Pearl Harbor Essay

On Sunday morning, December 7, 1941, at 7:55 AM the Japanese Empire led a surprise attack on the US Naval base Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, that would leave millions of Americans in shock, and heartbroken. Before the attack, the United States kept a low profile on International affairs, and concentrated on the domestic affairs at hand. This tragic moment in American history forever remembered. It is a mournful day for the American people, although, for the Japanese Empire it was an honorable day, one they would call a

The main focus on this essay is “Why Did Japan Attack Pearl Harbor?”. On a normal Sunday morning when the American navy units were busy doing their normal routine work, the Japanese navy planned a surprise attack that stunned the world. This attack was so unpredictable that the entire American navy went in deep shock. Very few of them realized the need to manage and control their position to save the naval power. All the staff and ships that were present at the Pearl Harbor suffered massive loss. Just a couple of hours of bombing gave the Pearl Harbor, a battlefield view with fire and smoke emerging from every corner. The attack left American navy at a loss of 2400 of her best men as well as 21 ships that were either sunk or completely demolished.

Introduction: December 7 1941 marked a significant date, when the Japanese launched a surprise attack on the United States Naval base, Pearl Harbour. The day after the attack, on December 8 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt presented his Infamy Speech to American civilians stating that; “Yesterday, December 7th 1941, a date which will live in infamy, the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan. I asked that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on December 7 1941”. The purpose of this report is to show that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt had no prior knowledge about the surprise attack supported by historical evidence in comparison to Robert Stinnett’s thoughts, the American journalist and former sailor that knew about the Japanese planning a attack on Pearl Harbour in advance.

In January 1941, reports were received that Japan might attack Pearl Harbor but military officials ignored these reports. They considered attacks on the Philippines and other European countries to be more likely, underestimating Japan’s ability to conceal preparations for such an operation. Due to the success of the cryptanalysis machine called, Magic, American leaders started breaking Japanese military operational codes. The codes that were deciphered showed Japan was likely to take some type of military action (Irive). At that time, Japan had only a 12-month supply of petroleum to fuel its economy and war operations left. So the U.S. anticipated Japan would act quickly! The only questions that could not be answered were when and where (Woods). Pearl Harbor had been a major naval base since before 1898. In early

America and Japan had many disagreements between each other over the years. America never joined the League of Nations after World War I to avoid any future problems between countries. The League of Nations is an international organization created to solve tension between countries before it started a war. But when America didn't join, it caused Japan to get suspicious of them. Japan attacked Pearl Harbor because they had different rules then America, America stopped all imports to Japan and America was making too many demands on Japan.

The bombing of Pearl Harbor is an infamous day in America's history, as it was the event that brought the United States into World War II. One of the biggest questions left unanswered from that day was why Japan would attack the United States. However, there were many events leading up to that date that led to this bombing. Japan attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor because of the American embargo on Japanese trade and the Japanese view that the United States posed a threat to Japan's power .

The attack on Pearl Harbor was a tragic event which occurred on December 7, 1941. As some call it, this was the awakening of the sleeping giant. World War 2 had already started and the US had attempted to stay neutral but as Japan dropped bombs over the island of Oahu on the US naval base the US was sent straight into war. Japan was upset and angry and the US for the things they have been doing lately so they finally got tired of it and they dropped bombs on Pearl Harbor.

Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor seems unwise, ill-judged, and senseless. The attack was meant to keep the U.S. out of the war, but had the opposite effect and instead made them want to fight and join it. Japan, at this time, was not a major power and having them attack one of the biggest major powers by bombing the U.S. naval base in Hawaii didn’t appear like an appropriate idea for them. Then why did they do it? Japan’s reasons for attacking Pearl Harbor was their plan for a ‘new’ world order, the U.S. oil embargo, and the relocation and expansion of the U.S. naval fleet.

On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. After Japan had attacked the US took matters in there own hands . However, Japan and the United States were not at war. Soon after, the United states declared war on Japan. Japan attacked Pearl Harbor for three main reasons: a plan for a new world order, the U.S. oil embargo against them, and the U.S. expansion of its naval fleet. The day after japan had attacked pearl harbor was named a day that will live in infamy .

The motivation behind a bombing can be complex. In December 1941, the American naval base stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii was savagely bombed by Japan. The destruction was, in part, the result of fears toward immobilization and defeat. It was also due to an obsession with power.

Introduction The Second World War had been fought between the Axis nations (Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, Imperial Japan and their smaller allies) and the Allied nations, led by Britain (and its Commonwealth nations), the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United States of America (Source D). The war changed many things internationally. This included changes to do with technology and the end of European colonialism (Source D).

Although many historians dismiss the theory that the U.S government had no prior knowledge about the Pearl Harbor attack, there is substantial evidence that suggests the government had some level of warning. The first category of evidence is the diplomatic and operational information that was withheld from the base commanders at Pearl Harbor. There are some historians that openly support the evidence that accuses the U.S government of having prior knowledge of the attack, such as Richard Hill, Robert Theobald, and and most notably Robert Stinnett. They point to a variety of sources, the first being the “bomb-plot” message.

On December 7, 1941 Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hawaii, was attacked by Japanese torpedo and bomber planes. This attack took the lives of 2,402 Americans and left around 1,282 people injured. The surprise attack caused outrage in the American people, news media, government and the world. The following day President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed the nation and United States Congress, in response to the attack. In that address, the president asked Congress to declare war on Japan. Congress voted and passed the U.S. Declaration of War on Japan, that very same day. That was America`s entry into World War II. Previous to this attack Americans were reluctant to get involved in another world war, the President on the other hand been trying to convince congress to declare war. So as it turned out a “surprise attack” was exactly what was needed to get the American people to unite in supporting joining the war. This idea has led to the Pearl Harbor Advance-Knowledge conspiracy theory. The general idea of this conspiracy theory is that President Franklin D. Roosevelt and other government officials had knowledge that Japan was planning an attack before the attack happened. It even goes as far to claim that the government did somethings to encourage the attack. The reason the president did not take steps to prevent it was that he was enthusiastic in joining the war. Like with any “conspiracy theory” there is

“AIRRAID ON PEARL HARBOR X THIS IS NO DRILL.” On the morning of December 7th, 1941, this urgent message was sent to all U.S. Navy ships near Hawaii just minutes after Japanese planes began to attack Pearl Harbor. Used as a means to pull the United States into World War II, the events of Pearl Harbor prompted the government to take action. After the events of Pearl Harbor, the government took actions it deemed necessary for the safety of the citizens of the United States.

so that all could be watched by a few men. This sort of thinking was