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Day of Infamy Speech

FDR asks Congress for war, December 1941
Franklin Roosevelt addressing Congress, December 1941
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The morning after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Franklin Roosevelt addressed a joint session of Congress on December 8, 1941, calling December 7 "a date which will live in infamy." In just over six minutes he asked for a declaration of war.

Congress obliged within the hour, with a single dissenting vote, and the United States entered World War II. Broadcast live to some 80 million listeners, it remains one of the most consequential addresses ever delivered by a president.

#Foreign Policy #World War II
World War II
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Key Facts
Speaker Franklin D. Roosevelt
Date December 8, 1941
Occasion Joint session of Congress, after Pearl Harbor
Result U.S. declaration of war on Japan
At a Glance
Date December 8, 1941
Location Washington, D.C.
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