To what extent was the U.S’s involvement in the war between Japan and China which caused Japan to attack Pearl Harbor?
A: Plan of Investigation
The purpose of this investigation is to analyze the extent to which the US's economic sanction and trade embargo on Japan was responsible for the cause of Pearl Harbor which occurred in December 7, 1941. The analysis will inspect U.S's role in the cause of Pearl Harbor as well as look at other reasons that contributed a role to the cause of Pearl Harbor. It will observe the effect of the Pearl Harbor on the U.S, as well as how it affected Japanese Americans. This investigation will include an evaluation of the origin, purpose, value, and limitation of two documents used for research: Storyline of Pearl Harbor event written by United States Government and Malcom Darien S., collected documents of events leading up to pearl harbor specifically focus on US involvement.
B: Summary of Evidence:
Japan ignites the spark:
Tensions Begin (Twenty-one Demands 1915)
• These demands have been set by the empire of Japan during World War 1 by Ōkuma Shigenobu. (Michael Duffy) (4)
• Greatly extended Japans control of Manchuria and its control over the Chinese economy. (Michael Duffy) (5)
• Japan gained little success on completing objectives but lost great deal of reputation from Great Britain.
• Chinese people responded with boycott of Japanese goods.
• Japan export to china dropped 40% ( Highbeam research) (2)
• Results more negative than positive from demands.
• US in particular were mainly against Japanese actions which affected the lives of Japanese Americans greatly. (Highbeam research) (4)
United States Involvement:
The Funding of China (Franklin D. Roosevelt) (1939):
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... whole a reaction by Japan to the actions of the United States so the US could be taken fully responsible for heavily provoking the Pearl Harbor attack. The resolution could have turned out completely different if the United States just sat back and did not get involved in the conflict but it is shown throughout history that the US would never take that route and will always be searching to benefit themselves at any cost.
F: Sources
Works Consulted:
"Pearl Harbor." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2014.
"Twenty-one Demands." Infoplease. Infoplease, n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2014.
"21 Demands" First World War.com. Malcom Darien S., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2014.
"Pearl Harbor : A Rude Awakening." BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2014.
Miles, Sherman. "Pearl Harbor in Retrospect." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 01 July 1948. Web. 10 Apr. 2014
A. The Road to Pearl Harbor. N. p. : Princeton, 1950. : ill. ; ill. ; ill. Print.
The Japanese government believed that the only way to solve its economic and demographic problems was to expand into its neighbor’s territory and take over its import market, mostly pointed at China. To put an end on that the United States put economic sanctions and trade embargoes. We believed that if we cut off their resources and their source of federal income than they would have no choice but to pull back and surrender. But the
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...
In conclusion, the attack of Japan on the United States, Pearl Harbor, led to great property destruction and even loss of lives. Japan had earlier on deceived the United States of the peace negations. Japanese Ambassadors later termed the negotiation as useless, making them attack the United States. The unexpected attack led President Franklin D. Roosevelt to ask the Congress to declare war on Japan.
The United States became a major threat to Japan. Many people believe the Japanese were successful in their attack. But, the result of the attack did not enable Japan to expand into the Pacific. It did not result in the acquisition of more natural resources.
The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was one of the most atrocious attacks to have ever happened on American soil, starting with disagreement on the Potsdam declaration. Japan’s greed for more land and industrial materials led the Japanese to make a plan to keep the United States out of the war, which consisted the use of kamikaze pilots and bombs to destroy our aircraft carriers and boats in an attempt to control the Pacific. While leaving the drowning, and dead bodies of thousands of American seamen and battleships at the bottom of the sea, seemed to be a good idea to the Japanese; America joined World War II and introduced the first nuclear weapons as reprisal for the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. Had the Japanese agreed to an unconditional surrender and end to militarism during the agreement on the Potsdam declaration, the introduction to nuclear weapons and the death count wouldn’t have been so high and devastating on both the American and Japanese sides.
Gailey, Harry. The War in the Pacific: From Pearl Harbor to Tokyo Bay. Novato: Presidio, 1995.
158-59. 8 Hamilton Fish, p. 139. 9 Bruce R. Bartlett, Cover-up: The Politics of Pearl Harbor, (New York: Arlington House, 1978), pp. 56-87. 10 Arthur Meier Schlesinger, p. 54.
Japan, a once prosperous country, was one of the leading countries in technological, economical and social status until the early 1600s, becomes the victim of many forced, unequal trades by western countries, similar to the other, advanced non-western empires such as China and the Ottoman Empire. After man attempted reforms by the shogun’s chief advisor, Mizuno Tadakuni, had failed, led to the downfall of his reign in office. In 1844, western lands, Britain, France and the United States of America, pushed for Japan to establish political and economical trade relations with other countries. This persistence continued until 1854, when a commodore from the United States of America, Mathew Perry, forcefully makes Japan agree to the Kanawaga treaty,...
Inevitably, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, that began World War II, Japanese-Americans were frowned upon and stereotyped because of their descent. However, Japanese immigrants contributed to economic expansion of the United States. Whites resented the Japanese immigrants, but reaped economic profit from the Japanese-American residents’ discipline and hard work. Japanese-Americans of this time seem to be attacked; however, they choose to uphold their disconnection with the rest of the Americans. Many Japanese felt they had superiority over Americans, creating tension and disconnection.
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.
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.
Even before the attack on Pearl Harbor, there was still tension between Japanese-Americans and other United States citizens. Laws like the “Gentlemen’s Agreement,” a way of restricting Japanese immigration, was put into place in 1908 in fear of a “future Japanese ‘takeover’” (Hata and Hata, 7). After the attack on Pearl Harbor, growing hysteria filled the country and Japanese-Americans feared for their future. About a year later, Franklin D. R...
Gordon W. Prange, At Dawn We Slept - The Untold Story of Pearl Harbor. 1991 (Penguin Books, New York, NY 1981, 1982, 1991),725-738.
...high power status, Japan had to have a self-reliant industrial common ground and be able to move all human and material resources (S,195). Through the Shogun Revolution of 1868, the abolition of Feudalism in 1871, the activation of the national army in 1873, and the assembly of parliament in 1889, the political system of Japan became westernized (Q,3). Local Labor and commercial assistance from the United States and Europe allowed Japan’s industry to bloom into a developed, modern, industrial nation (Q,3). As a consequence production surplus, and food shortage followed (Q,3). Because of how much it relied on aid of western powers, Japan’s strategic position became especially weak. In an attempt to break off slightly from the aid of the west Japanese leaders believed that it would be essential for Japan to expand beyond its borders to obtain necessary raw materials.