Rhetoric - Speech: Franklin Delano Roosevelt - Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation
Question 9 • Literacy and Comprehension B (WHS)
Yesterday, December 7th, 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. The passage above is how President Roosevelt opened his speech. Why would this date “live in infamy” as described in the rest of his speech?
Answer
A
It is the date the U.S. declared war against Japan.
B
It is the date the Holocaust ended.
C
It is the date he took office as President of the United States.
D
It is the date the U.S. was suddenly attacked by Japan for no reason.
Explanation
December 7, 1941, was the day Japanese forces attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor. Roosevelt called it a day that would “live in infamy” because of that sudden attack; the date was not the day the U.S. declared war or when Roosevelt took office. Choice D is the best match, though “for no reason” is not stated in the passage.
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