The two-sided world-view in Roosevelt´s
First War Address Before Congress

by

Bagossy, Renate

Contents

1. Introduction 3

2. "They" contra "We" 4

3. Picture of the enemy 5

3.1. Accusing the enemy of breaking the law 6
3.2. The enemy as a demon 8
3.3. The enemy and his nation 10

4. Euphemism 12

5. Conclusion 16

1. Introduction

After the Japanese attack on the United States Navy base at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the United States declared war on Japan. When Germany and Italy then declared war against the United States, World War II truly became worldwide. In his speech First War Address Before Congress, made on January 6, 1942 President Franklin D. Roosevelt mentions several things: past historical events that led to the present situation, the necessity of war-production, the attempt to justify war, the creation of a negative picture of the enemy and a positive picture of his own people and claims that only total victory over the enemy can end the war, to mention just a few.

War rhetoric as such is part of the actual war, so its creation and development goes back quite a time in history as the human race has always made war upon each other. The first war message of the United States was the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Besides the common features of war rhetoric the Declaration of Independence and later United States´ war messages (up to today′s messages by George W. Bush) also include specific American features. In this term paper I am going to show that by using the techniques of war rhetoric Franklin Delano Roosevelt creates an imaginary two-sided world. To emphasize the importance of this two-sided world-view and for an overview that will serve for the whole term paper I collected and arranged examples from the speech in two charts. After setting up the two sides I will go into further detail and examine this both sides in more detail: the creation of a negative picture of the enemy on the one side and the diminishing of one´s own soldiers` actions by using euphemisms on the other side. The overall aim of war rhetoric is to justify the war and to unite the nation in order to defeat the enemy. This is the point where all the little details again meet and the parts of the speech unite into one basic concept. The individual elements of this speech cannot be separated totally from each other, as the elements mentioned often overlap. Sometimes, I feel, it is not possible to discuss something in full detail in one part of this study, as the same elements appear later again in another context, where the discussion can assume new and different aspects.

After longer quotations from the speech itself, I will only give the number of the page where it comes from. Quite a few single words or short expressions from the speech are collected in the aforementioned figures number one and two, therefore I will not give their page number again in the text. The quotations taken from other sources than German or English will be translated in the footnotes. Besides the actual speech First War Address Before Congress I also used other historical documents that deal with war: the Declaration of Independence, other speeches by FDR, a speech by Wilson and one by Lincoln to round up my paper. In addition to these primary sources I will quote from some - in my opinion - important secondary works to bolster up and support my assertions.

2. "They" contra "We"

In their war messages the American Presidents like to divide the world into two parts: according to this division, the good people belong to one part and the bad people to the other part. "Das Bild, das die Präsidenten von den USA entwerfen, ist so auf das des Feindes abgestimmt, daß als Gesamtbild eine mehr oder weniger deutliche Schwarzweißzeichnung entsteht" (Goetsch 19??: 85). In this divided world everybody belongs to either this or that part, there is no room for outsiders, everybody has to choose a side. Apparently everything is either black or white, this or that, there are no "in-betweens".

FDR, his nation and everybody who belongs to the "goodies" are called "we", Hitler, and his followers, the "baddies" are called "they" by Roosevelt in this speeches. The description of the two sides has to be as different as possible. If "they" are aggressors, then "we" are the victims, if "they" are described as having an unholy contempt for the human race, then "we" are heroic and historic defenders.

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