Under an aggressive Japanese attack on December 7, 1949, 2,403 American personnel perished at Pearl Harbor, a US naval base in Honolulu, Hawaii. The incident left many Americans in disarray and drew the United States into a conflict that would change the course of history. Many factors prompted the unexpected assault, but the focal reasons were Japan’s plans for a new world order, the oil embargo, and US fleet expansion.
First and foremost, the oil embargo imposed on Japan instigated them to attack the US. As shown in Document C’s chart, oil imports arriving from the US went from 291 in 1940 to 88 in 1941, a drastic decline. This sudden reduction was apt to enrage Japan since oil was a crucial material for carrying out military operations. The country relied heavily on these imports to fuel machinery, so this depletion was also seen as a danger to their national security and a significant blow to their economy. Since Japan knew that oil was essential to carrying out further action regarding expansion and World War II as a whole, bombing Pearl Harbor was their response. …show more content…
The map in Document A explicitly shows Japan’s expansion into areas such as Manchuria, Korea, Taiwan, and parts of China. The nation sought to establish itself as a dominant power in Asia. By taking over this land, they could also obtain oil and other natural resources that America ceased to sell to them. However, the US also acquired regions in the Pacific, establishing itself as a dominant naval power. This put the two countries at odds, as Japan saw the US as a threat to its expansionist goals. In their continuous efforts to accumulate more land, Japan decided that launching an attack on Pearl Harbor was the necessary
First and foremost, the oil embargo imposed on Japan instigated them to attack the US. As shown in Document C’s chart, oil imports arriving from the US went from 291 in 1940 to 88 in 1941, a drastic decline. This sudden reduction was apt to enrage Japan since oil was a crucial material for carrying out military operations. The country relied heavily on these imports to fuel machinery, so this depletion was also seen as a danger to their national security and a significant blow to their economy. Since Japan knew that oil was essential to carrying out further action regarding expansion and World War II as a whole, bombing Pearl Harbor was their response. …show more content…
The map in Document A explicitly shows Japan’s expansion into areas such as Manchuria, Korea, Taiwan, and parts of China. The nation sought to establish itself as a dominant power in Asia. By taking over this land, they could also obtain oil and other natural resources that America ceased to sell to them. However, the US also acquired regions in the Pacific, establishing itself as a dominant naval power. This put the two countries at odds, as Japan saw the US as a threat to its expansionist goals. In their continuous efforts to accumulate more land, Japan decided that launching an attack on Pearl Harbor was the necessary