Infamy's Attack On Pearl Harbor

Improved Essays
Pearl Harbor
December 7, 1941, a day that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. It was certainly “a day that will live in infamy.” (Roosevelt). The United States of America had never been attacked on its own soil during a time of peace. An examination of primary and secondary will reveal the historical importance of this American history. On Sunday, December 7, there was 6 aircraft carriers, 81 fighters, 135 dive bombers, 104 regular bombers, and 40 torpedo planes heading to Pearl Harbor. Also on December 7, antiaircraft batteries was in and around Pearl Harbor, but they were only lightly manned. Most soldiers and sailors on duty would sleep late on a peaceful Sunday morning. Admiral Husband E. Kimmel and Major General Walter Short,
…show more content…
The next day japans allies of Germany and Italy had declared war on the United States. Hideki Tojo had lead the most carefully plan for the attack on Pearl Harbor. The pacific fleet was crippled. Twenty one ships were sunken, beached, or damaged. 323 airplanes were either damaged or destroyed. Americans were then plunged into World War II. They shouted the slogan “remember pearl harbor!” The Pearl Harbor attack was actually a preventive strategy adopted by the Japanese government to put a hold on the unnecessary interference of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the internal affairs of japan. The most important reason why japan attacked Pearl Harbor was because of the ban imposed by President Roosevelt on the trade functions of Japan. Especially the export of oil, steel, and crap iron. This ban gave a great set back to Japanese economy and their trade and military was adversely affected. (Parrish, Ann). On June 13, American officials were confronted by a series of competing hypotheses. The formation of these hypotheses would determine eventually whether an alert action would be called or …show more content…
Pearl Harbor may therefore be illuminating at this time as a case history on the conditions of surprise. The army is responsible for air patrol and the installation of a radar net. The navy has a similar responsibility. They are responsible for ship patrols and distant reconnaissance. Herren had figured to extend the air patrol 40 miles offshore. Before December 1941, there were three periods of extreme tension in American Japanese relations that resulted in alerts in the Hawaiian Islands. The first tension occurred in June 1940; the second and third happened in July and October, 1941. In June 1940, and October 1941, there was a disagreement between army and navy authorities. (Wohlsetter, Roberta) In conclusion, the events before and after December 7, 1941, has changed the U.S, us, and the world. By ushering America’s efforts in the war on behalf of the allies, totalitarian regimes of Germany and japan were defeated. This victory would not have occurred without America’s entry in the war after this fateful

Related Documents

  • Great Essays

    The day of December 7, 1941 had immense impacts on om American history. On that morning Pearl Harbor, a United States naval base in Hawaii, was attacked by Japanese bombers killing thousands of people and injuring many more(Paul Davis, ABC-CLIO). Nearly twenty American naval ships were destroyed along with about three hundred planes(Davis, ABC-CLIO). A day later Congress approved President Roosevelt’s declaration of war. Conflict with Japan, however, had been imminent for decades.…

    • 1361 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Pearl Harbor Dbq Analysis

    • 425 Words
    • 2 Pages

    America’s insults infuriated Japan. In Japan, retreat is seen as an honorless act, and Hideki Tojo, the Prime Minister of Japan, equated America’s desire for Japan to withdraw their troops from China as a desire for Japan to retreat. He even noted that their invasion “has cost us well over 100,000 dead and wounded, the grief of their bereaved families, hardship for four years, and a national expenditure of several billions of yen,” (Doc E). Needless to say, the idea that America would want the Japanese to retreat after such severe cost infuriated them. This incident only helped to add to the growing tension between Japan and America.…

    • 425 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    President Roosevelt stated on December 7th 1941 that today is “a date which will be infamy” and declared war on Japan (Martin 2004). December seventh is an important day in history because it started our involvement in world war two and over twenty-three hundred souls were lost that day. There were many different factors that contributed to this day into happening and what happened after. In 1931 Japan invaded Manchuria, which would eventually lead up to the China and Japan going to war in 1937.…

    • 713 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Pearl Harbor was a surprise attack waiting to happen, for the reason that America and Japan had been going at each other for decades. But it was seen as such a surprising event because no believed that Japan would attack America in the way that it did. 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, because Japan felt like it had the upper hand it had soon declared war on China in 1937. America was unhappy with how business between Japan and China were going so it stopped giving the country oil. Since they already had problems Japan decided it’s only other option was to bomb Americas’ naval fleet, because they were unaware of the attack, as a result they were unable to attack back.…

    • 328 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Great Essays

    World War II has been considered one of the most horrendous tragedies to ever occur in history. Violence,hostility,death and aggression dominated the 1930’s in certain European nations. In this essay I will explain the major battles of World War II. One of the major battles in World War II is Pearl Harbor. On December 7, 1941 the japanese launched a surprise attack on the U.S Naval Base Pearl Harbor in Hawaii using bombers, torpedo bombers, and midget submarines.…

    • 1072 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Essay On Pearl Harbor

    • 715 Words
    • 3 Pages

    With 2500 dead and over 1000 wounded, was the two hour attack on Pearl Harbour a tragic misfortune, or a meticulously planned excuse for the United States to declare war on Japan. Many documents seem to suggest that president Roosevelt knew about the imminent attack on Pearl Harbour and even welcomed it as an excuse to declare war on Japan. Should these theories be taken seriously, or are they merely the ravings of paranoid citizens? Although some information available may lead people to think otherwise, I doubt that Roosevelt was aware of Japan’s schemes.…

    • 715 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Pearl Harbor is known as one of the most infamous days in American history. Although numerous Americans lament the event each year, many people do not know what caused the tragedy to occur. In 1937, Japan invaded China, where many Americans had gone to be missionaries, and the Japanese began bombing and even bombed a US Navy ship. Quickly, Japan seized much of Indochina and was planning on acquiring more because the Japanese wanted the US to join the war.…

    • 140 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    On the Hawaiian Island, beautiful sunlight shined down on the people. Just when everything seemed ordinary, several bombs were dropped at the Pearl Harbor. This event killed thousands of people and almost destroyed the United States Navy. December 7th 1941 was a very tragic day for Americans, it will always be remembered as “a date which will live in infamy”. When we are looking back on this event, doesn’t it make us wonder whether the attack was anticipated?…

    • 432 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    It is December 7th, 1941, and Japan has bombed Pearl Harbor with American naval troops still on its base. America is stunned because they believed that they were at peace with Japan and now realize that this attack was planned a while ago. On December 8th, 1941, Franklin Roosevelt delivers a speech, titled “A Day Which Will Live in Infamy,” regarding the previous attacks on the naval base. This speech By Franklin Roosevelt states for a declaration of war against Japan due to the malicious attack.…

    • 1381 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was the result of several major issues at the time. In 1941, the Japanese were doing things that the United States government did not approve of so president Roosevelt froze all Japanese assets in the United States which limited Japan’s ability to purchase the American supplies that they needed. The Japanese knew that the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii was where the vast majority of the American fleet units were held and they intended to destroy them. The Japanese troops wanted to destroy the ships so the Pacific Fleet would not interfere with the quests of Japan and they could conquer Southeast Asia without any trouble. Although American intelligence was able to decode Japanese messages and knew that…

    • 259 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    This essay will discuss the significance of Pearl Harbour, along with its militarily strategic positioning and the US Pacific Fleet, the main reasons why the Japanese chose to attack Pearl Harbour, and both the…

    • 1190 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    On a warm, cloudless morning in the naval base of Pearl Harbor, the Imperial Japanese filled the sky with hell. Arrows of bombs and killer aircraft attacked american ships and killed many soldiers and civilians. Although there were numerous amounts of injuries, Japan described this attack as a failure due to the fact that they were not able to cripple the Pacific Fleet. The ships that held the Pacific Fleet were immediately sent off to the Pacific. The attack on Pearl Harbor is an unforgettable day for both Japan and the United States and their involvement in World War II.…

    • 802 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Pearl Harbor Attack Essay

    • 1471 Words
    • 6 Pages

    On December 7, 1941 Japanese aircraft attacked by surprise the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, where the fleet of American Pacific war was concentrated. Warships anchored in the harbor were easy targets for approximately 360 Japanese warplanes involved in the attack. The Americans suffered 3,400 casualties with 2,300 deaths. The attack badly damaged the US naval and air power in the Pacific.…

    • 1471 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Attack On Pearl Harbor

    • 843 Words
    • 4 Pages

    “The Attack On Pearl Harbor” December 7, 1941. Hundreds of Japanese Fighter Planes attacked the American Naval Base, Pearl Harbor, near Honolulu Hawaii. The attack lasted close to two hours long. The Japanese managed to destroy about twenty American Naval vessels, including eight enormous battleships, and more than three-hundred airplanes. More than two-thousand american soldiers and sailors died, and one-thousand were wounded.…

    • 843 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The Battle of Pearl Harbor, was a military attack by the Imperial Japanese Navy, practically a surprise attack. The Imperial Japanese Navy targeted the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. This attack pushed the United States into World War II. Japan used this attack as a disguised to keep the U.S. Pacific Fleet out of the Pacific. The Japanese attacked the Philippines, Guam and Wake Island, U.S. held territories in the Pacific.…

    • 89 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays