What phrase did Franklin D. Roosevelt use to describe December 7, 1941?

Franklin D. Roosevelt called December 7, 1941, “a date which will live in infamy.” He used the phrase in his address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress on December 8, the day after the attack.

Roosevelt’s speech asked Congress to recognize that a state of war existed between the United States and the Empire of Japan. Congress approved the declaration of war shortly afterward, with only one dissenting vote in the House of Representatives.

The wording is often quoted as “a date which will live in infamy,” although the speech’s exact sentence began, “December 7th, 1941—a date which will live in infamy.” The address helped define the public language surrounding America’s entry into World War II.