On December 8, when the US Pacific Fleet was in ruins at Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Roosevelt requested and received a declaration of war against Japan.
Leaning heavily on the arm of his son James, a naval captain, FDR hesitantly entered the House of Representatives at noon to demand a declaration of war in the House and address the nation by radio. “Yesterday,” the President proclaimed, “December 7, 1941 – a date that will live on in infamy – the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by the naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan. No matter how long it takes us to defeat this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win until absolute victory.
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Roosevelt’s 10-minute speech, ending with an oath – “So help us God” – was greeted in the House with thunderous applause and kicks. In less than an hour, the president received his declaration of war, with a single dissenting vote, from a pacifist in the House. FDR signed the declaration at 4:10 p.m., wearing a black armband to symbolize mourning for those lost in Pearl Harbor.
On both coasts, civil defense groups have been mobilized. In New York City, Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia ordered the arrest of Japanese nationals, who were transported to Ellis Island and detained indefinitely. In California, antiaircraft batteries have been installed in Long Beach and in the Hollywood Hills. Reports of suspected espionage activity by Japanese Americans began pouring into Washington, even as Japanese Americans paid for newspaper space to unreservedly declare their loyalty to the states. -United. The groundwork was being laid for the tragic internment of Japanese Americans, deemed necessary at the time, but regretted years later as a hysterical and sectarian response.
