A Comparison of the September 11 Attack and the Attack on Pearl Harbor

9/11 and Pearl Harbor were two national disasters that affected the United States greatly. The Pearl Harbor attack was located on the island of Oahu in Hawaii and happened on December 7,1941 at 7:00 am when the air force was out doing drills. The 9/11 attack then was in Manhattan, New york on September 11, 2001 at about 8:00 am. These two attacks on our nation happened years apart, yet are so similar.

On September 11, 2001 and on December 7, 1941 the United States of America was attacked by foreigners. These two events are very important things that have influenced our country and days that will never be forgotten in history. On December 7, 1941 the United States of America was attacked by the Japanese and on September 11, 2001 the United States of America was attacked by islamic terrorists both events were a national disaster. In both events thousands of innocent lives were taken by foreign attackers that entered our country. In the attack on Pearl Harbor around 2,400 people died within a matter of hours and on 9/11 around 3,000 people died. Both events were “sneak attacks” both Pearl Harbor and 9/11 were surprises to the nation. In both events planes were used to attack us the only difference was the location of the attack and date of the attack. In Pearl Harbor japanese planes attacked the battleships on battleship row and in new york city on 9/11, planes were hijacked to crash into the world trade center and also other locations like the pentagon.

December 7, 1941: Attacks on Pearl Harbor: Around November 25, the US intercepted a message of an imminent attack on US soil. In addition, Japan started to move its navy towards Hawaii. Washington’s response to this was a warning to Hawaii, indicating the anticipated attack. However, on December 7, 1941, a fleet on Japanese bombers approached Pearl Harbor with the intent to bomb the navy port. US navy ships were left defenseless as the Japanese torpedoes starting to sink them. Within two hours, US lost eight battleships, two cruisers, and more than a hundred planes. About two thousand soldiers died and one thousand were injured. As a result of this attack, President Roosevelt addressed the Congress, asking for the declaration of war. On

³I don¹t think it is an understatement to say that this is the second Pearl Harbor,² Senator Charles Hagel from Nebraska told the Los Angeles Times on September 11, 2001.  Pearl Harbor, the sequel, erupted on September 11, 2001 when hijacked planes destroyed the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City and parts of the west wing of the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.  Borders into the United States were closed and the FAA shut down all airports across the nation.  People all over the county woke up to what at first glance appeared to be video from a blockbuster Hollywood movie like ³Armageddon,² or ³Independence Day.²  In reality,

“Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by the naval plus the air forces of the Empire of Japan.” The bombing of Pearl Harbor was the start of America’s entrance into the Second World War. Just before 08:00 on the Sunday morning, hundreds of fighter planes descended onto the naval base incapacitating almost 20 naval vessels along with over 300 airplanes. The attack on Pearl Harbor also killed over 2,400 Americans

President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered his war speech and asserted December 7, 1941 as, “a date which will live in infamy.” The United States’ naval bases stationed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii were struck by Japanese planes intentionally and promptly. The news of this attack on the Pearl Harbor shocked the world. It was devastating to the nation that were still in the throes of depression. Witnesses of this event painted a portrait of a nation stunned, but determined to rise again. The United States’ government had not disclosed a Pearl Harbor story to the public--that the U.S. had failed to act on advance information about a planned Japanese attack. Japan 's move against the United States was audacious enough to be considered no more than a slight possibility, although the potential for an attack had been widely discussed.

There are many similarities and differences between the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. One attack was committed by terrorists and the other was committed by a government. After Pearl Harbor, we entered a world war, and after the terrorist attacks, we invaded another country. Both Attacks were grave threats to our national security.

The Pearl Harbor and 9/11 attack were both considered “terrorist” attacks. After the devastating attacks, the President delivered speeches to reassure the public but also to inform the people on what will happen next. After the Pearl Harbor attack, President Roosevelt described the event as “a date which will live in infamy” (FDR speech). President George W. Bush had said the attack on 9/11 was “evil”. What had happened during both events were tragedies. It seems to be a reoccurring pattern that happens to the US. It is appropriate to liken the two events because they were delivered to the public in common ways, they had similar images and the eye-catching headlines were alike.

To begin with, i’m going to write about Pearl Harbor and 9/11 and their differences and their similarities. I will also write about the medical responses and the presidential responses. This essay will a lot better than the one I did before. I will talk first about Pearl Harbor and then I will talk about 9/11.

At 7.55am on Sunday 7 December 1941, the Japanese began their attack on the US Pacific Fleet, at Pearl Harbor. Within two hours, five battleships had been sunk, another 16 damaged, and 188 aircraft destroyed. Only chance saved three US aircraft carriers, usually stationed at Pearl Harbor but assigned elsewhere on the day. The attacks killed under 100 Japanese but over 2,400 Americans (Source:A) The Japanese plan was simple: Destroy the Pacific Fleet.

For the United States, a lot has happened with terrorism. The Pearl Harbor attack and the 9/11

September 11th, 2001 marked the beginning of the war against terrorism. On that fateful day, thousands of Americans were killed in an attack instigated by the Al Qaeda terrorists. The aftermath of 9/11 was a time

This attack on pearl harbor, on december 7 1941 by the japanese was a terrorist attack, it was a surprise attack on the U.S naval base in pearl harbor and it wasn’t belligerent, no one knew it was going to happen. It was not known that this was going to happen. It was an attack to give economic problems to the U.S naval base so they would have a harder time trying to stop japan. Japan was in a Trade Embargo from the U.S so they were restricted of supplies and land and such. This reminds me of the 9/11 attack in 2001. Both attacks were surprises and both were on america and they both used some type of explosion. Another thing is that neither attack was about demographic problems it had to do with japan, and the beginning of World War 2. Also

September 11, 2001, millions of New Yorkers and American citizens woke up and started their day, unprepared and unaware for the catastrophic attack that would be taking place in just a few short hours. At 8:46 a.m., Eastern Standard Time, Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower. The impact killed all of the passengers and crew as well as hundreds inside the building. At 9:03 a.m., a second plane, Flight 175, crashed into the corner of the South Tower killing passenger, crew, and workers who worked on floors seventy-five to eighty-three. Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon at 9:37 a.m. killing approximately 185 individuals (History.com Staff). Because of the damaged to the support system, fires, and impact at extremely fast speed, the South Tower collapsed at 9:59 a.m. (Lipton and Glanz). Having heard about the acts of terrorism that had just taken place in New York and Washington, D.C., a group of passengers drove their plane, Flight 93, into a Pennsylvania field killing everyone on board but possibly saving hundreds of other lives in the process. The North Tower collapsed at 10:28 a.m. 102 minutes after being struck (History.com Staff). On September 11, 2001, almost twelve hundred people were wounded or killed by “coordinated suicide attempts” by Al Qaeda terrorists. In result to the four airplanes being hijacked and used for premediated reasons, the United States government instituted new regulations for entering the country and airport security as well as expounded on systems already in place.

“Freedom itself was attacked this morning by a faceless coward, and freedom will be defended.”