Cause And Effect Of Japan's Attack On Pearl Harbor

The December 7th, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, was certainly “a day that will live in infamy” (FDR). The United States had never been attacked on its own soil during a time of peace. An examination of primary and secondary sources will reveal the historical importance of this momentous event.

December 7th 1941 was like any other day until the Japanese started attacking Pearl Harbor (Oxford 48). A man named James Jones told his story his story, Jones had joined the “old army”, a peace time force of 190,000 men (Oxford 52). Jones was standing outside on the shore when American fighter planes of the 18th pursuit group went up in flames on the east end (Oxford 54). Jones spent the rest of that unforgettable morning as a runner carrying

Japan felt like this plan would enable their navy to overcome the numerical disadvantage resulting from the ship building restrictions imposed by the Washington Naval Conference (Rice 11). Japans leader, Yamamoto, had the planning and preparation taken care of, Yamamotos proposal was to attack Pearl Harbor, but, was not approved until November 1941 (Rice 28). Multiple warnings of Japans impending actions went unnoticed or unheeded (Rice 39). Japans set list of how to take down Pearl Harbor started with the fact that they had to make it a surprise and absolute secrecy (Rice 28). They used American carriers as primary targets, and destroy the U.S. aircraft on Oahu (Rice 28). Japan used every type of bombing technique they had (Rice 29). Japan used a daylight attack so no one was prepared to fight back (Rice 30). Six carriers of Japan had drawn within 220 miles “this is not a drill” (Rice 54). Early morning light on the Pacific Ocean, big heavy grey swells of Japanese carrier planes were on the horizon, the attack was about to happen (Collier 224). The attack had barely started, but when the plane flew over and they saw the Japanese emblem on the wings they knew who it was (Collier 224). Lieutenant Commander Kakuichi Takahashi led fifty one Japanese bombers into Oahu (Collier 226). Torpedo Planes and the dive bombers headed for Pearl Harbor, this was the point where Americans try to fight back (Collier 225). The U.S. starts all 231

A 1,800 pound bomb smashed through the deck of the battleship (Collier 227). The ship exploded and through the deck of the battleship (Collier 227). The ship exploded and sank with more than 1,000 men trapped inside (Collier 227). Torpedoes penetrated the side of the USS Oklahoma (Collier 228). The USS Oklahoma flipped completely over with 400 members aboard (Collier 228). The attack lasted 110 minutes, from 7:55a.m. until 9:45a.m. (Collier 228). The Japanese chose to attack on a Sunday because they knew the United States would be the most relaxed on a Sunday (Collier 229). A total of eight ships were destroyed of the U.S. (Collier 229). The mystery is still unsolved why the Japanese blew up Pearl Harbor, many battleships never again to set sail (Bachrach 106). Wheeler Field was the home of the Fourteenth Pursuit Wing (Rice 73). The Japanese army used 12,000 barrels of oil a day to run the machines and planes (Bachrach 18). When Japan was trying to take over China, the American government commanded them to stop (Bachrach