111th Congress, 2nd Session
The Declaration of War against Japan
December 08, 1941
On this date, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, addressing the nation in a Joint Session in the House Chamber, asked Congress to declare war against Japan for the surprise attack against American naval facilities in and around Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, a day earlier. With much of the U.S. Pacific Fleet still smoldering, Roosevelt assured Members of Congress and the American people, “With confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounding determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph. So help us God.” Irving Swanson, then a 29-year-old reading clerk, took the roll call vote as the House swiftly adopted a war resolution after FDR’s address. Swanson recalled watching as Representative Everett Dirksen of Illinois sat next to Jeannette Rankin of Montana, unsuccessfully pleading with the pacifist to vote “Present” rather than “No.” Rankin’s was the lone dissenting vote against the war. In the days before electronic voting, voice roll call votes were a long and laborious process complicated by the commotion and chaos of daily floor proceedings. In that respect, Swanson noted that the events of December 8 were unique: “You could hear the drop of a pin…Easy to take the roll call, I can tell you. Everybody was quiet. Very serious.”
Related Highlight Subjects
Cite this Highlight
Office of History and Preservation, Office of the Clerk, http://clerk.house.gov/art_history/highlights.html?action=view&intID=143, (December 02, 2010).For Additional Information
Office of History and Preservation(202) 226-1300
history@mail.house.gov
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Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn used the gavel pictured above during proceedings that led to the House's declaration of war against Germany and Italy on December 11, 1941.
Rayburn gavel, 1941, Collection of the U.S. House of Representatives, Gift of Irving Swanson
Teaching Tip
House Legislation
Have students search the highlight dates and locate reference to any legislative document (bill, resolution, speech, etc.). Ask students to track down the document at a local depository library. Students should research the historical background of the document and make a brief presentation which includes reading all or portions of the document aloud. To locate a nearby federal depository library go to http://catalog.gpo.gov.
