How Did Fdr Use Ethos Pathos And Logos In The Pearl Harbor Address

A Date That Will Live in Infamy On December 7, 1941, the Japanese Empire launched a surprise military attack on the United States naval base located at Pearl Harbor. This attack, as we all know, led to the entrance of the United States into World War II against the Japanese. The morning after this devastating attack, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt gave the famous speech known as the “Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation.” This famous speech paved the way for the victory of the United States in World War II, and asked for the declaration of war against the Japanese. President Roosevelt strategically used the categories of ethos, pathos, and logos in his speech to gain the full support of the nation for the entrance into the war. This was

He clearly states the problem at hand, and describes the relationship between the Japanese Empire and the United States. He strives to gain the sympathy, and maybe anger, of the listeners by stating the United States were at peace with the Japanese, and were currently discussing peaceful political prepositions. “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” (1). Claims like this can influence the mind of listeners, and can draw out certain emotions that are needed to get your point across. Roosevelt successfully accomplishes that goal, for the United States soon after joined the

This strategy is the most persuasive and brings out the emotions within the readers to sympathize for the affected. Pathos acts as an appeal to the reader's emotion, and is known as a way of convincing an audience of an argument by creating an emotional response. Roosevelt’s use of pathos reached out to the hearts of even the most patriotic Americans we have in our country. He continues to repeat how many innocent countries were attacked by the Japanese empire on the same exact night the American naval base in Hawaii was attacked. Roosevelt also shows sympathy for the ones who lost their lives and says, “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”