An edit that will live in infamy

When I was in New Orleans, I went to the National World War II museum with my dad and brothers. It’s a great place. I visited it with my dad in 2002 when it was the National D-Day Museum. It has since expanded, and one of the most interesting things that I saw this time was a copy of the draft of President Franklin Roosevelt’s address to Congress after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. It is covered with editing marks, which is fascinating.

The most interesting edit is the first line, which originally read, “Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 — a date which will live in world history.” On the draft, “world history” is crossed out and replaced by “infamy.” It’s amazing how changing just two words can turn a flat line into one that echoes for generations.

I didn’t have my camera, so I took a picture with my phone. It’s hard to read, but you can see the editing marks: