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Dear Readers,
Franklin Delano Roosevelt's speech of December 8, 1941, which followed the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, is one of the most famous in history.
Here are the events which led up to his immortal words.
Early in the afternoon of December 7, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his chief foreign policy aide, Harry Hopkins were interrupted by a phone call from Secretary of War Henry Stimson
and told that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor.
Around 5 p.m., following meetings with his military advisers, the President calmly and decisively dictated a request to Congress for a declaration of war to his secretary, Grace Tully.
He had composed the speech in his head after deciding on a brief, uncomplicated appeal to the people of the United States rather than a thorough recitation of Japanese perfidies, as Secretary of State Cordell Hull had urged.
President Roosevelt then edited the typed draft, marking it, updating military information, and making revisions that strengthened the tone of his historic speech.
He made the most significant change in the critical first line, which had read, "a date which will live in world history.", by striking "world history" in favor of "infamy". His opening now read:
Yesterday, December 7, 1941, a date which will live in infamy...
Grace Tully then prepared the final reading copy, which Roosevelt subsequently altered in three more places.
On December 8, at 12:30 p.m., Roosevelt addressed a joint session of Congress and the Nation via radio.
The Senate responded with a unanimous vote in support of war; only Montana pacifist Jeanette Rankin dissented in the House. At 4:00 p.m. that same afternoon, President Roosevelt signed the declaration of war.
The rest is history...
Roosevelt's revisions to DRAFT No. 1
Click on each page to enlarge
