Rhetorical Overview of “The Day of Infamy Speech” On the fateful morning of December 7, 1941, the world witnessed an act of terror that would forever change the course of history. As the sun rose over Pearl Harbor, the United States was thrust into World War II, following a surprise attack by the Japanese military. In the face of this unprecedented crisis, President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered a speech that resonated through the hearts of all Americans, known as “The Pearl Harbor Address”. In “The Pearl Harbor Address”, President Franklin D. Roosevelt uses ethical appeal by establishing credibility as the President of the United States to convince the American People of the events of Pearl Harbor. The interaction between ethical appeal and timely appeal strengthens …show more content…
He establishes this by showing emotional appeal, or pathos. There are two examples of this, one is his introduction to the speech. “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” (514). The main phrase to look at here is” a date which will live in infamy”. President Roosevelt instantly sets the tone, that this will be a major turning point in history, and there will be no looking back. The second example of emotional appeal is present in this section.”But will our whole Nation remember the character of the onslaught against us. No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory” (515). In this paragraph, President Roosevelt sets a tone for what is next to come, and what actions he is going to take. This type of speech is more widely known as “rallying”. He invoked anger and shock into the hearts of the American people. In this way, he establishes a