Introduction On December 6 1941 a young naval officer entered the White House Oval Office and handed a secret message to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt US codebreakers had intercepted and decoded a communication sent from Japan to the Japanese ambassador in Washington DC The message said that the Japanese government had rejected President Roosevelt’s demand that Japan give up territory it had recently seized in China and Southeast Asia Roosevelt believed Japan’s leaders would do more than simply ignore his request Japan would likely attack the United States pulling the country into the war that was already raging in Europe and Asia Harry Hopkins the president’s closest adviser said it was a shame that the Japanese could pick their own time and place to attack the United States Why couldn’t America strike the first blow We can’t do that Roosevelt answered We are a democracy and a peaceful people Roosevelt knew that a preemptive strike against Japan would be hugely unpopular with the American people The president had warned his country about the growing threat from Germany and Japan Yet after the horrors of World War I 1914 1918 few Americans wanted to get involved in another conflict Many thought the broad expanses of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans would protect the United States from the distant fighting The next morning December 7 1941 the Americans intercepted another note to the Japanese ambassador His government instructed him to break off negotiations with the 6
United States at one o’clock in the afternoon The precise timing was odd The president thought this meant the Japanese planned to strike perhaps at Thailand British Malaya present-day Malaysia or American territory in the Philippines Japan Attacks Japan had another target in mind Roosevelt had just finished lunch when the phone in the Oval Office rang The Navy Department had a report that the US naval base at Pearl Harbor Hawaii was under attack Harry Hopkins thought it must be a mistake The Japanese wouldn’t attack Hawaii he said It was too far from Japan and too well defended But the president realized the report was probably true The Japanese had chosen to strike where they were least expected American sailors watch smoke rise from Hickam Field during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7 1941 7
At first the president appeared calm The Japanese had attacked American soil This would make it easier for him to convince Congress to declare war But throughout the chaotic afternoon reports of American losses kept rolling in By the end of the day the president’s face was gray and haggard Caught totally by surprise the US Navy had been barely able to mount a defense More than two thousand Americans were dead and more than one thousand wounded Twenty ships had been sunk or damaged and more than one hundred planes had been destroyed Message to the Nation The next day President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was driven to the Capitol building He rose from his wheelchair which he’d used since contracting crippling polio at the age of thirty-nine his President Roosevelt addresses Congress on December 8 1941 Following the attack on Pearl Harbor the United States declared war with Japan 8
knees locked in place by heavy steel braces Holding the arm of his adult son James the president walked slowly up to the speaking platform There he gripped the sides of the lectern to hold himself upright Once he was in place only his powerful upper body was visible to the members of Congress and the visitors who packed the chamber His strong baritone voice filled the room and was broadcast out to radio listeners across the nation 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 He went on 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 The fate of democracy hung in the balance yet Franklin Delano Roosevelt faced this crisis as he had faced others in his already long and eventful presidency His irrepressible optimism and willingness to experiment with innovative government programs was pulling the country out of the Great Depression 1929 1942 He would lead the country toward victory in World War II 1939 1945 and set the course for a future of prosperity 9
