Roosevelt’s Uniting Rhetoric by Muhammad Raza

 Roosevelt’s Uniting Rhetoric

Following the Pearl Harbor attack on American soil by the Japanese Army on December 7th, 1941, then President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed the nation in his famous “Day of Infamy” speech. While the speech itself is not exceptional or groundbreaking, as it is relatively succinct and does not introduce notable or novel ideas, it is important to highlight how Roosevelt, through simple language, fosters unity throughout the nation. Though the devastating attack itself–which killed over 2,3000 U.S. personnel, injured many more, and dismantled numerous planes and ships–had already stirred camaraderie in the nation through shared grief and anger, President Roosevelt further strengthened this feeling of togetherness by pushing an “Us vs Them” rhetoric in his speech. Throughout his address, he often uses the pronouns “us” and “we” instead of typical phrases such as “my fellow Americans” or “dear American citizens”, and further attempts to unite the people by assuring confidence in their “inevitable triumph” with the help of God. Furthermore, he states that “our” (instead of America’s) interests and territory are in danger from the Japanese, further ostracizing them against the U.S.. This specific diction that President Roosevelt employs in his speech effectively serves to bond the U.S. citizens in their time of peril while also fanning their emotions against the Japanese. His speech not only shows that the power that mere words can have in connecting individuals, but may also have contributed to why the response to this unprovoked aggression from the Japanese was so fiery and sharp, leading to many calling for the U.S. to enter World War II.

Source:

“Speech by Franklin D. Roosevelt, New York (Transcript).” 2015. The Library of Congress. 2015. https://www.loc.gov/resource/afc1986022.afc1986022_ms2201/?r=-0.018,-0.265,1.036,1.205,0&st=text.