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Artifact 1, Pearl Harbor Propaganda Poster:

Artifact 2, George Bush’s Address to the Nation:

Bush Speech Transcript

YouTube Link
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Suraj Kumar

Professor Babcock

English 137H-006

11 October 2021

From Tragedy to War

“A date which will live in infamy...” While President Franklin D. Roosevelt was

describing December 7th, 1941, the day Japan attacked the Hawaiian naval base, Pearl Harbor,

his famous quote also accurately describes September 11th, 2001, the day the terrorist

organization, Al Qaeda, carried out four terrorist attacks on the United States through the use of

hijacked planes. Both events were the two deadliest attacks on the United States and were met

with immediate response from the government through different forms, like propaganda posters

and presidential speeches. The War Production Board (W.P.B) was created by President

Roosevelt to create and disperse propaganda, such as the “Avenge Pearl Harbor” poster, in

response to Japan’s attack (“Avenge Pearl Harbor”). Nine days after the September 11th terrorist

attacks, President George W. Bush gave a speech to a joint session of Congress and the nation,

declaring the War on Terror. Although sixty years apart, the “Avenge Pearl Harbor” propaganda

poster released by the U.S. government and George Bush’s address to the nation were both

successful in fostering pro-war sentiments among the general population through using the kairos

presented by the attacks, employing patriotic appeals, and establishing war as a reasonable

response.

Tragic events, like the attack on Pearl Harbor and the September 11th terrorist attacks,

garner significant attention, urgency, and empathy from citizens. This exigence was exploited by

authority figures to make the poster and speech more timely and effective in delivering their
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warmongering messages. At the start of World War II, the United States adopted an isolationist

position—this was a European war and not their responsibility. This sentiment was reflected by

its citizens, as a Gallup poll taken directly at the start of the war in 1939 found that 90% of

Americans were against the idea of going to war (Reinhart). However, as the war raged on,

President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the government wanted to join the war, as they feared the

growing tyrannical forces in the Pacific and Europe. This was evident through their indirect aid

of Britain and France (“FDR and World War II”). Like Roosevelt, President George Bush also

had pre-existing, pro-war attitudes. According to a member of his National Security Council,

Bruce Riedel, Bush had a deep resentment of Saddam Hussein and wanted him out of power

(Riedel). However, he had no justification to invade Iraq, similar to how FDR has no justification

to join WW2 that would satisfy American citizens. The tragedies that eventually took place gave

both presidents the justification they wanted. In 1941, the W.P.B dispensed propaganda posters

throughout America’s borders. They were placed where they would be seen by the most

people—in train stations, schools, restaurants, stores, etc.—as a means of civic infrastructure and

gave angry citizens a specific course of action: join the military. Without the exigence of the

Pearl Harbor tragedy and the anguish it created, this pro-war propaganda would have been far

less effective. Similarly, Bush used the September 11th attacks to declare the War on Terror in his

speech to the nation. The timeliness of the speech was near perfect, as most people were glued to

the news following the attack. This attention meant that most Americans watched his speech.

The diffusion of pro-war sentiments through the speech and poster created a shared enterprise in

both populations. The support for the U.S. to join World War II skyrocketed: a 1941 Gallup poll

discovered that 97% of Americans now supported Roosevelt declaring war on Japan, a complete

180 from two years ago (Saad). Likewise, In the weeks following September 11th, 2001, Bush’s
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approval rating shot up to around 85%, demonstrating the population’s unity following the

attacks and the support for the president’s post-attack, pro-war agenda (“Bush and Public

Opinion”). These were two of the only times the country was truly unified, even if it was just for

a short period. The poster and speech helped form this unity, primarily through their patriotic

appeals.

Patriot appeals employed by both artifacts generated anger and a need for revenge among

the general population. The use of recognizable, patriotic figures made the delivery of the

pro-war message more powerful. Uncle Sam was a very well-known personification of the

United States government and a symbol of patriotism, even during the early 1900s (“Uncle

Sam”). Thus, in the propaganda poster, he acts as a source of authority and ethos. By focusing on

Uncle Sam and putting him in the shoes of a soldier at Pearl Harbor, the propaganda emphasizes

that Pearl Harbor was an attack on all of America. As the president of the United States, George

Bush was the head of America’s response to the September 11th attacks. Consequently, the

pro-war messages of his speech were made all the more convincing as many looked towards him,

the ultimate source of American authority, for answers and hope. In addition to the patriotic

ethos of Uncle Sam and President Bush, both artifacts utilize patriotism to cultivate a need for

retribution. With his star-spangled vest, the propaganda poster shows Uncle Sam floating in the

Hawaiian waters, waving his hand angrily at the retreating Japanese planes (“Avenge Pearl

Harbor”). Seeing the embodiment of America in defeat creates anger against Japan among

patriotic citizens, as it challenges many patriotic ideologies, like the idea of American military

supremacy. The poster encourages citizens to defend that ideology through the informal, yet

authoritative message from Uncle Sam, “Our bullets will do it” (“Avenge Pearl Harbor”). If it

was a random soldier on the poster or if someone other than the U.S. president delivered the
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speech, the efficacy of the artifacts would be questionable. Emotional and patriotic diction in

both the speech and poster help create this need for retribution. The propaganda poster has the

statement, “Avenge Pearl Harbor,” a new, popular commonplace of the time. This message

directly recalls the thousands who died, reminding people of the tragedy they need to avenge. In

Bush’s speech, many words are repeated, like “freedom” and “America,” drawing a connection

between the September 11th attacks and our freedom, a popular American value (Bush). “We

will” is also repeated at the start of many sentences near the end, making Bush seem very

confident and also signifying a direct course of action—retribution.

Both artifacts make war a reasonable response as a means of justice and revenge. While

“Avenge Pearl Harbor” instills a need for vengeance, the poster states, “Our bullets will do it,”

insinuating that Americans can attain this vengeance through the use of bullets, in other words,

joining the military to fight Japan (“Avenge Pearl Harbor”). The informality of the statement also

helps connect to the common American man, the primary audience of the poster. The logic is

straight to the point: Japan attacked us and we need to get revenge for the dead. This simplicity

works in favor of a poster form as anyone could understand the message. Similarly, the speech

plants the seed for war through clever messaging. Bush labels the enemy as a “network of

terrorists and every government that supports them” (Bush). This loose definition of the enemy

essentially allows the United States to invade anyone that has any tie to terrorism. He draws a

logical connection between Al Qaeda and Afghanistan by describing the influence the terrorist

group has on the country and their support for the Taliban. He then continues to lay the

groundwork for future invasions: “...we will pursue nations that provide aid or safe haven to

terrorism” (Bush). By identifying a specific enemy and location, Bush made invading

Afghanistan a reasonable response to the September 11th terrorist attacks. Angry citizens could
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now target their rage at Afghanistan and other Middle Eastern countries the U.S. deemed

enemies. American citizens wanted a direct course of action and the artifacts’ answer to this

craving was war, an ultimately satisfying response for most people.

Humans are naturally very empathetic creatures, and historically, this empathy can be

exploited by figures of authority to raise support for a certain cause, in this case war. We saw this

with the Pearl Harbor attack, where that tragedy was used by the U.S. government to enter World

War II, and we saw it sixty years later with the September 11th terrorist attacks, where President

Bush used those attacks to justify invading the Middle East. Thousands of civically engaged

individuals joined the military to avenge these tragedies and thousands of people died as a result.

In this sense, tragedy ultimately created more tragedy. It is likely we will see this happen again.
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Works Cited

“Avenge Pearl Harbor. Our Bullets Will Do It.” National Archives and Records

Administration, National Archives and Records Administration,

https://catalog.archives.gov/id/534787.

“Bush and Public Opinion.” Pew Research Center - U.S. Politics & Policy, Pew Research

Center, 30 May 2020,

https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2008/12/18/bush-and-public-opinion/.

Bush, George W. “President Bush Addresses the Nation.” The Washington Post, WP

Company, 20 Sept. 2001,

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/nation/specials/attacked/transcripts/bushaddress_

092001.html.

“FDR and World War II (Article).” Khan Academy, Khan Academy,

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-history/rise-to-world-power/us-wwii/a/fdr-an

d-world-war-ii.

Reinhart, RJ. “Gallup Vault: U.S. Opinion and the Start of World War II.” Gallup.com,

Gallup, 13 Aug. 2021,

https://news.gallup.com/vault/265865/gallup-vault-opinion-start-world-war.aspx.

Riedel, Bruce. “9/11 And Iraq: The Making of a Tragedy.” Brookings, Brookings, 17 Sept.

2021,

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2021/09/17/9-11-and-iraq-the-making-o

f-a-tragedy/.
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Saad, Lydia. “Gallup Vault: A Country Unified after Pearl Harbor.” Gallup.com, Gallup, 8

May 2021,

https://news.gallup.com/vault/199049/gallup-vault-country-unified-pearl-harbor.aspx.

“Uncle Sam.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 5 May 2020,

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Uncle-Sam.