On December 7, 1941, one of the most tragedies in United States history occurred. The Japanese launched a surprise air attack on the U.S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. After just two hours of bombing, more than 2,400 Americans were dead, 21 ships had either been sunk or damaged, and more than 188 U.S. aircraft destroyed (history1900s). The United States was in complete shock and disgust, so in response, the Unites States declared war on Japan.
Between 1937 and 1941, escalating conflict between China and Japan influenced U.S. relations with both nations, and ultimately contributed to pushing the United States toward full-scale war with Japan and Germany (History). In 1937, China and Japan went to war. Although Chinese forces resisted, Japan advanced farther and farther into China. The conflict brought great suffering to the Chinese people. In December, Japanese troops captured the Chinese city of Nanking. In the month that followed, they massacred as many as 300,000 Chinese civilians. The U.S. felt it had a strong and special relationship with China and often acted as that nation's protector, however most Americans in the 1930s did not want the nation to get involved in foreign wars. President Franklin Roosevelt felt he could only protest Japan's actions. Additionally, Americans were more concerned with the rising tensions in Europe. Infamous dictator Adolf Hitler in Germany and Joseph Stalin in the Soviet Union had risen to power (Teacher). World War II had begun when in September 1939, Germany and Russia attacked Poland and France and Britain declared war in return. President Roosevelt felt he had to act. In the summer of 1940, Roosevelt outlawed the sale of some American goods to Japan. At the same time, Congress a...
... middle of paper ...
... Harbor? Learn
about the Attack on Pearl Harbor, Pearl Harbor Day and the
Pearl Harbor Memorial. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2012.
day.html>.
"PRESIDENT HARRY S TRUMAN." Harry Truman. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2012.
.
Rosenberg, Jennifer. "Attack on Pearl Harbor." History1900s.
N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2012.
.
"Speech Analysis: Franklin Roosevelt Pearl Harbor Address." Six Minutes RSS. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2012. .
"The US Drops Atomic Bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki 1945." The World History
Chronology. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2012.
Japanese stood their ground and on December 7,1941.The surprise attack on the Americans that destroyed or damage nearly 20 American naval vessels, including eight battleships, and over 300 airplanes. More than 2,400 Americans died in the attack, including civilians, and another 1,000 people were wounded at Pearl Harbor(document
During the early days of World War II, the United States remained officially neutral. It was not until the attack on Pearl Harbor, by the Japanese, that the United States had no choice, but to declare war. At the beginning of the war Japan won most of the battles (Gailey). These defeats resulted in the morale being low among the American troops. President Theodore Roosevelt wanted to boost morale and push forward the Pacific front with a strike on the Japanese homeland to serve as a testament to American military prowess and retribution for the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor (Shepherd).
December 7, 1941 was a day of great tragedy. At 07:48 in the morning the Empire of Japan launched a surprise attack on the United States at the Pearl Harbor naval base in Hawaii. This attacked caused the destruction of seventeen ships and one hundred and eighty eight aircraft as well as killing two thousand four hundred and three Americans. The next day, President Franklin Roosevelt took to the microphone to address congress and the American people. This speech by President Roosevelt was effective in convincing congress to declare war on Japan by using ethos, pathos, and also logos.
“It was very apparent to everyone who had carefully followed the course of events that we would sooner or later have to meet the threat to civilization which these aggressor nations were presenting to the world…and that we would ultimately be left to face the onslaught alone…” are words from then Secretary of War Henry Stimson. America knew she was headed for war, her people though, not directly feeling the effects of the conflicts going on half a world away would not support the loss of American lives for a foreign war. The government knew about the planned attacks on Pearl Harbor, kept the information from the military leaders that needed it the most, and used the tragedy to rally the nation toward war.
The Chinese Exclusion Acts were not repealed until 1943, and then only in the interests of aiding the morale of a wartime ally during World War II. With relations already complicated by the Opium Wars and the Treaties of Wangxia and Tianjian>, the increasingly harsh restrictions on Chinese immigration, combined with the rising discrimination against Chinese living in the United States in the 1870s-early 1900s, placed additional strain on the diplomatic relationship between the United States and
In World War II their were a lot of battles. There were a lot of city’s bombed. How would you feel if you were in World War II ? I would be running from the Japanese and the Natiz . Also I would probably die or hide in a road gutter . The question is what would you do if you were in World War II ?
World War II was a time of heightened tension. The entire world watched as fascism and dictatorships battled against democracy and freedom in the European theater. The United States looked on, wishing to remain neutral and distant from the war. On December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese, officially drawing the U.S. into the war. Thousands of young sailors died in the attack and several U.S. Navy vessels were sunk. The attack marked the beginning of the United States’ involvement in World War II as well as the beginning of the persecution of Japanese Americans in the U.S. Hysteria and outrage increased across the country and largely contributed to the authority’s decision to act against the Japanese. On February 19, 1942, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, allowing the military to place anyone of Japanese lineage in restri...
Pearl Harbor is easily one of the most disastrous events that occurred on American soil. It was a deliberate attack against the United States from Japan. Before December 7, 1941 when Pearl Harbor was attacked, America had decided not to get involved in European affairs, which included the beginning of World War II. However, once the United States saw how much Britain and the Soviet Union were suffering from fighting with the Axis Powers (Germany, Italy, and Japan), America felt obligated to help in some way to help without actually entering the war. Weapons, money, and food were sent over seas to help aid them in any way it could. It was very obvious that if America had entered the war, we would join the side of the Allies (Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union). The day after Pearl Harbor, Franklin D. Roosevelt approached congress and asked for a declaration of war against Japan. Pearl Harbor affected many events that occurred in World War II. Not only the United States, but the world was affected that day.
It’s a beautiful sunny morning, on a tropical island that everyone would love to take a vacation at. It’s approximately 6:00 am, December 7, 1941, when a first group of 181 kamikaze planes attacked; targeting key naval bases stationed at Hawaii; a sustained crippling of U.S. naval forces for about 6 months. The death toll was 2,500. Out of the 9 battleships, 8 were heavily damaged by the assault on Pearl Harbor and out of the 8, three were unrepairable, USS Arizona, USS Oklahoma, and the USS Utah. 160 aircrafts were put out of commission, and nearly 130 were heavily damaged. This was the first incident in which there was an act of war, committed on U.S. soil, outside of the American Revolution and the Civil War. The world was at war, and the U.S. remained neutral until now. Before the attack, the U.S. was in great debate whether to enter the war or to stay out of it. The act of war forced the U.S. into the War and triggered a controversial debate in whether to retaliate against Japan with the use of nuclear arms.
On December 7, 1941 Japan launched a surprise attack on a U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii with the possibility of forcing the U.S. to join World War II. About 2,400 Americans were dead, 21 ships had been sunk, and 188 aircrafts were destroyed. On August 6 and 9 of 1945, the U.S. retaliated and dropped two atomic bombs called Fat Man and Little Boy on the Japanese cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. The U.S. was not justified in dropping the atomic bombs on Japan because of the locations that were bombed, the terms of the Potsdam Declaration, and the lack of previous bomb testing.
Pearl Harbor was the beginning of a war between two countries that would last nearly 4 years and cost hundreds of thousands of lives. The attack was swift and successful for the Japanese and it caught the Americans totally off guard. The “Day that will live in infamy” drew the United States into a World War in which would change American history forever.
In 1941, one of the largest American military defeats occurred. An entire naval fleet was destroyed, hundreds were killed, all before nine A.M. on a Sunday morning. The US did not have any knowledge of this attack, mostly because of their own ignorance, partially because of the military strategies of their Japanese opponents. The Japanese attack on the US naval base of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, was a classic case of "It will not happen to me!" Although the US suspected the Japanese actions, they were not ready because they believed an attack would never happen on American grounds. Through an examination of military history, tactics and eye witness descriptions, it will be proven that the US had no knowledge of the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, but had sufficient warnings from the Japanese and others that an attack was imminent.
"How secret is secret in a country where years of censorship have trained an inquisitive, alert population in the discreet whisper and the fine art of putting two and two together? And how secret is secret when one's ideas are no longer exclusively one's own?" (At Dawn We Slept, Prange 30) The tragic attack of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 has many events connected to it that lead people to believe that it was no surprise to the United States government. "The attack marked the entrance of Japan into World War II on the side of Germany and Italy, and the entrance of the United States on the allied side." (Microsoft Encyclopedia)
Do to the great depression of 1930 the world was economically on its knees throughout most of the 30’s and early 40’s. This had great impacts on trades between many countries to include the US and Japan. Prior to this point, the US had been primarily importing silk from the Japanese and we had been exporting oil and coal commodities to them. The Japanese had felt it was a better option to seek elsewhere for the needed resources to increase their military footprint at the brink of World War II. Already at the verge of war with the Chinese, in 1937 the Japanese decided to force a war at Manchuria, China. In their minds this would be an outlet to seek those resources.
This topic was very interesting. .The Pearl Harbor played a major historical role in World War II by galvanizing US support against the Axis. Previously, the US had generally supported Britain but was dissuaded by public opinion from direct involvement. By attacking the United States at Pearl Harbor, Japan brought America into the war. President Roosevelt knew beforehand that something somewhere would happen, but Congress and the American people balked at entering the war. Japan's attempt was to destroy American naval power in the Pacific figuring it would take a couple of years to rebuild the fleet. This would allow them to conquer the Australian Archipelago and extend their empire. Luckily, the Enterprise was on maneuvers at sea and no American carrier was damaged in the attack. This set the stage for America entering the war and focusing its industrial might against the Axis Powers. the topic that entertained me was “How did Japan plan the attack on Pearl Harbor”This entertained me because i didn’t know how they had every thing planed out.Also when i was watching the videos in class it got me more entertained and i was like “WOW”.That is why i have choice this topic.