'A Date Which Will Live in Infamy'

The First Typed Draft of Franklin D. Roosevelt's War Address

Background

Early in the afternoon of December 7, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his chief foreign policy aide, Harry Hopkins, were interrupted by a telephone call from Secretary of War Henry Stimson and told that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor. At about 5:00 p.m., following meetings with his military advisers, the President calmly and decisively dictated to his secretary, Grace Tully, a request to Congress for a declaration of war. He had composed the speech in his head after deciding on a brief, uncomplicated appeal to the people of the United States rather than a thorough recitation of Japanese perfidies, as Secretary of State Cordell Hull had urged.

President Roosevelt then revised the typed draft—marking it up, updating military information, and selecting alternative wordings that strengthened the tone of the speech. He made the most significant change in the critical first line, which originally read, "a date which will live in world history." Grace Tully then prepared the final reading copy, which Roosevelt subsequently altered in three more places.

On December 8, at 12:30 p.m., Roosevelt addressed a joint session of Congress and the Nation via radio. The Senate responded with a unanimous vote in support of war; only Montana pacifist Jeanette Rankin dissented in the House. At 4:00 p.m. that same afternoon, President Roosevelt signed the declaration of war.

The document featured in this article, the typewritten draft, is housed at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library in Hyde Park, NY.

The Documents

Annotated Typewritten Copy of What is Commonly Referred to as FDR's"Day of Infamy" Speech



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Franklin D. Roosevelt Library

Speeches of President

Franklin D. Roosevelt

1933-1945

President Franklin D. Roosevelt

Signing the Declaration of

War against Japan

December 8, 1941



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National Archives and Records Administration

Records of the United States Senate

Record Group 46

Excerpt from the 'Day of Infamy' Radio Address

Freeman, Elsie, Wynell Burroughs Schamel and Jean West. "'A Date Which Will Live in Infamy'": The First Typed Draft of Franklin D. Roosevelt's War Address." Social Education 55, 7 (November/December 1991): 467-470.