Who was the president of the United States during the Pearl Harbor attack?

Franklin D. Roosevelt was president of the United States during the Pearl Harbor attack.

Roosevelt was serving his third presidential term when Japan attacked on December 7, 1941. He addressed Congress the next day and asked lawmakers to recognize that a state of war existed between the United States and Japan. Congress approved the declaration overwhelmingly.

His speech made the attack a defining turning point in American history. Roosevelt described the date as one that would live in infamy, a phrase that became closely associated with the event. He then led the United States through its entry into World War II until his death in April 1945.

Roosevelt was not the president who authorized the atomic bombings or accepted Japan’s surrender; those events occurred under Harry S. Truman. Roosevelt’s vice president during the Pearl Harbor attack was Henry A. Wallace.