Pearl Harbor
Essay by review • February 25, 2011 • Essay • 369 Words (2 Pages) • 1,015 Views
The US Pacific fleet was anchored at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. On Sunday December 7, 194, Japanese planes attacked Pearl Harbor while most of the American sailors were still asleep. The surprise attack, which lasted about two hours, killed 2,400 Americans, wounded 1,200, damaged or sunk 20 warships, and destroyed 150 airplanes.
The American people were stunned and angered by the attack on Pearl Harbor. However, high government officials knew that the Japanese were going to attack somewhere in the Pacific. With the policy of isolation being upheld, the attack on Pearl Harbor united the nation for war.
On December 8, 1941, President Roosevelt described the attack on Pearl Harbor as "a date which will live in infamy"# when "the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan."# He declared that "hostilities exist [and]... that our people, our territory, and our interests are in grave danger."# Congress acted immediately by declaring war. Three days later, Germany and Italy declared war on the United Sates and World War II was on for the Americans
The attack on Pearl Harbor angered the general public of the United States, and if the majority of the people want something the congress will give it. It enraged the American public so much that they changed their views completely and wanted Japan to pay for the surprise attack in Hawaii. The American people knew that negotiations were under way in Washington DC and that the U.S. was working for peace not war. As far as the people were concerned, the attack was the ultimate act of betrayal. The majority of the congressmen voted in favor of the U.S. entering the war on the side of the Allies.
The event that happened at Pearl Harbor was the finale of a chain of events that lead the United States into WWII. Hostilities between the US and Japan already existed and the situation was tension. Pearl Harbor was enough for the people of America to want war. The surprise attack was the most important event in getting America into the war.
1. http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/tmirhdee.html
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