Pearl Harbor

The Pearl Harbor address to the nation is probably one of the most famous speeches made throughout time. In this essay I will evaluate the rhetorical effectiveness of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's famous speech and show that his speech is a successful argument for the United States of America. I will focus on the speaker's credibility, all the different appeals made throughout the essay, as well as the purpose and the audience of the speech. Also, I will include whether or not there are any logical fallacies that may have weakened his speech. President Roosevelt does a few specific things to be able to establish his credibility as an author. Since Roosevelt was the current president, the United States was inclined to listen to him and believe what he was saying. Being the president, the people knew that he was a credible source to receive information from. The president had also been appointed Assistant Secretary of the Navy in 1920. This shows that he had experience with the United States military services and knew how to handle the Pearl Harbor situation. Roosevelt's speech is short, but it still utilizes pathos, ethos, and logos and has just enough detail to let the world know what was going on. The author of this essay is Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He was the president of the United States at the time of the Pearl Harbor attack. The purpose of this speech was to inform the entire United States about what had happened the day before at Pearl Harbor. The nation was to be warned that the United States was going to declare war against Japan. The intended audience is everyone in the United States. President Roosevelt effectively appeals to the pathos of the audience's emotions when he informs them what was going on. This news saddened and disappointed Americans all over the world. President Roosevelt's speech establishes a few different examples of pathos. Pathos was the most reoccurring appeal in his speech. At the very beginning of the speech the president says, "Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 – a date which will live in infamy – the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by navel and air forces of the Empire of Japan." The fact that this day will forever be remembered by all citizens of the United States definitely appeals to people's emotions. President Roosevelt also mentions, "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." This is an effective appeal to pathos because death affects your emotions. Thousands of people were affected by this tragic event and I'm sure it touched many people's emotions. In the middle of the speech president Roosevelt says that Japan also attacked Malaya, Hong Kong, Guam, the Philippine Islands, Wake Island, and Midway Island. This definitely appeals to the audiences emotions, especially if anyone had family or knew someone who lived over there. Another appeal that President Roosevelt used was ethos. When he said, "as commander in chief of the army and navy, I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense" this shows that since he is the commander in chief that he is a credible person to be able to say this. He has the credibility to make all the decisions that he chooses to make. This is an effective appeal to ethos because only someone with his credibility could have made the decision to declare a state of war between the United States and the Japanese Empire. The last appeal that President Roosevelt used was logos. One example was when he stated that many Americans lives had been lost. In the speech Roosevelt also said, "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." This is a very logical statement that the president made which is an example of logos. In the end, this was a well-written and very credible speech that President Roosevelt gave to the United States of America. Through all the different appeals he makes a successful argument for declaring was. He makes many statements that could have only been made by someone who really knew what was going on. With all the facts he proves that he does know what he is talking about and that everyone should believe him. This speech gave just the right amount of information to be able to let people know what was going on without too much detail that may confuse them. The president did not commit logical fallacies in his speech. It was strictly facts and events that had taken place. The fact that there are no logical fallacies makes it a more credible speech, as well as a successful argument. So, this speech was very successful in the way that the ideas were put together and written.