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The Attack at Pearl Harbor

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On December 7th, 1941, a date President Franklin D. Roosevelt said would “live in infamy,” the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii was under a surprise military attack by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service. The attack at Pearl Harbor changed America’s decision to enter into World War II and join the Allied Power to fight against countries like Germany and Japan. About 350 to 400 Japanese warplanes bombed Pearl Harbor for two hours, resulting in catastrophic destruction and crippling the United States Naval power in the Pacific Ocean. The Japanese were responsible for killing 2,403 Americans, wounding another 1,104 Americans, and 21 battleships that were severely damaged and sank, including one of the well-known battleships the USS Arizona (Patel). 
Pearl Harbor was one of the biggest surprise attacks in U.S. history besides the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001, but that would follow decades later. Japan and the United States relation in 1941 was very tense almost on the verge of breaking point. Japan’s military leaders knew if they attacked Malaya, Indochina, and the Dutch East Indies for oil, rubber and other raw materials, which was needed to fuel Japan’s war machines, would provoke the United States to declare war (Stevens). If Japan never made the surprise attack at Pearl Harbor, the results would have drastically changed America’s history. Through analysis of photos, videos, propaganda, and documents, one can acknowledge that the events at Pearl Harbor played a major role in understanding the catastrophic aftermath of a surprised attack. This specific attack changed how the United States perspective of Japanese Americans altered, instilling fear throughout the entirety of America.

Contents of this path:

  1. The Japanese Attack Pearl Harbor
  2. Footage of The Attack/ Aftermath at Pearl Harbor
  3. USS Arizona
  4. Fear From Japanese Americans
  5. Avenge December 7
  6. Conclusion