Franklin D. Roosevelt: Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation

“Yesterday, December 7th, 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” (1). These are the words Franklin Delano Roosevelt chose to begin his Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation the day after Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japan. FDR’s speech was a call to arms, and in his speech he expressed outrage towards Japan and confidence in inevitable triumph. The speech was a request to declare war against Japan and to bring the United States into World War II. FDR’s speech was successful in bringing the United States into World War II because FDR presented facts explaining why war needed to be declared and used righteous indignation

I interpret the phrase, “Times of terror are times of eloquence,” as meaning that traumatic or undesirable situations produce memorable speeches which guide people into action or change attitudes. Emerson’s saying suggests the best speaking and writing rises from troubling events. The quote relates to the notion in Bitzer’s essay that true rhetorical discourse occurs when a speaker addresses an audience in response to a situation in order to induce change.

Japan and America have been butting heads for awhile. When Japan was struggling economically, they thought gaining more territory would be the answer. Because of this, Japan declared war on China. This

The United States relationship with Japan was already tense; Japan’s attitude towards China was extremely hostile and aggressive. The United States and China had been allies, so they helped each other out. In 1937, Japan declared war China. In response, the United States cut of Japan’s oil supply and other goods. Without

The United States relationship with Japan had been slowly crumbling for quite some time before the attack. The Japanese government declared war on China in an attempt to fix its economic and demographic dilemma. They decided to take territory in their brother country and control their imports. Even though the American government had refused to provoke the Japanese, they favored the Chinese in the Sino-Japanese war. America hoped to reach a peaceful

The relationship between Japan and the United States was rather a complicated relationship. Both of them were

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was triggered by several events that revolve around Japan’s conflict with China in 1937. Shortly afterwards, Franklin Delano Roosevelt offered financial assistance to China through wartime contracts (Haugen & Musser, 2011). Further complicating the situation and frustrating Japan was the United States’ decision to trade fifty naval destroyers to the UK in exchange for Canadian and Caribbean building rights to construct naval air bases; land that Japan had recently expressed interest in (Haugen & Musser, 2011). Japan’s animosity towards the United States intensified when the Roosevelt administration interrupted Japan’s pacific expansion policies in the French and Dutch colonies (Clausen & Lee, 1992). Adding

During WWII, Japan was attempting to expand their territories by taking over Manchuria and many other places. The U.S., however, said that they “would refuse to recognize any territorial acquisitions that violate American treaty rights” (Bordelon). Japan didn’t listen to America’s threats and still went on to violate the Kellogg-Briand Treaty of 1928 and the Open Door Policy Pact of 1922. This caused the relationship between to grow even worse because it made the U.S. concerned that they wouldn’t be able to protect their imports of tin, rubber, and oil. In addition, Japan was continually violating treaties and taking over little islands near the United States in Hawaii. As a result, the U.S. became increasingly worried and knew they needed

Katherine Morel Burim Ala Honors US History II December 17, 2017 United States and Japan's Relationship Throughout the start of WWII United States remained isolated,as our president Roosevelt opposed to aggression which the relationship between Japan and America started to go downhill. United States went from being isolated to getting somewhat involved as war exploding throughout Europe, it became difficult to remain neutral. Not only was war exploding in Europe as Hitler was looking to expand their territory and power but also, Japan was also wanting to expand their power. Japan as a way to expand their power attacked China without a declaration of war which placed terror in many Chinese cities.

The Japanese had a contempt for the Chinese people, thinking that they were the lowest race on the planet. China had a benefit by being a larger country and because of that Japan always had something to fear. This war was triggered by many aspects, but one important one was the fact that China had tried to invade the islands of J apan but was never successful.

Japan and The United States have had a history of tension up until the year of 1941. At

Although America and Pearl Harbor didn’t know the reason why Japan claimed that America was pushing them aside and they needed to protect their empire. As well they also wanted to expand China and they didn’t want to expanded it so Japan declared war with China. America didn’t like that Japan got angry for that so America went on China’s side. Japan didn’t really like the decision that the U.S made so they started that war there and they decided to do it close to the U.S Naval Base.

The U.S. was never happy with the way Japan had been acting towards and treating China.

Before the U.S. had entered the war the decision was made to support china in defending themselves from Japan. As funds began to flow from the U.S. to china the Government justified the decision by stating that the defense of china was essential to the defense of the United States. When Japan began moving into southern china in the summer of 1941 the allies put an oil embargo on Japan, this cut off 90% of the country’s oil supplies. Japan had by this time cut off the land supply route to china forcing all new supplies to be flown over the Himalaya Mountains.

Before the attack, there were many injustice actions. The tension had already started way before this event. The dispute between two countries could be traced back all the way to 1915. When Japan issued the “Twenty-One Demands” on China, it “represented ultimatum to the Chinese government”. They were forced to give Japan a privileged status in some parts of China, also known as the “sphere of influence”. China was divided and conquered by Japan. This became a conflict with the “Open Door” stated policy between the United States and China, “in which all countries were to respect Chinese sovereignty and enjoy equal across to Chinese trade.” Later on, Japan was in an economic crisis and captured the rich province in China. This action was the culmination