Last night Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong. Yesterday the Japanese government also launched as attack against Malaya. In addition, American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu. I regret to tell you that very many American lives have been lost. The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian Islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. 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. 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. While this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or armed attack. 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. 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. Roosevelt: Yesterday, December 7, 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. Try updating to the latest version of your browser.
Your browser is unable to play the audio element. Although he never mentioned Europe or the fact that Germany had not yet declared war on the United States, the Pearl Harbor attack allowed him to begin the larger intervention in the European war he had long wanted. President Franklin Roosevelt quickly addressed Congress to ask for a declaration of war as illustrated in this audio excerpt. Japan’s carrier-launched bombers found Pearl Harbor totally unprepared. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941, stunned virtually everyone in the United States military. “A Date Which Will Live in Infamy”: FDR Asks for a Declaration of War
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