Japanese military on the 7th of December 1941. The assault left nearly 20 U.S. naval vessels either damaged or destroyed, 300 aeroplanes and resulted in the death of 2400, the injury of 1000 and, ultimately, led to the U.S. declaring war on Japan. Although the attack was a surprise, tensions between the U.S. and Japan built up over many years prior. In the late 19th century, Japan’s economy rapidly grew and industrialised, expanding its territory in Asia, and straining relations with the U.S. In response to Japan’s invasion of China, the U.S. and other Western powers imposed economic sanctions, aiming to halt Japanese expansion. Due to Japan’s heavy reliance on imports, their economy and military were under immense strain and Japanese leaders took bold and aggressive actions, leading to the attack on Pearl Harbor. During the 1930s and early 1940s, the U.S. put into effect a number …show more content…
Japan devised a strategic plan that included enlarging its empire into Southeast Asia, notably the oil-rich Dutch East Indies, in response to the urgent need to gain new areas rich in resources. Japanese leaders were growing increasingly upset with the economic sanctions and their effects on the country's resources and military capabilities, as shown by the intercepted Magic diplomatic decrypts. On November 6, 1941, the Japanese Foreign Minister sent a message to Ambassador Kichisaburo Nomura stating "Our Empire's future existence is at stake... We must take advantage of this opportunity to increase our power and resources.". Japan was given a window of opportunity to gain the resources it needed for its expansionist aspirations thanks to the attack on Pearl Harbour, which was perceived as a proactive measure to cripple the US Pacific Fleet, as shown by similar
Introduction The attack on Pearl Harbour occurred before World War Two, on December 7th 1941, when Japan launched a pre-emptive strike against the United States of America. Pearl Harbour, in Hawaii, was attacked, and 20 naval vessels, as well as 300 airplanes, were destroyed. The Japanese did this because the American government had imposed sanctions and trade embargoes upon Japan as a result of Japan declaring war on China and attempting to take over China’s import market, in order to solve its demographic and economic issues.2 This prompted the American congress to vote to join World War Two, two years after it had begun.2 My research task aims to discover whether or not Japan’s actions are justified.
Before the bombing at Pearl Harbor, Japan had decided to take an aggressive approach of attack to end their economic downfall. In 1931, Japan takes over Manchuria, China. Shortly afterward, In 1937, Japan takes over Nanjing, and commits rape and mass killings all over Nanjing (known as the Nanjing Massacre). As a result of Japan’s actions, the United States tried to stop the expansion and devastation of Japan, and stops the trade of essential materials and trade items to Japan such as oil, scrap metal, etc. Since Japan is an island nation, trade is essential to keep Japan functional.
December 7, 1941 is considered one of the most impactful days in United States’ history: the day Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Despite their size, Japan left an incredible amount of damage with their 5 submarines and 408 planes. President Roosevelt had been avoiding scuffling with Japan since their pact with Germany and Italy; war with Germany was sure to erupt soon enough. However, soon after the ambuscade, the United States’ declared war on Japan and launched their involvement in World War II. Japan’s leaders recognized the risks of invading one of America’s naval bases; yet they persisted.
The next day, President Roosevelt assembled congress to ask them to declare war on the empire of Japan. He was overwhelmed by support and so the us was now in the chaos. The Pacific Fleet was lost losing over 2500 men and ten aircraft carriers and ammunition. The Japanese destroyed 188 aircraft and damaged 158. They also killed 68 civilians and 2403 military personnel.
Identification and evaluation of sources: Between 1930 and 1941, Japan sought to increase their power through imperialism; it caused threat to the United States when Japan started expanding to Manchuria and French Indochina. The United States tried to stop Japan, fearing from the threat that might happen, when America's president Franklin Roosevelt banned Japan from getting natural materials and supplies like Oil, rubber and rice. This action led to Japan to prepare for war. In July 1941, Japanese admiral Yamamoto suggested an attack on Pearl Harbor. The reason they selected Pearl Harbor because of their vision, they saw Pearl Harbor as an easy target like Manchuria, also the United States naval fleet was in Pearl Harbor,
entered the war for personal gain and national power. On the other hand, Schweikart and Allen attribute it to the Pearl Harbor attack. Zinn reports, “Japan’s strike against the American naval base climaxed a long series of mutually antagonistic acts,” such as the threat against U.S. markets by Japan’s invasion of China, and the U.S.’s embargo on certain products (Zinn 410-411). He also says the U.S. declared war on Japan not because of the threat to American citizens, but because of “the Japanese attack on a link in the American Pacific Empire” (Zinn 410). Schweikart and Allen agree hostilities started long before the attack and led to it.
In other words, “unless a new source of oil was opened, the Imperial Japanese Navy would be in dry dock within a year and Japanese industries would grind to a halt in 12 to 18 months” (historynet.com). These sanctions and other penalties didn’t discourage the Japanese, however; they actually convinced Japan to stand its ground and stirred up the anger of its people against continued Western interference in Asian affairs. Because of this, Japan signed the Tripartite Pact with Germany and Italy, “the two fascist regimes then at war with the Allies” (Pruitt). Although Tokyo and Washington D.C. negotiated for months leading up to the Pearl Harbor attack, there was no success. According to Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “Day of Infamy” speech, “one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in the American island of Oahu, the Japanese Ambassador to the United States and his colleague delivered to our Secretary of State a formal reply to a recent American message.
Japan was more determined and stood their ground that they 're not going to back down. In the nineteen forties Japan was a belligerent country. In nineteen fourty one December seventh, over one hundred fire figther planes attacked the american military bases in Hawaii. It was tragic moment, the attack lasted about two hours. The presdient, Frankelin D. Roosevelt declared war on Japan, the Congress approved.
Building up to the mid 1940s, Japan’s resentment towards western civilizations grew in response to their forced trade relationships. After militarily taking over parts of China, Japan decided to strike the United States before they could respond to Japan’s belligerence. With the attack of Pearl Harbor, Japan pushed the United States to officially join the Second World War. Fear from the attack towards the Japanese and existing racism lead to the internment of the Japanese citizens of North America, which led to hostile relations between those of the Japanese and the Americans. Pearl Harbor created an overwhelming fear amongst the citizens of America of the Japanese.
Rahul Bagga Mr.Campbell US History, Period 0 16 December 2015 Why did Japan attack Pearl Harbor? One day that will always be remembered by America is the date of December 7, 1941, which changed American history forever. December 7, 1941 was the day the Japanese warplanes attacked Pearl Harbor (Hawaii) which stationed many of American ships and airfields. Immediately after the bombings, United States President Franklin Roosevelt declared war on Japan, leading to a direct involvement into World War ll. Japan had many reason to do so but Japan attacked Pearl harbor for three reasons which were that they had a plan for a new world order, United States were expanding their number of naval ships rapidly, and an oil embargo was placed upon Japan
Japan wanted to expand more and keep on attacking more people, while the U.S. had a different view on expansionism. The U.S. did not support Japan in their expanding, leading to Japan fearing of losing strength and power. These are the reasons that Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7th,
Japan wanted complete control over the Pacific region and the US was considered the imminent threat. The Japanese planned to isolate the Pacific region; and aimed to destroy the battleships, block the ports and have complete domination of the region. The mission commissioned by the Japanese was partially successful but failed to achieve its major objective. The Japanese wanted to block the Pearl Harbor, primarily to prevent access for the ships and increase the turnaround time for the US Navy to be operational again. Luckily for the Americans, a total disaster was averted as the crew of the USS Nevada moved their battleship out of the harbor into the sea, preventing many additional lives from being lost, as well as providing the crucial time for the US Navy to regroup and
The United States and Japan fought in World War II during 1941 to 1945. Japan planned to expand their land and gain resources- which led them to invade China whom was an ally of the U.S. In result, the United States cut off the supply of oil to Japan. On December 7th 1941, Japan’s air force did a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor because that is where their military base is located.
Japan’s desperation was clear because America was already supplying them 80% of their oil (DOC D). With next to none natural resources in Japan the American supply was vital. The oil embargo pushed Japan to the state of needing to attack American soil at Pearl
Soon after the Great Depression, the world had gotten thrown into yet another global turmoil: the rise of Nazi Fascism, and the war raging on in Europe from 1939 through 1945 and in Asia from 1941 to 1945, and few countries on mentioned continents in addition to the United States were left unscathed. In the 1940 's, relations between Japan and the US began to deteriorate; The US had been consistently aiding China in their war with Japan, and when Japan conquered French Indochina in the summer of 1941, President Roosevelt ordered an immediate embargo on all trade with Japan which alienated the Japanese even further as it disrupted a major oil supply for the island nation. This deteriorating relation came to a climax when the Japanese launched a surprise attack on a Hawaiian American naval base of Pearl Harbor, with the goal of weakening their naval strength, on December 7th, 1941, leaving the US in shock. Known as the “day that would live in infamy”, the attack on Pearl Harbor had left 2,403 Americans deceased with over 1,000 of those lives perishing on