Pearl Harbor: The Day That Will Live In Infamy
In the words of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the day of Pearl Harbor is one that will live in infamy. Pearl Harbor, a Hawaiian military base near the center of the Pacific Ocean, was bombed by the Japanese on December 7, 1941. It was a gruesome assault that killed 2,403 Americans and wounded 1,178 more. One of the biggest reasons that Japan bombed Pearl Harbor was that they wanted to divert attention to the West and get rid of the American Pacific fleet before Germany ended the war altogether. Through the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the U. S. finally entered the World War, Japan's plan was revealed, many people died, and the American people were united in their determination.
The road to the United States entering World War II was long and very complex. Although it seems like America entered the Second World War solely because of Pearl Harbor, many other things had been leading up to it, and had been for quite some time. For one, the United States was unhappy with Japan’s hostile attitude towards China. During World War II, the United States allied with China, so when Japan started to be more hostile toward them, it was the last straw for the United States. Japan declared war on China in 1937, which resulted in the Nanking Massacre and other barbarous acts, which angered the United States even more. The American government responded towards this aggression aimed at China with a battery of economic sanctions and trade embargoes. The U. S. thought that without access to money or trading goods from them, Japan would fail to expand. However, the sanctions made the Japanese even more determined. Even after months of negotiation between Tokyo and Washington D. C. , neither side would budge. This was all leading up to Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor.
Japan’s plan and reasoning behind the attack on Pearl Harbor was very long and thought out. One of the reasons they attacked was to destroy the American Pacific Fleet so the United States would not be able to fight back when Japan’s armed forces spread across the South Pacific (“Pearl Harbor Attack” Britannica School Web). Because the United States was sitting back and not intervening in the war too much, Japan thought that they might either negotiate or only respond halfheartedly to the aggression of Pearl Harbor, especially after the envisioned loss of the American carrier fleet. The commander in chief of Japan’s combined fleet, Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku, had taken great care planning the attack against the US Pacific Flee. In their vision, when the US would be out of action from the attack, the way for the Japanese conquest of all of Southeast Asia and the Indonesian Archipelago would be open. Because of these reasons, the Japanese decided that they should attack.
Pearl Harbor was a terrible day. The military base was attacked on November 26th, 1941. A Japanese fleet under Admiral Nagumo Chuichi, including 6 aircraft, 2 battleships, 3 cruisers, and 11 destroyers, sailed to a point around 275 miles North of Hawaii. In addition to this, about 300 planes were launched from there. The first dive bomber appeared over Pearl Harbor at about 7:55 am local time. Shortly after, the first wave of the attack commenced.
Though Pearl Harbor was horrific, it had the opposite effect that Japan wanted, and it spurred the U. S. into action. On December 8th, Congress approved Roosevelt’s declaration of war on Japan, a result of the American people’s anger. Three days later, Japan’s allies — Germany and Italy — declared war against the United States. The Japanese had failed to cripple the US Pacific fleet. Battleships were no longer the most important battle vessel, aircraft were. On the day of the attack, all of the Pacific Fleet’s carriers were away from the base, safe from the attack. After the bombing, the American people were united in their determination to go to war. Even after the attack, the base’s most vital onshore facilities like oil storage depots, repair shops, shipyards, and submarine docks, were still intact. Because of this, the US Navy was able to rebound relatively quickly, and the US people were ready to go to war to avenge what had been lost.
The bombing of Pearl Harbor had many different effects - the U. S. finally entered the World War, Japan's plan was revealed, many people died, and the American people were united in their determination. The road to America joining the war was very long, and did not happen suddenly. On the opposite side of things, Japan’s reasoning for attacking Pearl Harbor was very long and thought out. When the attack commenced, it was horrible and many people died or got injured. But, because of this, the American people were united in their will to go to war. Because of Japan’s bombing of Pearl Harbor, the United States joined the war, which ultimately led to the Axis powers losing and the Allied powers winning. This shows that Franklin Delano Roosevelt was right, that December 7, 1941, is a date that will live in infamy, because it was the day that Japan solidified their defeat in the Second World War.
