How panicked was FDR when he heard about the Pearl Harbor attack?

Panic wasn’t FDR’s style. He consulted with his civilian and military advisors, met with the cabinet and leading politicians, talked on the phone with Winston Churchill, and prepared the speech he would give to Congress the next day. Secretary of State Cordell Hull gave him a lengthy, lawyerly draft of a speech; FDR thanked him and put it aside. FDR’s speech was a masterpiece of direct and forceful oratory that rallied the nation and added “day of infamy” to the catalogue of unforgettable phrases.

When he got to the Capitol, Roosevelt had to make his way down the center aisle of the House chamber and up to the rostrum. Of course, he couldn’t walk, but with the help of heavy steel braces and his son’s supportive arm, he could shift his weight from one leg to the other, swivel his hips, and thus move forward. A man who dealt bravely with that sort of handicap was not a man to panic.