On December 8, at 12:30 p.m., Roosevelt addressed a joint session of Congress and, via radio, the nation. He made the most significant change in the critical first line, which originally read, "a date which will live in world history." Grace Tully then prepared the final reading copy, which Roosevelt subsequently altered in three more places. President Roosevelt then revised the typed draft-marking it up, updating military information, and selecting alternative wordings that strengthened the tone of the speech. 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 treachery, as Secretary of State Cordell Hull had urged. ![]() At about 5 p.m., following meetings with his military advisers, the President calmly and decisively dictated to his secretary, Grace Tully, a request to Congress for a declaration of war. ![]() Roosevelt and his chief foreign policy aide, Harry Hopkins, were interrupted by a telephone call from Secretary of War Henry Stimson and told that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor. Instantly, the incident united the American people in a massive mobilization for war and strengthened American resolve to guard against any future lapse of military alertness.Įarly in the afternoon of December 7, 1941, President Franklin D. Though diplomatic relations between the United States and Japan were deteriorating, they had not yet broken off at the time of the attack. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor catapulted the United States into World War II. Pacific Fleet was devastated, and more than 3,500 Americans were killed or wounded. ![]() naval base on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, was subject to an attack that was one of the greatest military surprises in the history of warfare.
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