Attack on Pearl Harbor

December 17th, 1941 was a day that will forever “live in infamy”, as it was the date of the attack on Pearl Harbor, a US naval base in Hawaii. After two waves of attacks on Pearl Harbor, more than two thousand American soldiers and sailors, and another one thousand were wounded. The Japanese destroyed about twenty American naval vessels, including eight battleships, and almost 200 airplanes. It has commonly been wondered whether this attack could’ve been prevented, and after much examination, it is clear that this attack could’ve never occurred. In his “Day of Infamy speech”, Roosevelt himself said, “It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago.” There were many causes for the attack on Pearl Harbor, stemming from bad relations between Japan and the United States. Prior to the attack, the United States treated Japan disrespectfully in many ways, creating tension and discomfort between the two countries. Countless warnings and clues were interpreted of an upcoming attack, but were not taken as serious of a threat as they were, and weren’t sent to any naval bases. On the day of the assault, no one was prepared to defend themselves or fight. There were many events that provoked Japan to attack Pearl Harbor, and the whole event could have been prevented, if it hadn’t been for many actions of the US.

In the late nineteenth century, Japan’s economy began to grow and industrialize. Because of the scarcity of natural resources in Japan, they relied on imported materials from other countries. In September 1940, the United States placed an embargo on Japan by outlawing exports of steel, iron, and aviation fuel, because Japan took over north...

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... government officials, including President Roosevelt, were certain that Japan was planning a major action against United States interests. A meeting was even scheduled to discuss the matter, but unfortunately, the target of the attack was unknown, and no one at Pearl Harbor was notified to be on alert. Although there was not much solid information about Japanese plans, intelligence officers in Washington did have many indications of Japanese moves. For certain security reasons, the officers in Washington failed to share that information with intelligence officers in Pearl Harbor. The story of the attack on Pearl Harbor has become an important part of American history. For much of the population, the assault was a shock, as very few Americans knew about the foreign relations in Japan. However, many officials in the United States government,

Works Cited

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