Question

last night, japanese forces attacked the philippine islands. last night, the japanese attacked wake island. and this morning, the japanese attacked midway island. . . . i ask that the congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by japan on sunday, december 7, 1941, a state of war has existed between the united states and the japanese empire. adapted from franklin delano roosevelt, \pearl harbor address to the nation\ based on the excerpt, what is the purpose of franklin delano roosevelts speech? to criticize congress for not preparing for an attack to lay out a plan for retaliation against the japanese empire to convince the nation that a declaration of war is necessary

Explanation:

The speech lists Japanese attacks and then asks Congress to declare war. Roosevelt is trying to convince the nation of the necessity of a war - declaration. He does not criticize Congress for lack of preparation or lay out a retaliation plan in this excerpt.

Answer:

to convince the nation that a declaration of war is necessary