President Franklin D. Roosevelt Signs the Declaration of War Against Japan

Image size: 1273 x 1600 pixel. 381 KB
Date: Monday, 8 December 1941
Place: Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Photographer: Abbie Rowe

After Japanese forces attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed Congress and gave his famous “Day of Infamy” speech. In this photograph, taken by National Park Service photographer Abbie Rowe on December 8, 1941, President Roosevelt signs a declaration of war against Japan, leading the United States into World War II.. He is wearing a black armband in memory of his recently deceased mother, Sara Ann Delano Roosevelt. 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.

Source:

NARA (National Archives) Identifier 520053 

http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/day-of-infamy/

http://arcweb.archives.gov/arc/action/ExternalIdSearch?id=520053&jScript=true

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