Video: Seventy Years Later

DECEMBER 7, 1941 - PEARL HARBOR DAY

Little has been Recorded about President Roosevelt's Response in the 24-Hours After the Japanese Attack on U.S. Soil.
Thanks to Exhaustive Research and New Information Provided by the FDR Library, a New Special Offers a Rare and Surprising Glimpse at the Man Behind the Presidency and How He Confronted the Enormous Challenge of Transitioning the Nation from Peace to War...

Pearl Harbor: 24 Hours After

There was no direct phone line between Pearl Harbor and the White House. As information slowly trickled in and word of the bombing got out, panic gripped the White House. FDR's unique style of leadership enabled him to galvanize the American people in the wake of a grave and potentially demoralizing attack.  He proved both decisive and deceptive, skillfully managing information - at times keeping the facts a secret from Congress and the public - to maintain morale and avoid leaks to the enemy.

Pearl Harbor: 24 Hours After features acclaimed historian, Steve Gillon.  He provides a vivid account of the anxious and emotional twenty-four hour period between the early-morning assault and Roosevelt's famous war speech to Congress the next day.  Gillon has also written a book called Pearl Harbor: FDR Leads the Nation Into War.

Talk with Steve Gillon about the new special on HISTORY.  Get his well researched take on a President who was confronted with a nearly intractable dilemma at a time when intelligence was scarce and difficult to obtain; there were no instant surveys to guide his actions and no twenty-four-hour TV coverage helping him gauge the national mood.

Airs Wednesday, December 7th at 8pm on HISTORY