A Date Which Will Live in Infamy
Each December, the people of the United States remember the attack on Pearl Harbor. As the horrifying news and harrowing images of billowing smoke and destroyed ships made their way to the American public, the President worked to reassure the nation. Preserved at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library, a branch of the National Archives, the iconic “Day of Infamy” speech lives on through its various drafts and recordings. This important milestone captures the United States at the threshold of global conflict. This week, we delve into the events leading to the speech and the critical decisions President Roosevelt made during those fateful 24 hours.
The Attack
A few minutes before 8 a.m. on December 7, 1941, the stillness of the Hawaiian morning was shattered by the arrival of hundreds of Japanese aircraft. Launched from six aircraft carriers, they descended on Pearl Harbor in two coordinated waves. In less than two hours, a major portion of the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fleet lay ruined. Major battleships such as the Arizona and Oklahoma capsized or exploded while others burned at anchor. Nearly 200 U.S. aircraft were destroyed before they could leave the ground.
The human toll was immense, with over 2,400 American lives lost by the end of the attack. The photographs preserved in the National Archives—some taken amid the chaos by servicemen who grabbed cameras—show a harbor transformed into a scene of devastation. One photo in the holdings from a captured Japanese pilot shows the wreckage from the skies.
FDR Confronts the Crisis
News of the attack reached President Roosevelt in Washington just about an hour later, mere moments after he finished lunch. According to documents held in the FDR Library—including telephone logs, Situation Room messages, and the President’s diaries—Roosevelt immediately convened military advisers and Cabinet members. By late afternoon, he was already considering how to communicate the scale of the disaster to the American people. The White House issued a brief press release at 2:25 p.m. ET informing the American public of the assault, and well before Roosevelt had completed the first draft of the address he planned to deliver to Congress.
President’s appointment diary, December 7, 1941. The entries in this appointment diary kept by Roosevelt’s personal secretary, Grace Tully, reflect the crisis that quickly engulfed the White House on December 7.
From the surviving drafts at the National Archives and the FDR Library, we know that the speech Roosevelt first dictated to his secretary, Grace Tully, was forceful but restrained. Although the address evolved significantly over a short period of time, the now-iconic decision to use “infamy” in its opening line emerged early on and endured throughout all later drafts.
As the night of December 7 ebbed into the early hours of December 8, Roosevelt continued to receive military updates, many of them more dire than the last. There were more attacks on the Philippines, Guam, Wake Island, and Midway. The speech evolved as fresh information arrived.
On the morning of December 8, President Roosevelt finalized the speech he would deliver to Congress that afternoon. By mid-morning, the second and third drafts reflected both these additions and Roosevelt’s careful balancing of urgency, resolve, and reassurance.
That afternoon, he traveled with his family to the Capitol, where he delivered the address to a joint session of Congress. The speech galvanized lawmakers, leading to near-unanimous approval of a war resolution less than an hour later, signaling America’s official entry into World War II. You can watch the speech in its entirety on the FDR Library’s YouTube page.
According to records from the Office of War Information (also held in the National Archives), radio audiences reached unprecedented levels; millions of Americans clustered around sets in schools, factories, and living rooms to listen. The President’s brief address lasted just over six minutes, but it made history that day.
Learn more from the FDR Library’s Virtual Exhibition on the “Day of Infamy” speech here.
As you reflect on this particular moment that changed the course of history, consider this: the “Day of Infamy” speech is included among the 100 most significant American documents in America’s 100 Docs. We invite you to join the nation in deciding which documents truly define our legacy (and perhaps cast your vote for this iconic speech today). Visit 100docs.vote to choose your top docs, explore other landmark records, and help celebrate 250 years of American history.
