“On December 7, 1941-a date which will live in infamy-the United States was suddenly and DELIBERATELY attacked by the naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan. -Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in his address to Congress on December 8, 1941.” A quote from Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) giving people a taste of what happened on the sad day of December 7th. The destructive day recalled as Pearl Harbor was a day of goodbyes to 2,403 Americans who died that day. In addition 1,178 American’s were wounded. As proved in the Manitowoc Herald-Times Newspaper which quotes that “Washington was admitting over 3,000 Americans were wounded, or killed during the attack.” All eight United States (U.S.) Navy battleships were damaged, including four that were …show more content…
on December 7th, 1941, the day of the attack. At this time a submarine periscope was spotted by the minesweeper Condor. This instructed the first shots of the Pacific War. The spotting of the periscope signalled the USS Ward destroyer to destroy the periscope, calling it “A Shot for Prosperity” by Americans for being the first shot of the War. After being shot down the Americans were able to confirm the submarine as a Japanese Midget submarine. The Japanese Midget submarine was familiar after being used in World War II when they were originally constructed. The USS Ward contacted Pearl Harbor and Admiral Husband E. Kimmel, Commander of the Pacific Fleet, after the first shot. Kimmel neglected the spotting because this kind of behavior by hostile submarines was to be expected at this time with the expectations of an upcoming War, he decided “Wait for verification of the report.” Which leads to the next sign when an American PYB patrol plane spotted yet another periscope only three hours after the first. This periscope was also shot down by the USS Ward. Both periscopes spotted were a part of the five Japanese Midget Submarines that attempted to enter Pearl Harbor. All five of the midget submarines were sent out to attack certain targets within the Pearl Harbor base, but none of them succeeded. Out of the five submarines, only one of them confirmed the two torpedoes were shot. Another submarine was found without it’s two torpedoes, but it was not confirmed that they were fired at their targets. Both firings missed their targets and were unsuccessful. Ot of the remaining three Japanese submarines, one was destroyed, another ran aground without firing its torpedoes, and the last is a mystery. Seeing all five of these attacks and their effects, the Japanese periscopes attacks were classified as a failure. The Americans, knowing the Intelligence information from the previous paragraph and seeing the
Previous to the surprise Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour on December 7th 1941, tensions had been forming between the USA and Japan in the pacific. The US had cut of most supplies to Japan with the fear of Japanese expansion. The conflict that had been escalating between Japan and China since 1937 had the US treating Japan with great cautiousness. They had been monitoring Japanese Americans in anticipation of a surprise attack. However the attack on Pearl Harbour still shocked and outraged the American nation and affected the American psyche. After being assured that “a Japanese attack on Hawaii is regarded as the most unlikely thing in the world”(1), the sudden mass destruction of the U.S Navy’s Pacific fleet and deaths of roughly 2400 U.S soldiers and civilians as a result of such an attack undoubtedly lead to confusion and racial hatred amongst many US citizens. The assumption on the War Department’s behalf that Japan’s Navy were incapable of launching a full scale assault on the US Navy’s chief Pacific base was more than inaccurate. As a result, the US Naval base was unprepared and was quickly taken out. A hidden bias would soon become evident in both average civilians and higher positioned government officials. This bias against Japan aided in the formation of the Executive Order 9066, signed by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) on February 19th 1942.
“Yesterday, December 7th, 1941- a date which will live in infamy- the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan” (1). These are the words Franklin Delano Roosevelt chose to begin his Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation the day after Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japan. FDR’s speech was a call to arms, and in his speech he expressed outrage towards Japan and confidence in inevitable triumph. The speech was a request to declare war against Japan and to bring the United States into World War II. FDR’s speech was successful in bringing the United States into World War II because FDR presented facts explaining why war needed to be declared and used righteous indignation to give the nation a sense of pride and hope by letting them know everything would be done to ensure the nation’s safety.
The Battle of Pearl Harbor was one of the most atrocious events that happened in U.S. history. On December 7, 1941, Japan made a surprise aerial attack on the United States naval base and airfields at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. More than two thousand Americans died and a thousand two hundred were wounded. Eighteen ships were badly damaged, including five battleships. The next day, President Franklin Roosevelt with the support of the Congress, declared war on Japan. It led United States’ official involvement in World War II. Japan attacked Pearl Harbor because of a deteriorating relationship with the U. S. The “New World Order”, expansion and resources, and economic sanctions were factors that conducted to another disaster on the Second World War.
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.
In an effort to attain control of the Pacific Ocean, Japan launched an unprecedented attack against the United States Naval base at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Despite the isolationist attitude of America prior to joining World War II, an embargo against Japan in part prompted the terrible offence. Hideki Tōjō, a radical conservative, had recently been elected Prime Minister of Japan, under his leadership; a plan to expand the Empire of Japan was developed. The attack planned by the Japanese Admiral Isoruko Yamamoto who had been educated in America, and had served two tours of duty in the United States was strategically quite brilliant (Japan). Many factors afforded the opportunity for Japan’s success in the assault. The ignorant arrogance of the United States government in balancing its military distribution created a serious vulnerability. Additionally, the U.S. radar technology was still very new and delivery of intercepted Japanese intelligence was poorly handled. Although significant damage was incurred, the greatest assets of the U.S. Navy, its aircraft carriers, were not docked at Pearl Harbor. Not only did over 2,000 Americans perish (both military and civilian), 55 Japanese aviators died as well. Despite previous rallies to remain uninvolved with World War II, Americans were so angry at the unprovoked attack, lines formed around the block at military recruitment offices; in effect, attacking Pearl Harbor woke a sleeping giant.
December 7th, 1941, as president, Franklin D. Roosevelt once said is “a date that will live in infamy”. He spoke the truth but for reasons that are not as clear as some. It will live in infamy not only for reasons such as the tragic deaths of many people, but likewise for the obscure reasons. The day Pearl Harbor could have been prevented if only the US had not been so blind to the implications. Evidently, the United States had an abundance of indications forewarning them of the attack, nevertheless they let their guard down and were ignorant in a time of world wide war and were therefore in a vulnerable position to be surprised by the Japanese.
On December 7th, 1941, Japanese aircrafts attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor (Axelrod 148). Before this, the United States had not entered World War II, but this changed everything. The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise, which consisted of two waves. By the end of the day, many United S...
1941 December 7th was the day in which will live in infamy and also controversy. The Attack at Pearl Harbor was a surprise attack on the American fleet at the at the navy base in pearl harbor at Hawaii. Japanese attackers us hard and the planes came in waves, the first hit us at 7:53 and the second hit us at 8:55. Nothing but chaos was left. 2,403 dead, 188 planes. But was this attack really a surprise? Did we really know about it before hand? Or did we just really be bombarded with a Japanese surprise attack.
It was a Sunday morning, on December 7, 1941 when Pearl Harbor, US naval base located on Hawaii, was attacked by the Japanese. They caught unguarded the whole nation, and for that, this attack is considered one of the top ten failures of the US intelligence. The Japanese were able to attack Pearl Harbor by surprise because of the mindset of US officials, whom they saw Japanese as a weak enemy, who wouldn’t risk attacking US territory, caused by a supremacy factor; As well as the not good enough US intelligence efficiency to encrypt Japanese codes, and the handling of such information. After the negotiations between the Japanese and the United States ended, there was no doubt that they would make an attack, but they didn’t know the target of it.
Pearl Harbor was one of the most motivational events in American history. From the very beginning Japan and America had their own social views and stereotypes about each other that a feud was bound to occur. On December 7, 1941 the nation of Japan sent out a fleet of their Imperial navy to attack the American held base on the island of Oahu. Leading this attack was Japanese admiral Isoroku Yamamoto who was a militarily strategic genius.” Yamamoto was planning on sinking the entire American Pacific fleet so the U.S navy could be put out of the war for the time being and the Japanese navy could continue their expansion in the Southwest Pacific.”(book)(Gordon Prange 136-138)
October 16th, 1941, Hawaii received a message from the Navy: Japan would possibly attack. Disagreeing with the warning, the Washington Army staff told Hawaii to disregard it. No one believed Japan was or could have been on the verge of attacking. Washington assumed that Japan had no seaborne aircraft that could contend with the Army’s B-24 bombers. Furthermore, they believed that Japan had spread their military too far throughout other countries, leaving not enough for a large scale attack in the Pacific. Even on the night before the attack, the Honolulu press voiced America’s belief that Japan was powerless as a threat. On top of it all, none of the U.S. authorities believed Pearl Harbor was in danger. No one saw any need for ...
In this document text the author informs the reader on the devastating bombing attack that happened on the U.S. naval base of Hawaii, 1941. During this time, it was the pearl harbor attack when the Japanese stuck over and bombed the American warships at Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941. This is when the United States enter war between the American and Japan which lead to a controversy between the two nations that lasted for a decade. The author message was to inform the reader on this confrontation led to war between the two nations allowing us to see and read written letters from a few wounded soldiers of the bombing attack that had occurred in Hawaii leaving some soldiers afraid and in shock of the horrific devastation. The message shows details
The author of this essay is Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He was the president of the United States at the time of the Pearl Harbor attack. The purpose of this speech was to inform the entire United States about what had happened the day before at Pearl Harbor. The nation was to be warned that the United States was going to declare war against Japan. The intended audience is everyone in the United States. President Roosevelt ef...
President Roosevelt stated, “Yesterday, December 7, 1941-- a date which will live in infamy--the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan…. Japan has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation. As commander in chief of the Army and Navy I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense….I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese Empire,”¹
On December 7, 1941, hundreds of Japanese airplanes purposefully crashed into an American naval base, also known as Pearl Harbor. Before the attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S wanted Japan to end control in other countries such as China because Japan’s military power threatened the economic interests the U.S had in China; however, Japan refused to withdraw from China. In response to Japan, the U.S froze all Japanese assets and negotiated terms for 6 months; however, during those 6 months, Japan planned a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. After the attack, there was a total of 3,580 U.S casualties. 2,403 people were dead and 1,178 people were wounded. The attack changed the attitude of the government from negotiations to aggression. In President Roosevelt’s speech, “Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation” he states, “The United States was at peace with that nation and, at solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its government and its emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific...while this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or of armed attack,”(Roosevelt). President Roosevelt confirms the idea that Japan had no intentions of keeping their relationship between the U.S peaceful and diplomatic. As a result, the U.S needed to take action against Japan because