Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor

The bombing of Pearl Harbor was a major turning point in World War II for the United States. At the beginning of World War II, Americans were isolationists, meaning they didn't want to get involved in foreign affairs. Americans were more concerned about unemployment in the United States than fighting overseas. On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked the United States military bases at Pearl Harbor, which is located on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. It was the worst attack on US soil until September 11, 2001, and forced the United States into World War II. There were many different factors that led to the attack at Pearl Harbor.

Before World War II started, the Great Depression caused many countries to suffer from poor economies. The depression hit Germany and Japan hard. Poverty and unrest caused both countries' democratic governments to be taken over by dictators who wanted to expand the lands of their countries. During the Great Depression many countries, including the United States, imported less silk and other goods from Japan because they were in a depression too. When Japan was no longer able to trade for the raw materials it needed, it decided to take over other lands to get the natural resources that it needed such as oil, rubber, iron ore, tin, and copper. By early 1941, Hitler had conquered most of Europe, and Japan was trying to conquer Asia. When Japan bombed French Indochina, the United States stopped all oil exports to Japan as punishment.

By 1920, Japan had the strongest military in Asia and the third largest navy in the world. In October 1940, Hideki Tojo became both prime minister and secretary of war for Japan. Tojo was very aggressive and didn't want his enemies to win. Japan also formed a Tripartite pact with Italy and Germany in 1940, making them allies.

In May 1940, President Roosevelt moved the main base of the US fleet from southern California to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, because of its natural sheltered harbor. Pearl Harbor was then home to the largest naval fleet, and its location was a potential threat to Japan's takeover of other countries in the Pacific.

The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Within minutes, thousands of people died. There were two waves of attack. The first one had 183 Japanese planes that attacked at 7:55 A.M.. After the first attack, the United States couldn't defend itself because most of its planes were destroyed. A second wave came with 170 Japanese planes at 8:50 A.M.. The entire attack took less than two hours and ended by 10 A.M.. The attack was a complete surprise to the United States. We hadn't understood