Inaugural Address of John F. Kennedy
The rhetoric of John F Kennedy was mainly concerned with the problem of collective energy or the need to incite the commitment, responsibility and the obligation of individuals. In his inaugural speech he summoned the American people to a sense of national mission. He focused on arousing the citizens to raise the opportunities and the challenges defined for them. The amount of effort he put in the public address manifest the sensitivity to words and the power to influence his audience.
The themes of renewal and change are manifested throughout the speech. A sense of continuity was achieved through the renewal of commitments where the president urged the old allies to cooperative ventures. The speech was consistent in encouraging unity, change and a sense of patriotism. It was revolutionary in nature as it provides an impetus for transformation in both national and international life.
One of the most forceful elements of the address is the power to define the issues and set the agenda for the people. He also expressed the ultimate achievement that lies in the hands on the people rather than their leader: “In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course.” This line fulfilled the normal expectation of an address in which the president expressed humility. He must lead but also keep in mind the people from which his mandate and powers is derived.
In placing his confidence and deriving power from the people, the president reinforced the interdependent relationship between the leader and the people in a participatory democracy. He asked the people to find courage, faith and conviction with selflessness and self sacrifice for a larger purpose that encompasses a community of nations. The idealism proves to be attractive especially the most famous line: “And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you –ask what you can do for your country.” “My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”
The eloquence of this line was made powerful by the audience’s participation in the hope that what was expressed was not merely to discuss the problems but instead an insight to national and international solutions. People within the nation and outside are asked to hold the administration accountable. This signifies an effective leadership.
In the closing, the moral nature of the new leadership is stressed. The president expressed his dependence in the higher power and asked the country to unite to get the country moving again: “With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God’s work must truly be our own.”
Generally, the speech evoked the power of the speaker to communicate and persuade the audience into action. More importantly, it inspired not only the national audiences but also the international communities to take collective action and practice a sense of nationalism. The remarkable rhetoric used in throughout the speech made it a powerful political address.
I have a Dream by Martin Luther King
The historic speech by Martin Luther King spoke of the desire to bring forth equality among black and whites. It educates, inspires and informs the audiences as to the central theme of the speech. The rhetoric is iconic in nature with the used of bibilical sources. With the device of allusion it made use of phrases from significant cultural texts.
For instance, it alluded to Psalm 30:5 in the second stanza of the speech. It also referred to the abolition of slavery in the emancipation Proclamation: “This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a
joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.”
Anaphora which is the repetition of the similar word is a rhetorical device used throughout the speech. The phrase ‘now is the time’ have been repeated several times in the sixth stanza: “Now is the time to make real the
promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and
desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the
time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid
rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of
God’s children.” This rhetoric tool is used to put emphasis to the concept which in this case is the sense of urgency to promote justice and equality. Another
example of anaphora used was found in the phrase “I have a dream” which was repeated at least eight times in the speech.
The key theme of the speech was the attempt of the African Americans to realize their freedom in a society pervaded by discrimination. It basically spoke of the dream shared by blacks like King to live in a place of peace and harmony free of judgment. In this sense, the speech depicted the personal lives of the people. It spoke truthfully enough to inspire not only those who experience racial discriminations but all kinds of inequality.
The speech inspired people to take actions and resist wrongdoings. The soaring rhetoric that demanded justice and a unified country is strong enough to encourage action. The words proved to be a hallmark for recognizing the social and political turmoil during that time and gave the audiences a vocabulary to articulate their predicament. The key message is that all individuals are created as equal and although it was not the situation that time, King argued it must be the case for the future.
Certainly the speech was researched well as it included references from the bible, the Gettysburg Address and the Declaration of Independence. All of which were used in the address. In terms of style, the speech is a political piece, a work of poetry and a sermon that bursts with biblical language. The repetition of phrases was also used to focus on the key points of the speech.
The format was simplistic. The first half depicted the idealistic dream but a picture of the American injustice. It summoned action in the series of lines with the phrase’ now is the time’ coming first. The second half presents the ultimate dream of a better and a fairer future of harmony and unity. Indeed, the speech was an incorporation of a political treatise and an emotional sermon.
Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address
The organization of the speech is chronological. The first part provides a foundation on which the remaining parts of the speech will depend, identifying the birth of the nation: “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are equal”. It emphasizes almost immediately the virtue of equality and freedom. The second stanza emphasizes the testing of the nation that has grown. This period is portrayed as a time of sacrifice for the protection of the nation. The last part sets the task of the audience to devote themselves in the unfinished task of those who sacrificed.
In the address, the bible was not directly mentioned although there appears to be a significant amount of biblical allusions. The first example was the choice to use “Four score and seven years ago” rather than commonly used eighty seven years ago. Abraham was fourscore and six years old when his first son was born. The phrase ‘our fathers’ was used to identify the immediate audience. By connecting the founding fathers with the audience, he made the tradition of freedom like a family tradition. Just like a son needed to preserve the honor of his father, the citizens also needed to preserve that of their country. This phrase was also used repeatedly in the bible.
The use of the word ‘new’ indicates brand new or original concept and also had a chronological meaning. According to Lincoln, the audiences at the Gettysburg cannot truly dedicate the grounds because the soldiers already did it. With the inclusion of both “living and dead” when describing “brave men”, he made it clear that dying was not required for bravery.
The phrase “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here”, reiterates the importance of not of the ceremony but of the battlefield. Repetition was also used to reiterate the responsibility of the living: “It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us”.
The most notable phrase in the speech was the last line: “the government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth”. The use of the word people compliments the theme of birth and death which was developed throughout the speech. All throughout the speech, the similarities between inception and the struggle of a person and that of a country are stressed. The emphasis on the word ‘people’ also indicates the recognition that it is the people who will win the war and not the government itself. Finally, the speech was concluded with a biblical term. The word ‘perish’ is frequently used in the bible.
In terms of format, the speech was chronological and very short. It employed analogy with the life cycle as it uses birth and death. The choices of words used are rather problematic since they carry multiple meanings and some were even unusual. For example, the phrase ‘fourscore and seven years ago’ cannot be immediately recognized as referring to eighty seven years ago. Indeed, the beauty of the conceptions and phrasings can only be appreciated if the reader can pause and review the nuances and interconnections.
Infamy Speech
The infamy speech was brief and was intended to evoke strong emotional impact. It appeals to the outrage felt by the Americans during the Japanese attack. The speech was purposefully framed to indicate the low moral of the Japanese. It employed a contrast between the “righteous might “of the Americans and the deceitful characteristic of the Japanese.
The most notable line in the speech: “a date which will live history”. Roosevelt replaced the phrase “world history” with “infamy”. The speech was intended to express the response of the president and that of the entire nation. It also emphasized the response of the country to a collective resolve.
The first stanza reinforces the portrayal of the US as the innocent victim of the Japanese. The choices of words are passive rather than taking active voice. It was intended to emphasize the status of America as the innocent victim. The phrase “innocence violated” strengthens the recounting of the diplomatic negotiaitons with the Japanese government.
Generally, the tone of the speech was that of determined realism. It made no mention of the significant damage that the attack has caused the armed forces. The absence of figures like the number of casualties was not included instead the phrase “very many American lives have been lost” was used. the confidence with the strength of the American citizens was also stressed in the speech. The use of the term “unbounded determination of our people” indicates the acceptance of the challenge posed by the Japanese government.
The speech also emphasized the theme “our people, our territory and our interest are in grave danger” highlighting the attacks within the Pacific. This speech was remarkable that its call for cooperation was immediately recognizable. The speech was composed of simple declarative sentences. It is effective not with the use of hyperbole but with the straightforward account of the damages caused by the Japanese. The desired effect was achieved with the infamy line.
The brevity of the speech has gained it a dramatic effect. The central theme for the speech was the call for patriotism instead of idealism. The framework of the infamy speech was a narrative of the American defeat. It followed the rhetorical tradition in which a president assumed the power as the commander in chief during a war when thousands of lives are lost in defending a nation united under God.
Indeed, the speech has gained a remarkable effect on the audience especially during a time when the country is in trouble. The direct calls for unity complimented by emotional impact have proved to be effective. Also, the portrayal of the US as a victim and the Japan as the aggressor further strengthens the emotional impact of the speech. The analogy to a victim and the deceitful characteristic of the Japanese as represented in the speech brings forth a sense of nationalism to each American reading the speech. Lastly, it provoked the retaliation and the attack against the Japanese troops and also sought the help from the almighty.
INAUGURAL ADDRESS OF JOHN F. KENNEDY
WASHINGTON, D.C., JANUARY 20, 1961
Vice President Johnson, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Chief Justice, President Eisenhower, Vice President Nixon, President Truman, reverend clergy, fellow citizens: We observe today not a victory of party but a celebration of freedom–symbolizing an end as well as a beginning–signifying renewal as well as change. For I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forbearers prescribed nearly a century and three quarters ago.
The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe–the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God.
We dare not forget today that we are the heirs of that first revolution. Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans–born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage–and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world.
Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the success of liberty.
This much we pledge–and more.
To those old allies whose cultural and spiritual origins we share, we pledge the loyalty of faithful friends. United, there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures. Divided, there is little we can do–for we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds and split asunder.
To those new states whom we welcome to the ranks of the free, we pledge our word that one form of colonial control shall not have passed away merely to be replaced by a far more iron tyranny. We shall not always expect to find them supporting our view. But we shall always hope to find them strongly supporting their own freedom–and to remember that, in the past, those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside.
To those people in the huts and villages of half the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery, we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves, for whatever period is required–not because the communists may be doing it, not because we seek their votes, but because it is right. If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.
To our sister republics south of our border, we offer a special pledge–to convert our good words into good deeds–in a new alliance for progress–to assist free men and free governments in casting off the chains of poverty. But this peaceful revolution of hope cannot become the prey of hostile powers. Let all our neighbors know that we shall join with them to oppose aggression or subversion anywhere in the Americas. And let every other power know that this Hemisphere intends to remain the master of its own house.
To that world assembly of sovereign states, the United Nations, our last best hope in an age where the instruments of war have far outpaced the instruments of peace, we renew our pledge of support–to prevent it from becoming merely a forum for invective–to strengthen its shield of the new and the weak–and to enlarge the area in which its writ may run.
Finally, to those nations who would make themselves our adversary, we offer not a pledge but a request: that both sides begin anew the quest for peace, before the dark powers of destruction unleashed by science engulf all humanity in planned or accidental self-destruction.
We dare not tempt them with weakness. For only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can we be certain beyond doubt that they will never be employed.
But neither can two great and powerful groups of nations take comfort from our present course–both sides overburdened by the cost of modern weapons, both rightly alarmed by the steady spread of the deadly atom, yet both racing to alter that uncertain balance of terror that stays the hand of mankind’s final war.
So let us begin anew–remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.
Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us.
Let both sides, for the first time, formulate serious and precise proposals for the inspection and control of arms–and bring the absolute power to destroy other nations under the absolute control of all nations.
Let both sides seek to invoke the wonders of science instead of its terrors. Together let us explore the stars, conquer the deserts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths and encourage the arts and commerce.
Let both sides unite to heed in all corners of the earth the command of Isaiah–to “undo the heavy burdens . . . and let the oppressed go free.”
And if a beach-head of cooperation may push back the jungle of suspicion, let both sides join in creating a new endeavor, not a new balance of power, but a new world of law, where the strong are just and the weak secure and the peace preserved.
All this will not be finished in the first one hundred days. Nor will it be finished in the first one thousand days, nor in the life of this Administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin.
In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course. Since this country was founded, each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty. The graves of young Americans who answered the call to service surround the globe.
Now the trumpet summons us again–not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need–not as a call to battle, though embattled we are–but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, “rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation”–a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease and war itself.
Can we forge against these enemies a grand and global alliance, North and South, East and West, that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind? Will you join in that historic effort?
In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility–I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it–and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.
And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you-ask what you can do for your country.
My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.
Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God’s work must truly be our own.
Martin Luther King at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom (August 28, 1963)
“I Have a Dream”
I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as
the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow
we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous
decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves
who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a
joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.
But 100 years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years
later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of
segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the
Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of
material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished
in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own
land. And so we’ve come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.
In a sense we’ve come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. When
the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the
Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a
promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a
promise that all men – yes, black men as well as white men – would be
guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness.
It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note
insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this
sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a
check that has come back marked “insufficient funds.”
But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We
refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of
opportunity of this nation. And so we’ve come to cash this check, a check
that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and security of justice.
We have also come to his hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce
urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to
take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the
promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and
desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the
time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid
rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of
God’s children.
It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment.
This sweltering summer of the Negro’s legitimate discontent will not pass
until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen
sixty-three is not an end but a beginning. Those who hoped that the Negro
needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude
awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither
rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship
rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of
our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.
But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the
warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of
gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us
not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of
bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high
plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to
degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the
majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous
new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to
a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced
by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied
up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is
inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.
And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always
march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the
devotees of civil rights, “When will you be satisfied?” We can never be
satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of
police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy
with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways
and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro’s
basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be
satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed
of their dignity by signs stating “for whites only.” We cannot be satisfied as
long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York
believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no we are not satisfied and
we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and
righteousness like a mighty stream.
I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great
trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells.
Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you
battered by storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police
brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to
work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.
Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South
Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums
and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can
and will be changed.
Let us not wallow in the valley of despair. I say to you today my
friends – so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I
still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the
true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all
men are created equal.”
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of
former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down
together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state
sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression,
will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation
where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content
of their character.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day down in Alabama, with its vicious racists,
with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition
and nullification – one day right there in Alabama little black boys and
black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as
sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every
hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain,
and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord
shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.
This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with.
With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a
stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling
discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this
faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle
together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing
that we will be free one day.
This will be the day, this will be the day when all of God’s children will
be able to sing with new meaning “My country ’tis of thee, sweet land of
liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my father’s died, land of the Pilgrim’s
pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring!”
And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. And so
let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let
freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring
from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.
Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado. Let
freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.
But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi – from
every mountainside.
Let freedom ring. And when this happens, and when we allow
freedom ring – when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet,
from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when
all of God’s children – black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles,
Protestants and Catholics – will be able to join hands and sing in the words
of the old Negro spiritual: “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty,
we are free at last!”
Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address
Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation: conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war. . .testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated. . . can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war.
We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate. . .we cannot consecrate. . . we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.
It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us. . .that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion. . . that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain. . . that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom. . . and that government of the people. . .by the people. . .for the people. . . shall not perish from the earth.
Infamy Speech
Mr. Vice President, Mr. Speaker, members of the Senate and the House of Representatives: 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.
The United States was at peace with that nation, and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its Government and its Emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific. Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in the American island of Oahu, the Japanese Ambassador to the United States and his colleague delivered to our Secretary of State a formal reply to a recent American message. And while this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or of armed attack.
It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time the Japanese Government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.
The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian Islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. I regret to tell you that very many American lives have been lost. In addition American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu.
Yesterday the Japanese Government also launched an attack against Malaya.
Last night Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong.
Last night Japanese forces attacked Guam.
Last night Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands.
Last night the Japanese attacked Wake Island.
And this morning the Japanese attacked Midway Island.
Japan has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday and today speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation.
As Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy, I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense.
But always will our whole nation remember the character of the onslaught against us. 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.
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.
Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger.
With confidence in our armed forces – with the unbounded determination of our people – we will gain the inevitable triumph – so help us God.
I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7th, 1941, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese Empire.
References
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