[their] boys are not going to be sent into any
foreign wars” (Roosevelt, Franklin D. “Campaign Address at Boston, Massachusetts.”) The
United States wanted no part in WWII, because he didn’t want to put his people in grave danger
or put the country in peril, in his message he is informing the United States Congress and the
citizens on how Japan has attacked Pearl Harbor and how war against Japan is necessary. Before
the bombing the war had already broke out and had been in progress, China and Japan were in
conflict in the East. Japan had a deadset mindset of industrialization for the advancement of their
country but went West to invade Manchuria of China for the raw material sources of lumber,
rubber and oil to compensate for the lack of resources in Japan. (INSERT SOURCE) By
bombing Pearl Harbor, Japan wanted to expand out towards the Pacific because they sought
resources and as well wanted to neutralize the United States Pacific Naval Fleet. Other than
declaring war on Japan, President Roosevelt's speech served as a call and a way to rally the
citizens of the United States to support the war effort.
Within the speech Roosevelt puts the United States in the position where they seem
defendless and not at fault for anything they have done. With the power of his speech he includes
repeated words to show an intent like how Pearl Harbor was “suddenly and deliberately
attacked,” and how “the attack was deliberately planned.” There are various times where FDR
has made it clear that Japan is the corrupt targeted enemy and is the one who is to blame for the
peril in Pearl Harbor. By engaging the audience with an emotional appeal, President Roosevelt
mentions how the “Japanese Government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by
false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.” To trigger and and encite the
americans with anger, he as well inclu...
