Pearl Harbor Pacific Persuasive Essay

As the Japanese began invading China and other areas in the Pacific during World War II, Franklin Delano Roosevelt created an embargo that cut off Japan’s oil supply. The Japanese felt that a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor was the best response to Roosevelt’s embargo, as they believed that they needed oil and other resources which were cut off by the U.S. navy. In the aftermath of the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor, Americans mourned the loss of their brothers and sisters while the Japanese rejoiced. The Japanese viewed the attack as a victory, one that would deter the U.S. from immediate involvement in the Pacific and allow access to resources that were initially cut off by America. However, the Japanese could not be more incorrect in …show more content…
was slowly engaging with Germany by helping Britain. In addition, they argue that attacking Pearl Harbor was the best way to jumpstart a Pacific imperialistic campaign for Japan as the U.S. presumably would have had to focus on Europe and rebuild a portion of their navy. Firstly, as explained previously, Japan did not reinforce Germany in its war with the Soviet Union, even when mandated to do so in the Tripartite agreement, so Japan could have theoretically refused to go to war with the U.S. if the U.S. declared war on Germany. Secondly, Japan should have considered that a greater war would have to be fought against the allies in the long run, as after the U.S. and Britain turned their attention to the Pacific, the war came to an abrupt and definitive end for the Japanese. Even though the Japanese slowed the U.S. from fighting the Pacific war by forcing the U.S. to focus on Germany and Italy, this only led to Japan being the last axis power standing once the allies defeated Germany and Italy, meaning they could not receive financial and resource aid from the already defeated Axis powers. The Japanese brought upon defeat for themselves and the Axis powers by unnecessarily bringing the U.S. into the