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America 's Involvement During The World War II

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December 7, 1941 is known as “a day the will live in infamy” due to the surprise attack on the United States by Japan. The leading events to Pearl Harbor, the attack, and the after effects of the bombings are all actions that pushed America into the Second World war and have shaped the country to what it is today.
The precursors to Pearl Harbor showed that America’s involvement with the war was inevitable. Japan and China went back and forth having trade, land, and power disagreements. While America felt for the struggles China was going through, the U.S. did not have the desire to get involved in the conflict. America stayed neutral until 1939 when the U.S. began to terminate trade treaties with Japan. America put oil, steel, and iron …show more content…

On December 7th, the Japanese sent a message to the United States notifying them that they were breaking all ties and negotiations. Due to the length of the message, it was sent over multiple telegraphs and Japan had had hopes that it would be delivered at 7:30 in the morning (Pacific Time), just twenty-five minutes before the bombing would begin. However, communication issues got in the way of the message being delivered at that time. Decoders lagged and technology not being up to present day standards caused the message to arrive over an hour after the bombing of Pearl Harbor began and by then nothing could be done.
Shortly before 7:55 a.m., Japanese fighter planes flew in closer and closer to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. As they reached the naval base, the Japanese began their attack. They launched thousands of rounds to the ground below destroying everything in its path. Thousands of people were lost and millions of dollars of equipment was destroyed. Bombs fell from the sky, sinking the U.S.S Arizona and the men trapped inside of it. Torpedoes caused damage to other ships including U.S.S Oklahoma, U.S.S Utah, U.S.S West Virginia, and more. On land, there were close to three hundred planes destroyed. Out of all of these loses, the 3,500 men who died or were injured struck America the hardest.
Despite all of the losses, some of the military equipment came out unscathed. None of the aircraft carriers were in the harbor to get damaged and buildings holding oil,

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