"A Date Which Will Live In Infimy"

Today marks the 67th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.The attacks that started around 8 am on that morning and lasted about a couple of hours resulted in 2,403 American deaths (68 of which were civilian) 21 US ships damaged or sunk, 159 US aircrafts damaged and 188 aircrafts totally destroyed according to the Department of Defense. As most know, this event was the impetus for the United States to enter World War II.

The sneak attack on Pearl Harbor and the 9-11 attacks on the United States in 2001 have many similarities. However, the technology and the forms of media used in 1941 and 2001 are not as similar. Even since 2001 there have been substantial changes. This becomes apparent when analyzing the timeline surrounding the Pearl Harbor attacks and message disemination thereafter and thinking about how those messages would have been communicated today. It's crazy to think about especially when you think about the fact that it was only 67 years ago.

One of the most famous messages that came out of that time period was President Franklin Roosevelt's "Day of Infimy" speech delivered on his first address to the nation after the attacks. He addressed a joint session of Congress and the Nation via radio at 12:30 pm on December 8th. The following link has the timeline as well as a link to his speech: http://www.authentichistory.com/ww2/news/19411207-8.html

Contrast that with how people got their information about what was happening on 9-11.

Pictured in this blog is President Roosevelt's Reading copy of his famous speech. According to the National Archives at http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/day-of-infamy/ President Roosevelt dictated his speech to his secretary, Grace Tully, at 5:00 Pm. "President Roosevelt then revised the typed draft—marking it up, updating military information, and selecting alternative wordings that strengthened the tone of the speech. He made the most significant change in the critical first line, which originally read, "a date which will live in world history." Grace Tully then prepared the final reading copy, which Roosevelt subsequently altered in three more places." (National Archives www.archives.gov/education/lessons/day-of-infamy). A typewriter! Most of my students have probably never used a typewriter.

Although some might dispute this, I don't consider myself that old. I remember typing research papers on a typewriter and the planning and organization it involved. I also remember the frustration of what finding one spelling mistake meant to a completed paper. Heaven forbid if you wanted to add a word or two--it could mean having to retype the entire paper. And don't even get me started on footnotes!!!

So yes, technology has changed greatly in less than a person's lifetime. And yes, within this timespan we as a nation have experienced some major tragedies and defining moments that altered our history--the attacks on Pearl Harbor and 9-11 are just two. And it is because of both the similarities and the differences in these two "moments" in history that they can and should be compared.