“Day of Infamy” Speech Analysis
President Roosevelt prepared to give a monumental address to Congress and the
American people on December 8, 1941 describing the attack on Pearl Harbor and
asking Congress for a declaration of war against Japan. He knew that this
speech would be one of the most important in American history; therefore, his
word choice was of great importance. Using the draft copy of FDR’s “Day of
Infamy” address, evaluate his edits and word choice for meaning, tone, and
clarity. From this document, choose any 3 of FDR’s edits.
1. Define the following terms:
a. Infamy:
b. Premeditated:
c. Implications:
d. Onslaught:
e. Mincing:
f. Dastardly:
g. Meaning:
h. Tone:
i.
Clarity
2. Read through the National Archives page to complete the chart on the
back of the page.
http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2001/winter/crafting-dayof-infamy-speech.html
3. Listen to the speech and answer the following questions:
https://archive.org/details/FranklinDelanoRooseveltDayOfInfamySpeech
a. What special physical qualities of the recording exist, such as
music, live broadcasting, narration, sound effects, or background
sounds?
b. What can you tell about the speaker from his voice and delivery?
c. Does the final version of the speech have a greater or lesser effect
on you in its spoken form than in its written form? Explain.
FDR’s edit on the
draft of the
document. (ex:
changed “world
history” to
“infamy”)
Was this change for
meaning, tone,
clarity or a
combination of the
3?
Using the meanings
of the
words/phrases,
support your choice
from column 2.
Did the change
strengthen or
weaken the speech?
EXPLAIN.