Mr. Vice President, Mr. Speaker, Members of the Senate, and of the House of Representatives:

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. (1)

There is nothing more intense than a solid opening line. And just like Goodfellas, "The Sound of Silence," and "Mama Said Knock You Out," President Roosevelt's Infamy Speech has an opening line that really grabs a person and holds their attention.

Right up front, as with all POTUS Congressional addresses, we have the official who's-who roll call: Veep Wallace, Speaker Rayburn, the Senate, and the House are all given the upward nod before we move onto business.

And then we move onto business: bam.

Wasting no time, no time at all, Roosevelt lays it on us: the United States has been attacked. And not only has the United States been attacked, but it's been attacked "suddenly and deliberately" (1).

This date's gonna live in infamy, Roosevelt says. Why? Because it was the worst-ever attack on American soil, and it would remain as such until 9/11, sixty years later.

Why else? Because it's the date America said "to heck with this isolationist thing we've been doing" and started preparing for war against the evildoers of the day.

It's always the quiet ones you have to watch out for.