...December 7th, 1941: Attack on Pearl Harbor On the morning of the seventh of December 1941, during the time of WWII, the United States was awoken by a surprise strike attack by an unknown force. The Naval Base in Pearl Harbor was attacked by the military forces of Japan. This attack essentially led to the United States’ involvement in the Second World War. During this time, Japanese aggression was consuming different parts of Asia and the Japanese military wanted to continue to grow. The United States, however, wanted to prevent further Japanese expansion by placing embargos that crippled their forces. The Japanese did not agree with the actions taken by the United States and decided to make some counter actions to end the United States’ involvement in foreign affairs. Soon, the Japanese planned a surprise attack against the United States’ Navy. In order to properly surprise the United States, Japan had to prepare for a long time, knowing that the United States’ government was on constant alert. In late November, Japanese military force began their journey across the Pacific Ocean, towards the Naval Base on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. The strike force consisted of six aircraft carriers, nine destroyers, two battleships, one light/two heavy cruisers, and three submarines which had to be secretly transported across the Pacific without being detected. On the morning of the seventh of December, the Japanese reached their location a few miles north of the island and at around six...
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...born February 26, 1882, in the state of Kentucky. Kimmel was blamed for the attack on Pearl Harbor along with his fellow Army leader General Walter Short. These to were accused of being unprepared for this attack. Kimmel proved himself worthy of his position as commander in chief of the pacific fleet after driving multiple battle ships in winning wars. He is graduated from the Naval Academy and became part of the Navy. On December 7, 1941, Kimmel allowed the Japanese to attack Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. He never took the blame for it always pushing it off to Roosevelt or Short. In doing so, he needs to keep in mind the leadership trait of “remember: your organization...
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...Pearl Harbor, the Beginning of the End of the Rising Sun As I flew in from the north of Oahu, the sunburst broke through the clouds off the horizon of the ocean in front of us. I couldn’t help to think to myself what a beautiful site for us to see. The gods must be looking upon us. Letting us know of a successful and glorious mission. It took all of about 2 hours to fly our 360 planes that consisted of dive and high level bombers, fighters and torpedo planes the 230 miles to the harbor of pearl. It was 8:05 when my bomb pierced its target. The bomb had hit the forward powder magazine of the USS Arizona. The mighty explosion split the great ship in half, taking only nine minutes for her to sink (A Summary of the Attack on Pearl Harbor, 2012). Now that we are out of the box looking in, this is what a Japanese pilot might have felt as he flew his plane on that haunting yet unforgettable mission to that bay at Pearl; for he was on his way of creating history from the destruction of an entire fleet in anchor. This Japanese warrior and his culture of war would not know the consequences of his emperor’s actions; for it would only unite an entire country in a fit of rage from this horrific and unprovoked act initiated by the rising sun nation of Japan. This battle would not only be the beginning of WWII for the United States, but it would be the beginning of the end of a military force in Japan. It was this mission and Japan’s cultural importance of war that...
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...failed thanks to the actions of the plane’s passengers. Many Americans and people all over the world witnessed these deadly events through nationwide television. It was the worst terrorist attack on American soil. This was an attack that changed America forever. In search for answers, Americans remembered once again and compared the September 11 attack to the Pearl Harbor assault. In the Pearl Harbor assault, Japan unexpectedly attacked United States on December 7, 1941. In both circumstances, a secure nation was attacked on its own soil. Just as Pearl Harbor awoke America out of a sense of security, September 11 had a similar effect on Americans. Both Pearl Harbor and September 11 attacks resulted in a significant loss of human life. On the Pearl Harbor attack 2,388 people were killed. On September 11, 2001 it was believed a larger number of people had lost their lives. It was difficult to provide an exact number of casualties. It was believed that about seven thousand people lost their lives during the attacks of the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania. As the days passed by, the numbers decreased from seven thousand to three thousand. Even though the Pearl Harbor and September 11 attacks seemed similar, they had quite many differences. Pearl Harbor was a military attack...
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...and being an example of peace for the rest of the world. And also by showing its strengths politically with Pearl Harbor, militarily with the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and economically with the Executive Order 9066. Spanish American War relates to this would be when President Mckinley wanted to step in to help Cuba against Spain (The White Man’s Burden). America was powerful enough to gain control of those countries. They...
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...World War II: Before Pearl Harbor World War II: Before Pearl Harbor Why did the United States get involved in World War II prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor? There are several reasons for this and all of them could be looked at as damaging to the United States in more ways than one. Throughout this examination of World War II, most individuals look at Pearl Harbor as the starting point for World War II; however, involvement from the United States was looming throughout the war prior to the attack on the United States naval base on a quiet morning of December 07, 1941 right off the Pacific. Throughout the duration of this paper, Hitler’s Germany, Allied Powers, and the Japanese all had a ton to do with the United States entering the World War II landscape. Also, the Neutrality Acts and Lend-Lease programs will also be big points of emphasis as well throughout the duration of this paper. Neutrality Acts and Germany’s Influence By the beginning stages of World War II, Nazi Germany were not too thrilled with American supply ships providing aid and assistance via workers and supplies to Allied troops during the war. The Allied troops consisted of Russia, England, China, and France and they were key allies of the United States at that point in time during the war, in which Nazi Germany at the time objected to (Mintz, 2007). Before things took a turn for the worse in regards to war efforts, the United States Congress approved the “Neutrality Acts”, which were created simply...
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...The Sources of Japanese Militarism Source: J.B. Crowley, “A New Deal for Japan and Asia: One Road to Pearl Harbor” (1970)1 Introduction While the events of Pearl Harbor (1941) became “a date which will live in infamy” for the Americans, it is doubted by many if the attack was to be expected due to the rigid U.S. policy toward Japan. Crowley argues that by not acting against the 1931 Japanese intervention in Manchuria the U.S. “condemned itself to Pearl Harbor and the Pacific War”. In the perspective of the Vietnam War the aspects of Asian nationalism, the heritage of colonialism, communist ideology & national movement emerged. America’s role in Asia should be reassessed, and a better understanding of Asian racism and nationalism is needed. In this perspective Pearl Harbor will be seen as a by-product of Asian nationalism and as a conflict between an Asian country and the Occidental nationalism. As he assumes for the Japanese Pearl Harbor portrayed “a blow against the efforts of the Occidental powers to strangle Japan”. He quotes Tokutomi Sohō’s comment on the Imperial Declaration of War: “We must show the races of East Asia that order, tranquillity, peace... can be gained only by eradicating... [the Anglo-Saxons] ...and by making Nippon the leader of East Asia.” The essay of Crowley aims to help the better understanding of nationalism, colonialism, communism and imperialism in the Asian setting. The post-WW1 situation 1 Besides this essay, I relayed on the Wikipedia...
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...of Japanese-Americans living in the United States from their homes and into internment camps. After the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Americans became fearful that the Japanese people living in their country participated in the attack and were planning more from “the inside.” It was only once they were needed during the war that the men were allowed out of the camps to fight as American soldiers. Revoyr writes, “Frank and his friends were such great American soldiers, ironically, because they were Japanese- because of their sense of duty, and integrity, and faith in each other” (116). The fact that any Japanese man would fight for the United States against Japan after having their families and themselves treated as livestock, proves that these people were true Americans. Frank and his friends might have been Japanese by heritage but their loyalty was to the United States and they thought of themselves as Americans. This commitment came from their Japanese heritage which puts a strong emphasis on the duty people have to protect their country, so much so that people who did not fight with America were shunned by other Japanese-Americans (116). The Japanese are not the only people who have wrongly been punished in consequence of American’s fear, the Muslim community has been looked down on and feared ever since 9/11. Similar to the American reaction to Pearl Harbor, people of the Muslim faith have experienced stereotypical discrimination. A larger problem in the American society...
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...After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt immediately issued an investigation and the report led to the commissioning of the Executive Order 9066. President Roosevelt's ordering of the Executive Order 9066, which led to the internment of Japanese American citizens, was not justified because there was little to no evidence that showed signs of threat. It was based on misinformation and did more damage than good. Many Japanese Americans would lose their homes, businesses, families, and most importantly, their rights and freedom. It was written in the investigative report President Roosevelt issued that there were Japanese spies in Hawaii before the attack. According to Roberts Commission, before “December 7, 1941, Japanese spies on the island of Oahu... collected and, through various channels transmitted, information to the Japanese Empire" (www.digitalhistory.uh.edu). Many people became...
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...Soviet Union, United States, England, and Republic of China. While the Axis alliances included Germany, Japan, and Italy. In 1941, Japan controlled the majority of China, Korea, Vietnam, and others Pacific Islands. The leader of the U.S was president Franklin D.Roosevelt while the Japanese’s leader was Emperor Hirohito Showa. At the beginning, the United States was helping China to reconquer back its lands by putting an embargo on Japan and refused to send oil and raw materials to Japan. Then, the Japanese leaders put a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on Sunday, December 7th, 19941 because they see the embargo as an aggressive act, and their military armies will be annihilated without oil and raw materials. This attack resulted in 2500 U.S dead, and many battleships and airplanes to be destroyed. Another action that Japan did that angered the U.S was forcing about 75,000 Allied soldiers on the Bataan Death March. The U.S’s reaction to this attack and was to drop two atomic bombs nicknamed “Little Boy” on Hiroshima and “Fat Man” on Nagasaki, Japan from the Manhattan project because they believed that it was an effective solution to end the war quickly without losing many American soldiers. The United States was not justified in dropping the atomic bombs at the end of WWII because the atomic bombs were dreadful and inhumane, the Japanese were already defeated, and the U.S’s true objective was to impress the Soviet Union. Moral: One reason explained why the United States...
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...that involved multiple nations and multiple actors, but in this Research Paper, I will be discussing the role of Japan in WWII as well as the short term and long term consequences of said role. Today Japan and the United States are close allies, but from 1941 and 1945, they fought a bitter and bloody war-Why did they fight this war? The answer to that question, from the American perspective is simple: the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. The Americans were angry at the Japanese for their invasions of first Manchuria (1931), then China (1937), and later French Indochina (1940). After the Japanese moved into Indochina, President Roosevelt ordered a trade embargo on American scrap steel and oil, on which the Japanese military depended. But the American people felt that Asia was far away, and a large majority of voters did not want to go to war to stop Japan. The surprise attack on the Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 changed this, outraging was the prevailing sentiment among Americans, along with a pretty unanimous belief that it was time to go to war with Japan. Why did Japan decide to attack the United States? This question is a little bit more complicated. Japan was fully aware of the fact that the United States was economically and militarily powerful, but it was not afraid of any American attack on its islands. Japan did worry however, that the Americans might help the Chinese resist the Japanese invasion of their country. When President Roosevelt stopped U.S...
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...and they clearly don’t understand the consequences. The use of the atomic bomb was not justified because the act will kill many innocent civilians, who had absolutely nothing to do with the war or the attack on the Pearl Harbor. Please take a second and realize that. William “Wild Bill” Guarnere expressed a very blunt opinion about the bomb in 2007. He said “Japanese should have stayed out of it if they didn’t want bombs dropped. The of the war was good new to us. We knew we were going home. This said by William expresses why he wants to get revenge but it’s not all about getting back. Your country should leave it a end and move on and not get back revenge on for what Japan did because it will later on causes consequences which you all will regret y’all have done. William stated the war was good new to the, and he was happy going home. Why would you guys want to start war again after saying you were happy to be home and done the fighting? Many areas in Japan, such as the city of Fuchu, is home to several naval and air force bases. If the your country had gave reasonable reasons to why, they would have bombed the military bases containing the soldiers conducting these attacks. This lead me to believe that the United States were not using the atomic bomb just to protect their own people and land, but for possibly malicious intent. Many of you people may argue that the drop of the atomic bomb was a justified retaliation for Pearl Harbor, and the fact that innocents were killed...
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...The refrigerator, the camera, and the cell phone are all well-known inventions from the 20th century that had a big impact the modern world; however, inventions overlooked might have made a much larger influence. Nuclear power, automobiles, and penicillin are three overlooked inventions that impacted the world then and today. Nuclear power impacted today in many ways including exploration on Mars, Pearl Harbor, and the destruction of habitats. The modern world has also been impacted by automobiles with pollution, manufacturing, and several other ways. Society today has also been influenced by Penicillin by the usage of natural resources and with the number of soldiers in the battlefield. The daily lives of people everywhere have been influenced by nuclear power, automobiles, and penicillin. One invention that is often overlooked is nuclear power which is widely used today and continues to impact lives in positive and negative ways. One of the negative impacts was on 1986, when nuclear power caused an explosion in a Ukrainian power plant. The explosion released radioactive gas all over the city of Chernobyl; many of it's inhabitants died and it left the remaining survivors to flee their home. The city is still...
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...When war broke out, there was no way the world could possibly know the levels of severity that the war would escalate also. Fortunately one country saw and understood that Germany and its allies would have to be stopped. America's involvement in World War 2 not only contributed in the eventual downfall of the insane Adolph Hitler and his Third Reich, but had also came at the precise time and moment. Had the United States entered the war any later the consequences might have been worse. Over the years, it has been an often heated and debated issue on whether the United States could have entered the war sooner and thus saved many lives. To try to understand this we must look both at the people and at government's point of view. Just after war broke out in Europe, President Roosevelt hurriedly called his cabinet and military advisors together. There it was agreed that the United States stay neutral in these affairs. One of the reasons given was that unless America was directly threatened, they had no reason to be involved. Thus, the provisional neutrality act passed the senate by seventy-nine votes to two in 1935. On August 31, Roosevelt signed it into law. In 1936, the law was renewed, and in 1937, a comprehensive and permanent neutrality act was passed. The desire to avoid "foreign entanglements" of all kinds had been an American foreign policy for more than a century. Even if Roosevelt had wanted to do more in the European crisis (which he did not), there was a factor too often...
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...World War II: Its Causes, Effects, and the Aftermath An American Story History 202 Matt Shaffer July 22, 2010 Known as one of the bloodiest wars in world history, World War II brought about many new changes of how wars are fought and had a great impact on humanity. More than 50 countries were involved in the war, and the entire world felt its effects. World War II killed more people, was more expensive, and created more drastic changes in almost every country than any other war in history. Tactical warfare was greatly influenced, as well as the major player for the center of world power. Following World War I, the United States conquered the entire world market of food and industry. Germany, Japan, and Italy became anxious to expand and increase their power, and they felt as though they were at a disadvantage in trying to compete with other countries for world markets. These three nations felt that other nations unjustly controlled the majority of the world’s wealth. As a result, they began to find lands to take over that they believed to be their cut of the world’s resources. In helping on doing so, military leaders in Japan took over the government, and Adolf Hitler became the chancellor of Germany. By 1939, there was an all out war in Europe (“Stanovov,” 2000). In America, people were divided on their opinions of the United States involvement in the war. Most wanted the Allied nations to prevail; however, they also wanted the U.S. to stay out of the war. Others...
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