After gaining knowledge of the attack, Roosevelt went to the Congress to report the attack and demanded for a declaration of war. That same day, he said to his secretary, Grace Tully, "I'm going before Congress tomorrow, and I'd like to dictate my message. It will be short."
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Nathan Miller mentions, "[FDR] inhaled deeply on his cigarette, blew out the smoke, and began dictating in the same calm tone he used to deal with his mail. He enunciated the words incisively and slowly, carefully specifying each punctuation mark and new paragraph. Running little more than five hundred words, the message was dictated without hesitation or second thoughts."
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Most of the changes were made by FDR himself except the last paragraph, where aide Harry Hopkins helped. Under the note "Deity," Hopkins added "With confidence in our armed forces -with the inbounding determination of our people- we will gain the inevitable triumph- so help us God."
FDR himself also added a sentence towards the end of the text, "No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people will in their righteous might win through to absolute victory."
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"The speeches as finally delivered were his-and his alone-no matter who the collaborators were. He had gone over every point, every word, time and again. He had studied, reviewed, and read aloud each draft, and had changed it again and again, either in his own handwriting, by dictating inserts, or making deletions. Because of the many hours he spent in its preparation, by the time he delivered a speech he knew it almost by heart," Rosenman said. The declaration moved to an immediate vote, passing the Senate by a vote of 82-0, and then the House with a vote of 388-1, Jeannette Rankin being the only dissenting vote. By 1:10 pm that day, the United States was legally at war.