Question

1. Short-response prompt (15 points)

Read the following passage from the introduction to Franklin Delano Roosevelt's
Fireside Chat 19, which Roosevelt delivered via radio on December 9, 1941- two
days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor:
The sudden criminal attacks perpetrated by the Japanese in the
Pacific provide the climax of a decade of international immorality.
Powerful and resourceful gangsters have banded together to
make war upon the whole human race. Their challenge has now
been flung at the United States of America. The Japanese have
treacherously violated the longstanding peace between us. Many
American soldiers and sailors have been killed by enemy action.
American ships have been sunk; American airplanes have been
destroyed.
The Congress and the people of the United States have accepted
that challenge.
Together with other free peoples, we are now fighting to maintain
our right to live among our world neighbors in freedom, in
common decency, without fear of assault.
In the passage, Roosevelt refers to the Axis powers as "gangsters." Explain the
connotations, or ideas and feelings, associated with that word. What central idea
about the attack on Pearl Harbor do the word gangsters and other inflammatory
language in the passage help convey?

Answer 1

Answer: Hope this helps!

Explanation: The word "gangsters" typically connotes criminal behaviour, violence, and disregard for the law. It implies a sense of lawlessness and moral depravity. By using this term to describe the Axis powers, Roosevelt is suggesting that their actions are not only aggressive but also immoral and criminal. He is portraying them as enemies of the entire human race, rather than just the United States.

The inflammatory language used in this passage helps convey the idea that the attack on Pearl Harbor was not just an act of war, but a treacherous and immoral act of aggression by a group of criminal aggressors. The use of strong and emotive language serves to rally support for the war effort and to justify the United States' entry into the war. The central idea conveyed is that the attack on Pearl Harbor was an unprovoked and immoral act of aggression that required a strong and resolute response from the United States and its allies.