The "Day of Infamy" speech, sometimes referred to as the Infamy speech, was a speech delivered by Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd president of the United States, to a joint session of Congress on December 8, 1941. The previous day, the Empire of Japan attacked United States military bases at Pearl Harbor and declared war on the United States and the British Empire. The speech is known for its famed first line, which opened with Roosevelt saying, "Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy..."
On Sunday, December 7, 1941, the United States Navy base at Pearl Harbor in the Territory of Hawaii was attacked by 353 Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service aircraft in a surprise military strike, destroying various American ships and aircraft, and killing over 2,400 civilians and military personnel. After consulting his cabinet, Roosevelt decided to deliver an address before the joint session of Congress the next day.
Roosevelt's speech was worded to reinforce his portrayal of the United States as a victim of unprovoked Japanese aggression and appealed to patriotism rather than to idealism. Roosevelt's choice to speak promptly helped make the speech rhetorically powerful. According to author Sandra Silberstein, the speech followed a well-established tradition of how "through rhetorical conventions, presidents assume extraordinary powers as the commander in chief, dissent is minimized, enemies are vilified, and lives are lost in the defense of a nation once again united under God".
The speech had an immediate positive response and long-lasting impact. It is one of the most famous speeches of American politics. It was broadcast live by radio and attracted the largest audience in American radio history, with over 81% of adult American listeners tuning in to hear the speech. Soon after the speech, Congress almost unanimously declared war against Japan, formally entering World War II. The White House later received several telegrams praising Roosevelt's stance. The speech has since been used in various films. Roosevelt's description of December 7, 1941, as "a date which will live in infamy" has been compared with November 22, 1963, the date of the assassination of John F. Kennedy and the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
Contents
Background
Franklin D. Roosevelt was born in 1882 in Dutchess County, New York. Initially working at a law firm, he later became a member of the New York state senate. He served as the assistant secretary of the Navy under President Woodrow Wilson and was elected the 44th governor of New York. He won the 1932 presidential election and was inaugurated as the president in 1933. He was re-elected in 1936, and in 1940, he won an unprecedented third term.
On December 7, 1941, the American naval base at Pearl Harbor in the Territory of Hawaii was attacked by 353 Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service aircraft in a surprise military strike at 7:48 a.m. HST (12:48 p.m. EST). Subsequently, 21 American ships and approximately 350 aircraft were destroyed, and more than 2,400 civilians and military personnel were killed. Within a few minutes after the attack began, Roosevelt was informed shortly after 1:00 p.m. EST, while he was having lunch with Harry Hopkins. Frank Knox, the Secretary of the Navy, sent a phoned message which read: "Air raid on Pearl Harbor. This is not a drill." Roosevelt soon ordered the mobilization of all military personnel. His secretary stated that the attacks were made "wholly without warning when both nations were at peace". Roosevelt consulted his cabinet and members of Congress. According to author George T. McJimsey, Roosevelt told them not to lay blame, but to concentrate on the fact that the United States was "in it". The British prime minister Winston Churchill telephoned Roosevelt from Chequers and said: "We are all in the same boat now."
Though he was crippled by polio, Roosevelt was widely seen as a charismatic speaker. Laura Crowell of the University of Washington wrote that Roosevelt worked diligently on his speeches, and he "regularly provided the basic thoughts which he wanted to incorporate in an address ... [brought] the manuscript to the precise length; content and tone he desired is now widely understood." Roosevelt decided to deliver an address before the joint session of Congress the next day. McJimsey wrote that the attack gave him a "definite direction and purpose".
Address to the joint session
The Infamy Speech was a brief address of approximately 6 minutes 30 seconds, delivered to a joint session of the Congress at 12:30 p.m. on December 8, 1941. Secretary of State Cordell Hull had recommended to Roosevelt to devote more time to the exposition of Japanese-American relations and the lengthy but unsuccessful effort to find a peaceful solution. However, Roosevelt kept the speech brief in the belief that it would have a more dramatic effect. Roosevelt's revised statement was stronger for its emphatic insistence that posterity would endorse the American view of the attack. It was intended not merely as a personal response by Roosevelt, but as a statement on behalf of the all-American people in the face of great collective trauma. According to sociologist Jeffrey C. Alexander and other authors of the book Cultural Trauma and Collective Identity, the speech worked to crystallize and channel the response of the nation into a collective response and resolve.
The first paragraph of the speech was worded to reinforce Roosevelt's portrayal of the United States as a victim of unprovoked Japanese aggression. The initial draft read, "a date which will live in world history". Roosevelt rephrased it as "a date which will live in infamy." The wording was deliberately passive. Rather than speaking in the active voice ("Japan attacked the United States"), Roosevelt chose to speak in the passive voice to emphasize America's status as a victim. Roosevelt said:
Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.The United States was at peace with that Nation and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its Government and its Emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific. Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in the American Island of Oahu, the Japanese Ambassador to the United States and his colleague delivered to our Secretary of State a formal reply to a recent American message. And while this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or of armed attack.
Roosevelt said that the distance from Japan to Hawaii made it obvious that the attack was planned "days or even weeks ago". The theme of "innocence violated" was further reinforced by the mention of the ongoing diplomatic negotiations with Japan, which Roosevelt characterized as having been pursued cynically and dishonestly by the Japanese government while it was secretly preparing for war against the United States. He consciously sought to avoid making the sort of more abstract appeal that had been issued by President Wilson in his speech to Congress in April 1917, when the United States entered World War I. Wilson laid out the strategic threat posed by Germany and stressed the idealistic goals behind America's participation in the war. During the 1930s, however, the public opinion turned strongly against such themes and was wary of idealistic visions of remaking the world through just war. Roosevelt's speech was aimed more at the gut level, in effect, which was an appeal to patriotism rather than to idealism. Though, he drew a symbolic link with the April 1917 declaration of war: he was accompanied to the joint session by Edith Bolling Wilson, President Wilson's widow.
Impact and legacy
Roosevelt's speech had an immediate and long-lasting impact and was referred to as one of the most famous speeches of American politics. Thirty-three minutes after he finished speaking, Congress declared war against Japan, with only one Representative, Jeannette Rankin, voting against the declaration. The speech was broadcast live by radio and attracted the largest audience in American radio history, with over 81% of people tuning in to hear the speech. The response was positive, both within and outside of Congress. Samuel Irving Rosenman, who served as an adviser to Roosevelt, described the scene as the "most dramatic spectacle there in the chamber of the House of Representatives". He said that the spirit of cooperation came equally from both Democratic and Republican sides, and the "new feeling of unity which suddenly welled up in the chamber on December 8, the common purpose behind the leadership of the President, the joint determination to see things through, were typical of what was taking place throughout the country."
The White House was inundated with telegrams praising Roosevelt's stance. One writer wrote: "On that Sunday, we were dismayed and frightened, but your unbounded courage pulled us together.". Recruiting stations were jammed with a surge of volunteers, and had to go on 24-hour duty to deal with the crowds seeking to sign up, in numbers reported to be twice as high as after Wilson's declaration of war in 1917. The anti-war and isolationist movement collapsed in the wake of the speech, with even the president's fiercest critics falling into line. Charles Lindbergh, who had been a leading isolationist, gave a statement endorsing Roosevelt's speech. He said: "Our country has been attacked by force of arms, and by force of arms we must retaliate. We must now turn every effort to building the greatest and most efficient Army, Navy, and Air Force in the world." However, controversial Detroit area priest Charles Coughlin, who previously did national radio sermons and now published the Social Justice periodical magazine, would oppose U.S. entry into World War II even after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, alleging that Jews had planned the war for their own benefit and had conspired to involve the United States.
The speech's infamy line is often misquoted as "a day that will live in infamy". However, Roosevelt emphasized the date—December 7, 1941—rather than the day of the attack, a Sunday, which he mentioned only in the last line of the speech. He sought to emphasize the historic nature of the events at Pearl Harbor, implicitly urging the American people never to forget the attack and memorialize its date. The term "day of infamy" has become widely used by the media to refer to any moment of supreme disgrace or evil.
Full text
TO THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES:
Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.
The United States was at peace with that Nation and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its Government and its Emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific. Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in the American Island of Oahu, the Japanese Ambassador to the United States and his colleague delivered to our Secretary of State a formal reply to a recent American message. And while this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or of armed attack.
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.
The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian Islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. I regret to tell you that very many American lives have been lost. In addition American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu.
Yesterday the Japanese Government also launched an attack against Malaya.
Last night Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong.
Last night Japanese forces attacked Guam.
Last night Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands.
Last night the Japanese attacked Wake Island. And this morning the Japanese attacked Midway Island.