Franklin Roosevelt’s Pearl Harbor Speech: A Lesson for Our Own Time

Today is the anniversary of Japan’s December 7, 1941 attack on the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor. The next day, December 8th, President Franklin D. Roosevelt spoke in Congress to ask for a declaration of war. His speech’s eloquence has often been admired. Let us instead, look, today, at Roosevelt’s supreme, absolute expression of confidence. Together with that absolute confidence, Roosevelt promised that the United States would never again be vulnerable to treachery. A nation’s first requirement is to offer security to its citizens. As the United States today faces terrible threats both from within and without, let us remember that key message. Roosevelt’s speech had a message for us in 2023, if we are willing to listen.


The Promise of Victory

At the time of crisis that December 7 created, Roosevelt saw no need to persuade Congress that we were at war. The war had come. Instead, Roosevelt promised that the United States of America would use all its resources and efforts to defeat the enemy. He proposed a commitment:

“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.”

That simple statement reminded Congress—and the people—that the road to victory would be long. He stated the “righteous might” of Americans, while promising an outcome of “absolute victory.”

At the same time, I cannot help but to be impressed by Roosevelt’s expression of humility: he did not arrogantly say that he had the right to speak for all of America. Instead, he said that “I believe.” He stated his belief that he was following the people’s will, not that he had a right to change their will to agree with his. A leader, not a dictator.

Never Again!

Also, and equally striking, Roosevelt promised that the United States would forever more protect itself against similar unprovoked attacks. He did not just commit himself, but all future leaders to safeguard the United States of America:

“I believe that I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost, but will make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again endanger us.” [italics added]

Sadly, not all presidents since remembered Roosevelt’s promise. The September 11 terrorist attacks against New York and Washington caught us flat-footed. I fear that we are not taking enough precautions about the insidious attacks against our elections that foreign actors launch using social media. The Mueller Report, which examined Russian interference in the 2020 election, documented those attacks with great precision; sadly, however, his message was lost in a cacophony of political turmoil. 

A nation like the United States of America must protect its values of representative government and personal liberties during wartime. That poses a difficult challenge, and no president has met it with perfection. Roosevelt recognized, however, that every government must protect its people against foreign invasions. His warning passed through his own time to the future, and we, today, are the future.

Later today, I intend to write about Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s reminder that, ever since World War II, the leadership of the United States has been fundamental to world order and the fight against oppression. That is another part of Roosevelt’s message that we may have forgotten: to be “righteous.”  

Take a moment, please, to remember the 2,403 Americans who died at the Pearl Harbor raid, and the hundreds of thousands of Americans, including my teenage uncle, whose lives were lost fighting in the war that followed: not to mention the millions of service people, including my father and father-in-law, who served during the terrible, worldwide conflict. Let us also remember that cruelty can give way to hope, as the United States has today become fast friends with our former enemies of Japan, Italy, and Germany. Is not peace with justice the cure for war?

by William D. Harpine

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Earlier Post, discusses Roosevelt's use of epideictic speech methods:  Franklin Roosevelt's War Message, December 8, 1941

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Research Note: There are many excellent academic studies of Roosevelt’s speech. This superb article by Herman Stelzner, which was required in communication graduate schools back in my day, is a classic: Hermann G. Stelzner (1966) “'War Message,' December 8, 1941: An Approach to Language," Speech Monographs, 33:4, 419-437. Although it is behind a paywall, many large libraries can access it from their databases. 

Copyright ©  2023, William D. Harpine