Professor Greg Jackson

Our country has been attacked by force of arms, and by force of arms we must retaliate.

Congress agrees and acts swiftly.

That same December 8th, to be exact.

Following Franklin's speech, the Senate takes a mere 25 minutes to vote unanimously to declare war on Japan, and the House follows just 10 minutes after that.

Across both chambers, the sole vote against this joint resolution comes from the same lone voice that stood against President Woodrow Wilson's call for war two and a half decades ago in April 1917.

Montana's recently returned to Congress representative, Jeanette Rankin.

The boos and hisses from her peers extend beyond the halls of Congress, and her political career will end as a result of this vote.

The next day, December 9th, 1941, Franklin returns to one of his favorite methods of communication, the fireside chat.

In his broadcast, FDR makes it clear that this war isn't just against Japan.

Rather, it's a concerted effort against all the Axis powers.

He then connects Japan's invasion of Manchuria to Italy's invasion of Ethiopia, to Germany's invasion of Czechoslovakia and Poland.

Yes, this means war with all the Axis powers.

And two days later, on December 11th, Adolf Hitler makes the first move.

Nazi Germany declares war on the United States.

Congress returns the favor that same day, declaring war on the Third Reich.

This time, Jeannette abstains, thereby making the vote unanimous, and does the same as Congress immediately proceeds to declare war on the third and final of the Axis powers, Italy.

Franklin signs the declarations in a solemn ceremony, glumly noting, I've always heard things came in threes.

Here they are.

As we detailed in episode 195, the holiday special, Franklin's British BFF, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, soon arrives in Washington.

The two spend Christmas together, and amid meetings codenamed the Arcadia Conference, they make some key war planning decisions.