President Roosevelt Signing War Declaration

Cabinet members watch with mixed emotions as President Franklin D. Roosevelt, wearing a black armband, signs the United States' declaration of war against Japan at 4:10 p.m. Washington time on December 8, 1941. On December 7, Japanese planes bombed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in a surprise attack that destroyed a large portion of the fleet there, prompting the war declaration. | Location: Executive Office, White House, Washington, DC, USA.