“Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 a date which will live in infamy the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan” (Roosevelt). President Franklin Delano Roosevelt addressed Congress the day after Pearl Harbor was bombed which saw the death of 2,403 soldiers. This incident forced the U.S. to go from being neutral in the Second World War to becoming a major force in the allied forces. The photo that best describes the scene is of President Roosevelt addressing all of congress following the bombings. The photo illustrates the rule of thirds strategy as it has Roosevelt in the center and a little to the right addressing everyone. The subject of this a picture is every member in Congress gazing into the sight of President Roosevelt hearing what he is going to say. By looking at the power and leadership President Roosevelt possesses the viewers can see that he is about to deliver a speech that country has to hear in this awful time of distress. The message that this photo creates is that President Roosevelt is going to do to hold this nation together from this speech and enter the United States of America into the greatest war of all time that will propel them into the greatest country in the World.

 By looking at the sense of fear and depression on the faces of the members of congress portrayed in the audience, people can only imagine what the scene was at Pearl Harbor. The sense of loss and depression is felt by all of Congress. The photo that was captured puts President Roosevelt as the center of all attention of not only Congress but also the entire nation. How the rule of rule of thirds works is the center of the image place is placed into one third of the angle and that is supposed to direct the viewer into that general direction. Placing the podium where President Roosevelt in the left third of it emphasizes the leadership he consumes in the significance of the moment. As the viewer scans over the rest of congress they are able to see that everyone is staring extremely attentive at the commander and chief.  This speech became the motivation that fueled millions of Americans to go fight for the greatest country in the world. 

The sense of chaos, that the Americans people can only image, of the brave soldiers went through makes the entire situation even more powerful. Congress especially expresses this chaotic sense as the viewer can see every man and woman in this picture feel a deep depression, as if they all were lost for words. The members sitting on the top row exemplify this as well as it appears that it is to max capacity, which only happens for State of Union address and in time of urgent emergencies. Ladies and gentlemen are awaiting this speech in awe, seeing what is going to be said and how this horror is going to be dealt with. The color in this scene is depicted extremely well, even if it is a black and white photo. The array of color has the brightest whites where President Roosevelt is seated and has the darkest darks in the corners of the photo to create a contrast to show of important the Commander and Chief is in this instance. Having the brightest whites on the podium creates a whole new sense of urgency towards the President and shows that he is the centerpiece for this photo. No one else is even going to come close to as important as the President is right now with and everyone in the room knows that too. 

As the viewer pans over the photo they are able to get the feel of what the scene in Congress is. The entire room echoes silence, no one can even guess what the President is going to say, as this is the first time that a country, unprovoked, has attacked the United States. Most members’ say that they have to get revenge while others are scared for American youth and off millions of boys to fight in a foreign country possibly go to die. The photographer did an amazing job in catching the feeling and tone in the photo of lost and despair. The millions of Americans cannot begin to comprehend what just occurred and can only fear what is about to come out of this, all out war. The members of Congress on the floor all look attentively to the Presidential stage where he is seated, while the members seated in the upper deck look down too, they also seems as if they are talking to each other about what Roosevelt is talking about. No one in this room could have guessed how this war was about to go on and change the entire history of the modern society forever. Society will see the 50 million casualties, the creation and use of the atomic bomb and then witness the rise of world powers of the United States and the Soviet Union. The entire world saw America pinned in a corner but they were able to respond and get out of this mess and come through to help save the world from this evil lurking in the world.

The members of Congress here all force the viewer to take a new look at how this is going to affect them. The United States was just bombed and is about to enter the greatest war in modern history. The people who viewed this image back in 1941 where in distress and needed someone to guide them through this time and the performance that President Roosevelt delivered was the answer the country had to receive. No one could have guessed what is about to come, but they sure knew that they wanted to fight for the greatest country in the world. December 7th, 1941 was the first time that this beautiful country was opening attacked and that is day that Japanese regretted in ever trying to pick a war with Americans. What was to come was an American lead coalitional in the Pacific of going to every individual island and taking them one at time and killing just about every member of the Japanese army. That was just the beginning as then the Americans forces would go on and decide that they were going to end this prematurely and drop the first two atomic bombs ever, forcing the Japanese government to surrender and call for peace. The actions of attacking Pearl Harbor made the United States appear weak, but the country only came back stronger than ever as this picture exemplifies that as the President came to country when they needed the most and delivered a speech for the ages that everyone needed to hear.
