...December 7th, 1941: Attack on Pearl Harbor On the morning of the seventh of December 1941, during the time of WWII, the United States was awoken by a surprise strike attack by an unknown force. The Naval Base in Pearl Harbor was attacked by the military forces of Japan. This attack essentially led to the United States’ involvement in the Second World War. During this time, Japanese aggression was consuming different parts of Asia and the Japanese military wanted to continue to grow. The United States, however, wanted to prevent further Japanese expansion by placing embargos that crippled their forces. The Japanese did not agree with the actions taken by the United States and decided to make some counter actions to end the United States’ involvement in foreign affairs. Soon, the Japanese planned a surprise attack against the United States’ Navy. In order to properly surprise the United States, Japan had to prepare for a long time, knowing that the United States’ government was on constant alert. In late November, Japanese military force began their journey across the Pacific Ocean, towards the Naval Base on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. The strike force consisted of six aircraft carriers, nine destroyers, two battleships, one light/two heavy cruisers, and three submarines which had to be secretly transported across the Pacific without being detected. On the morning of the seventh of December, the Japanese reached their location a few miles north of the island and at around six...
Words: 2086 - Pages: 9
....Pearl Harbor 1 Pearl Harbor Rebecca Pressley HIST102 I020 Sum 14 Kimberley Rush August 21, 2014 Pearl Harbor 2 Pearl Harbor happened on 7 December 1941 with the location being Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Territory and the United States. Pearl Harbor occurred between the United States of American and the Empire of Japan. The commander and leader for the United States was Husband Kimmel and Walter Short, and the commander and leader for Japan was Chuichi Nagumo and Isoroku Yamamoto. In September 1940, the Unites States stopped the exporting of steel, scrap iron, and aviation fuel to Japan because of Japan's takeover of the Northern French Indochina. In April of 1941 Japan had signed a treaty with the Soviet Union to prevent being attacked by them if they were to go to war with Britain or the United States while trying to take a bigger piece of South Asia. June 1941 through July 1941 Japan stayed in Southern Indochina. Afterward Japan's assets were frozen by the United States, Netherlands, and Britain which prevented Japan from being able to buy oil and in time would crumple their forces and eventually make them useless. Around the end of 1941 Japan tried to take the oil resources from Southeast Asia, the United States tried to stop the expansion...
Words: 1335 - Pages: 6
...Pearl Harbor Summary Paper #2 Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for HIST310 World History and Culture II By December 2011 Abstract In 1931, Japan showed aggressive behavior in northeast Asia as they tried to conquer China in 1937. In early 1940’s, Japan decided to associate themself with Axis powers with countries like Russia and Germany. The United States demanded Japan to pull away from China and Indochina, however, the Japanese resisted and wanted to continue to take more territory and prepare for war. With their aggression in Asia, the United States placed an embargo on Japan by stopping all shipment of valuable resources such as oil, steel, and iron scrap which the Japanese needed for war to other Asian country. Immigrations from Japan were also banned to come to the United States. Britain and the Netherlands ceased Japanese assets as well to prevent the Japanese from buying oil, which their armies needed for war. Japanese were angered and decided to destroy the United States Pacific fleet in Oahu, Hawaii. This they did with ease, but paid a price. Pearl Harbor On November 26, 1941, the Japanese fleet left Japan to detect the route towards Pearl Harbor under the command of Admiral Nagumo. On December 1, Nagumo received his final orders from General Tojo Hideki and Admiral Yamamoto to attack Pearl Harbor. On early morning of December 7, the Japanese armies were in position 275 miles north of Hawaii; the air...
Words: 1088 - Pages: 5
...Zack Groff U.S History 1877- Research Paper Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is arguably the most devastatingly tragic event witnessed on American soil. The Japanese had violated the integrity of life in America, which was not to go unpunished. The “Day of Infamy” as it has been coined, catapulted the nation into a state of shock and retaliation. Many Americans who lived through the tragic event remember the occurrence with great detail and clarity. Considering the bombing at Pearl Harbor happened over 60 years ago, personal accounts and testimonies are quickly diminishing. Revisiting the past is crucial in understanding what freedom is and how hard it was to obtain. Pearl Harbor remains as one of the most definitive points of unity amongst Americans; as told by Mr. Groff, “It changed everything!” The slaying at Pearl Harbor was hardly anticipated to say the least. The United States had been edging toward war with Japan for some time. The U.S was particularly unhappy with Japan’s increasingly irate attitude towards China. The Japanese Government seemed to believe that the only way to solve its economic crisis and geographic problems was to expand into its neighbor’s territory and take over the market. Japan declared war on China in 1937. In the eyes of the American government this weaned unfavorably. American officials responded with a battery of economic sanctions and trade embargoes. Japan reasoned that without access to money and goods, and essential items like oil, Japan...
Words: 1204 - Pages: 5
...Casualties, devastation and mercilessness, do little justice in depicting the horrific events that took place on December 7th, 1941. What Pearl Harbor fails to portray is the complexity of the situation. The definite reasons of the attack and the long-term effects that the attack on Pearl Harbor had on the world are some viewpoints one doesn't see such as whether or not this attack was provoked. Whenever one thinks about it, they might consider that it was. They may also think that it was a total surprise if they were naïve to the warning signs that our government seems to have ignored. In school children are taught that Pearl Harbor was a surprise attack, because it is noted in history as being so. Even the president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, said in a speech soon after the attacks that it was a great completely take by surprise. However, he was misleading. Roosevelt, in fact, was directly responsible for this "surprise attack “on Pearl Harbor. There were many opportunities to prevent and defend the attacks upon Pearl Harbor that were never taken. Roosevelt was well aware of Japan’s intent to attack Pearl Harbor well before the occurred, and wanted it to occur so that the United States would enter the war. This is because the United States once again was a neutral nation, and was hesitant to lend a helping hand to European nations. Roosevelt had great sympathy for Britain and France, and wanted to prevent Germany from winning the war at any cost. Throughout...
Words: 753 - Pages: 4
...Pearl Harbor World War 2 stared before the U.S got involved. It began in 1931 when Japan invaded northeastern China. By 1938 Japan had taken over much of China. In Europe war began in August of 1939 when Germany invaded Poland. Even after all that was happening on the other side of the world America didn’t get involved. It was until December7, 1941, when the attack on Pearl Harbor happens, when America finally got involved. The fanatics in Japan thought they could defeat America. Hirohito thought they could strike America, and quickly get a peace policy form them. They thought America would honorably with draw, just like the Russians. They thought that America would get tired of fighting and just call it quits with a peace treaty. Japan desperately needs the resources of Malaya and Britain occupied that area. Malay is about 90 minutes away from Pearl Harbor. Japan knew war with America meant war with Britain. Britain, Europe, and America had always been allies. Since Japan was already attacking British forces in Kota Bharu and successfully beating them, they must have thought they could win against America too. On December 7, 1941 at 8’oclok in the morning Japan attacked America at Pearl Harbor. The first wave of Japans air plane attack were 49 high altitude bombers, 40 torpedo planes, 43 fighters planes. This attack was lead by Mitsuo Fuchido. One of the first people to spot the bombing was Comdr. Logan C. Ramsay. He immediately went to the radio room and had them seed out...
Words: 883 - Pages: 4
...U.S History II Student name: Tran Thi My Ngoc Date: Apr 4th, 2012 Extra credit: Pearl Harbor Movie; Micheal Bay Overview of the movie: The Second World War is always an interesting topic in different fields such as dramatics, literature, etc. And of course in movie industry, it is not exceptional. There are many classical movies that surround this topic and Pearl Harbor is one of the most impressive one. In this movie, Micheal Bay focuses on the situation of the U.S in the first stage of WWII and the attack of Japanese on Pearl Harbor; the response of the U.S after this event and the love story of three main characters in the war time. Main ideas covered the movie: In the first stage of the war, the U.S maintained a position of isolationism. Focusing on trading weapons, they transported their products to the customers by non-American ships in order to avoid involving in the war. However, after Germany invaded Poland in 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed the Lend-Lease Act to Congress for giving military aid to British without any repayment. At that time, the U.S, they did not seem to be neutral anymore. In the side of Japan, although the U.S was waiting for a peace treaty from them, they did not reply and prepare secretively for an attack to American battle fleet which Pearl Harbor was the target. They wanted to destroy the influence of the U.S in Asia. The attack took the Americans completely by surprise, it occurred on the early of Sunday in 1941 when...
Words: 1035 - Pages: 5
...Pearl Harbor, the Beginning of the End of the Rising Sun As I flew in from the north of Oahu, the sunburst broke through the clouds off the horizon of the ocean in front of us. I couldn’t help to think to myself what a beautiful site for us to see. The gods must be looking upon us. Letting us know of a successful and glorious mission. It took all of about 2 hours to fly our 360 planes that consisted of dive and high level bombers, fighters and torpedo planes the 230 miles to the harbor of pearl. It was 8:05 when my bomb pierced its target. The bomb had hit the forward powder magazine of the USS Arizona. The mighty explosion split the great ship in half, taking only nine minutes for her to sink (A Summary of the Attack on Pearl Harbor, 2012). Now that we are out of the box looking in, this is what a Japanese pilot might have felt as he flew his plane on that haunting yet unforgettable mission to that bay at Pearl; for he was on his way of creating history from the destruction of an entire fleet in anchor. This Japanese warrior and his culture of war would not know the consequences of his emperor’s actions; for it would only unite an entire country in a fit of rage from this horrific and unprovoked act initiated by the rising sun nation of Japan. This battle would not only be the beginning of WWII for the United States, but it would be the beginning of the end of a military force in Japan. It was this mission and Japan’s cultural importance of war that...
Words: 2399 - Pages: 10
...On December 7, 1941, what President Franklin Delano Roosevelt calls a “a date which will live in infamy”, Japanese forces attacked the United States Naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. This attack will end the neutral period for the United States and cause them to officially declare war on Japan. This will mark the beginning of US involvement in World War II. The surprise attack by the Japanese certainly caught the US off guard. The US had had technological equipment to sense that the Japanese were coming, but due to lack in intelligence, the US was unable to pinpoint what the target was for the Japanese. As soon as the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, they launched torpedoes that hit 4 US battleships. At this point, the US was desperate...
Words: 713 - Pages: 3
...Never an American would think that an event could change a country; in fact, the United States went through this after Pearl Harbor Attack. People felt the impact that Pearl Harbor had, but for President Roosevelt it was another disaster for the United States. It was a tough situation for President Roosevelt, after going through the Great Depression, to make the decision to enter World War II or not. Although all of the incidents that President Roosevelt went through he once said, “It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.” (Roosevelt) However, Pearl Harbor Attack changed how the United States one day was, but there was a person that managed the impact and guided the United States through the Great Depression and...
Words: 1579 - Pages: 7
...Group Two “Remember Pearl Harbor” December 7, 1941, was a day that changed history. Pearl Harbor attack was an unexpected tragedy for America. No one expected the Japanese to attack Hawaii as President Roosevelt stated on December 8, 1941, address to the congress, “The distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time the Japanese Government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.” ("The History Place - Great Speeches Collection: President Franklin Roosevelt Speech for a Declaration of War"). While Japanese grew angry and impatient due to President Roosevelt placing strict embargos on shipments to japan that led to setbacks in japan dominating Asia, such anger resulted in a tragedy that caught everyone by surprise ("Pearl Harbor [Ushistory.Org]"). The song "Remember Pearl Harbor" Performed by Carson Robison Written by Frank Luther, has lyrics like, “Hiding behind their "peace talk" and “They talked of peace, and of friendship”, these lyrics could be referring to previous negotiations between the Japanese and America. The lyrics could also imply that we were as Roosevelt states, “The United States was at peace with that nation and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with the government and its emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific.” ("The History Place - Great...
Words: 759 - Pages: 4
...Pearl Harbor (2001) | > Final Paper | MDIA 350 | | Matthew C. Johnson | November 24, 2009 | Matthew Johnson Beth Novak Evolution of Multimedia (MDIA 350) 24 November 2009 Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is a docu-drama that was released May 25 2001 and details the attack of the Empire of Japan on the Naval and Air forces the United States had stationed at Pearl Harbor, located on the Hawaiian Islands that brought the United States into World War II. The story of Pearl Harbor, and the men and women who became heroes that day is a story that needs to be told. People need to know what happened that day so that they will never take for granted the sacrifices made by our servicemen and women every day. This movie is very important in the media industry because it showed that there is still a lot that can be done with practical effects instead of relying on the new digital technology to do the work for you, and because this movie is an excellent example of a story-driven visual effects film. This movie would not be possible without the visual effects featured in it, but the film doesn’t rely on those effects to tell the story. Pearl Harbor won the Oscar in 2002 for Best Sound Editing, and was nominated for Best Visual Effects. This nomination is no surprise however, when one looks at the effects company that worked on this film. This film was directed by Michael Bay and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) was the major contributor...
Words: 1786 - Pages: 8
...The Attack on Pearl Harbor There were many reasons leading to the attack at Pearl Harbor. One main reason for it was the economic issues (Anderson). The trade routes between America and Japan were cut off. The Japanese ships were not accepted in America either (Taylor 5), because of the two countries’ political differences (Taylor 6). On November 1, 1941 a ship came into the Honolulu Harbor. It had a Japanese flag on it. It was a forbidden Japanese ship. “The name of the ship was Taiyo Maru.”(Taylor 4) This ship was not welcomed with the original Hawaiian customs. Normally the hula girls would be out at the dock welcoming the passengers with their friendliness and dancing in their grass skirts. This was a way of saying “aloha,” which means both hello and also good-bye in the Hawaiian Islands. This ship carried a few important Japanese men. These men were actually Japanese spies (Taylor 6). One of these spies was a man named Otojiro Okuda. Okuda was one of the most important of Japanese spies. He had an agent. His agent was Kohichi Seki. Seki had to stay in Japan for a few months to train to become a spy for Japan. Seki was a key man in Okuda’s success as a spy. He helped him get the important information that was needed most by Okuda. Seki took a taxi to Pearl Harbor every day. He did this so he could get the names of the ships in port and the ships that were out and away from port. He wrote letters to Okuda which had this information he learned in it...
Words: 2870 - Pages: 12
...Has anyone thought about the impact of Pearl Harbor on America? Well maybe someone people should. Pearl Harbor is one of the most memorable events that has happen to America.”Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger”( US Historical Documents).The effects that Pearl Harbor had could still affect someone today. Most of the people in the world will always remember the date December 7th, 1941. Pearl Harbor attack was an ambush by Japanese bombers when, they traveled across the ocean to Hawaii’s naval base and attacked America. This attack eventually, led into World War II. The United States joined war with Europe to try and take down Japan. America had some major changes...
Words: 1152 - Pages: 5
...Roosevelt knew the attack was coming and, people think that he provoked Japan into bombing Pearl Harbor. Influences (traditional, cultural, historical) historical Listener background knowledge: They didn’t know much about what was happening at that time. See the “Types of Arguments” table on page 412 for more information. Arguments Evidence/Support Possible flaws 1. President Franklin Roosevelt provoked the war with Japan. A. We might have been at peace with the Japanese, but that didn’t stop them from bombing the United States. B. Would we have went to war if the bombing didn’t happen? He...
Words: 764 - Pages: 4