Rhetorical Analysis Of Roosevelt's Speech

“Yesterday December 7th, 1941 – a date which will live in infamy” (Roosevelt). The attack on Pearl Harbor was an event that many Americans will never forget. The day after the attack, President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave a speech to address the public and Congress. His speech started by discussing how Japan had deceived America into thinking that they could create peace between the nations. He spent three paragraphs on how the attack was planned and deliberate and how America was completely unaware of Japan’s intentions. Roosevelt spent only a little time on paying respects to the lost lives of the soldiers. After that, Roosevelt talked about how many other nations Japan has attacked. Then Roosevelt started the “pep talk” portion of his speech. He talked about the strength of the nation and how America will defend themselves against evil forces. He ends his speech with a call for war and asked Congress to declare war against Japan. The goal of his speech was to persuade Congress to declare war on Japan, as well as to get the American people to support him in his endeavors. Roosevelt gave his speech in front of Congress, but the American people all over the nation tuned into the radio to hear his speech. Roosevelt uses many rhetorical devices to get American to unite against Japan. His speech uses the rhetorical devices logos, ethos, and pathos to argue his side. He uses

Roosevelt used the rhetorical tools of logos, ethos, and pathos to create the foundation of his speech. On top of that he used contrasting words and statements, as well as the way he delivered his message to create a dynamic speech to rally the American people behind his decision to declare war on Japan. In the end, his speech was very effective and the crowd erupted into applause before he was finished. Furthermore, Congress did declare war on Japan. Roosevelt’s speech effectively communicated his points and he was successful in persuading the American people to rally behind