Pearl Harbor Dbq

On December 7th 1942, the day before Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) delivered his speech to Congress to ask them to go to war with Japan, The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Over 2000 American lives were lost from one of the most deceptive attacks the United States of America has ever undergone. FDR’s central purpose of his “Pearl Harbor address to the nation” speech is to try to persuade Congress to go to war with Japan. He develops this argument through characterizing japan and the nature of attack, showing the extent and danger of the attack, Reassuring the public and at the same time builds support, finally by his use of rhetoric.

The day of December 7, 1941, makes most Americans cringe. As said by Franklin D. Roosevelt or FDR, “a date which will live in infamy.” On this day, Japanese fighter planes bombed the Pearl Harbor Navy base and demolished 20 navy vessels, 8 battleships, and 300 planes. 2,000 American soldiers and sailors were killed along with 1,000 that were wounded. Every American was appalled after the disaster. The bombing was devastating, however, it led to a change in America. The next day, December 8, 1941, FDR spoke about the incident and declared war on Japan, officially becoming a part of World War 2. During his speech, he said,

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.

Introduction. I chose this battle because I had been hearing about the attack on Pearl Harbor, but I did not know much about it. This paper talks about the countries that fought in this battle, where the battle was fought, what the geography was like during the battle, what the weather was like, what happened during this battle, how many casualties occurred, other things I learned about the battle, who won the battle, and how the battle was important to WWII.

Over the span of a few decades, the Japanese and Americans were as is, heading towards war due to a varying amount of disputing between the two. In the 1930’s, Japan invaded China. This caused an uproar between the two countries at the time. This was one of the first few sparks to the flame. In order to create the perfect Yamato race, the Japanese felt that there was more validity if there were no one to stop them, (Document A). Destroying the Pacific fleet was the goal so they could expand and imperialize the world around them. America, being one of their main oil producers, made them the perfect target. Leading up to the attack, America placed an embargo on Japan, (Document C). Japan wanted to destroy the Pacific Fleet to gain oil and continue imperialization to obtain the perfect Yamato

In The American Journey, David Goldfield et al. state that “Americans in the 1930s wanted no part of another overseas war by a wide margin.” Americans were still recovering for the ramifications of World War I and feared our intervention in any foreign conflict. In the fall of 1941, their reluctance was still abounding even though Germany achieved many victories abroad, the British were toiling to save their empire and Japan’s monumental aggression towards China escalated. In fact, Goldfield et al. noted that, “President Roosevelt’s challenge was to lead the United States toward rearmament and support for Great Britain and China without alarming the public.” Unfortunately, the aftermaths of World War I had set the tone for World War II since many small new nations in Europe felt the upper hand of Germany, Japan, Italy and the Soviet Union. Furthermore, the United States was not highly regarded by these nations, especially Japan, whose nationalists felt that they were unjustly treated after World War I. As much as the United States was trying to remain neutral and President Roosevelt wanted Americans to stay out of World War I, the inevitable came to fruition when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Goldfield et al. indicated that, “Speaking to Congress the following day, Roosevelt proclaimed December 7, 1941, “a date which will live in infamy.” He asked for and got a declaration of war against Japan. Hitler and Mussolini declared war on the United States

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.

During this speech he stated, “No one can make us fight abroad unless we ourselves are willing to do so. No one will attempt to fight us here if we arm ourselves as a great nation should be armed.” He also stated, “Over 100 million people are opposed to war in this country. If democracy means anything to us, that is reason enough to stay out.” This was a very important speech that made people realize to stay out of the pathways of war. This information was stated in Document F. Also is the year of 1941, the President of the United States and the Prime Minister of Great Britain agreed on various common principles in the national policies. They chose to base their hopes for a better future for the world. This was a huge action that showed how we are willing to work with other countries and stay out of war as much as we can now. Document H stated this

In Pearl Harbor and the Coming of the Pacific War by Akira Iriye, the author explores the events and circumstances that ended in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, an American naval base. Iriye assembles a myriad of primary documents, such as proposals and imperial conferences, as well as essays that offer different perspectives of the Pacific War. Not only is the material in Pearl Harbor and the Coming of the Pacific War informative of the situation between Japan and the United States, but it also provides a global context that allows for the readers to interpret Pearl Harbor and the events leading up to it how they may. Ultimately, both Pearl Harbor and the subsequent Pacific War between

Jones, Sam J. "Japan, China, the United States and the Road to Pearl Harbor, 1937–41 -

Before the Pearl Harbor attack in December 1941, the United States citizens and government was concerned about the alliance of Japan with Nazi Germany. It became patriotic to challenge the loyally of Japanese Americans. There were even “scare headlines” in newspapers describing invasions and acts of espionage that had never taken place that reflected the fear on the West Coast and in Hawaii. There was hysteria of the United States citizens and some of the Japanese Americans resisted the new government policy.

Just days before the bombing of Pearl Harbor President Roosevelt was convinced that the Japanese fleet was heading for Southeast Asia and avoiding the United States. He believed that so much on December 6, 1941 President Franklin Roosevelt went to Japan’s Emperor for peace. America had thought that World War 1 was the ‘war to end all wars’. “So it wasn’t the ‘war to end all war’...-or so 40% or more Americans thought thought on December 8, 1941.” Ambrose said. The Japanese reason for bombing America was that they wanted to end the strong economic power.

With such events occurring quickly in such a small time period, the second World War came as a massive shock. Yet again, Americans called for isolationism and neutrality as they believed America should focus on ending the Great Depression, not worrying about and dealing with the international issues of other nations and peoples. By analyzing Document 5, it is clear that many Americans still believe in isolationism during the Great Depression. Bennett Champ Clark states in his Defense of the First Neutrality Act that “the desire to keep the United States from becoming involved in any war between foreign nations seems practically unanimous among the rank and file of American citizens.” Americans influenced the US foreign policy yet again as the First Neutrality Act was passed in 1935. By analyzing Document 6, it is clear that President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the choices he made were still influenced by isolationist sentiment as he states in his Quarantine Speech that “it is my determination to adopt every practicable measure to avoid involvement in war.” However, it is clear in President Roosevelt's speech that he knew that entering the war was inevitable as he states that the “peace of the world and the welfare and security of every nation, including our own is today being threatened by that very thing (war).” Although the United States tried its best to not enter the second World War for many years, it could not avoided by the end of 1941. On December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor was bombed by the Japanese. The federal government’s response to this attack can be analyzed in Document 7, President Roosevelt’s Pearl Harbor Address to the Congress of the United States. In response to the attack, Roosevelt calls for Congress to “declare . . . a state of war has existed between the United States and the

The foundation of Japanese imperialism, which eventually led to World War II was in the Meiji Restoration of the 1870’s. At that time, pro-war sentiment and desire for national strength and growth arose as the national attitude of the Japanese people. Certain groups, which advocated return to the traditional Japanese ways, began to grow in power. Shinto, the traditional religion of Japan, was revived with a new emphasis on emperor worship. By the time Emperor Hirohito assumed power in 1926, the nation was ready for a second restoration.1