Doc Analysis 4

Jake Dansie

History 1700

The Day of Infamy

On December 7, 1941 the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by

naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan..

Pearl Harbor is but a tick-mark on the timeline of the History of the United States, but a

rather large one at that. Growing up, The attack on pearl harbor was never spoken of very

frequently, Yet it was something that seriously defined that time period of the United states. If

pearl harbor wouldnt have happened, the United states may never have entered into WWII or at

least would have been delayed.

When reading the Documents, I learned some new things about the attack. For example,

the number of Americans killed or wounded compared to the Japanese attackers was

astronomical. I had always known the attack was devastating, but that is an understatement. The

number of Americans killed at 2403 was significantly higher than I had ever thought, especially

since there was an additional 1178 wounded. Japan, only losing 55 men, had executed a

thoroughly effective attack on the United States while they were totally unprepared and were

currently assuming a state of peace with the empire of Japan.

The United States had been discussing peace with Japan and were under the complete

assumption that they were going well. With Japan keeping up the facade that the two

governments were making good progress, all the way up even until an hour after the Bombing in
Oahu had begun. The Japanese empire had planned this attack days, if not weeks in advance,

showing that the Peace talks were either not going as well as the Japanese had hoped, or that they

werent as high on their priority list as the United states had assumed.

With the majority of the Unites States Pacific fleet moored in the harbor, they were sitting

ducks for the Japanese airplanes. 8 of the 9 Battleships currently in the pacific fleet were in the

harbor, 7 of which were critically damaged or destroyed. Over 230 of the 400 American airplanes

were destroyed or damaged. Though Japan failed to destroy the major components of the base

such as the fuel tanks, power plant, and ship repair centers, it was a major blow to the American

navy.

With the destruction caused at Pearl harbor, I am amazed that even a single congressional

vote went against the declaration of war. America had been wounded at its core, attacked

unprovoked, and had suffered one of the greatest attacks on American soil still to this day, within

the same realm of 9/11. With the War also raging in Europe , the United States was fighting on

two fronts, one of which, they were effectively fighting on their own against Japan.

One only knows why the Empire of Japan had attacked the unites states in a time where

they had little to gain from the event. The Pacific war theatre that followed was a gruesome and

brutal affair, eventually ending in the use of the first nuclear bombs dropped in a conflict. I do

think that the stubborn pride of both countries added to the amount of chaos that ensued, as well

as that the Unites states felt that they had redemption to earn, and Japan had honor to maintain.

How the United states managed to stay afloat and win the war while participating in both theatres

of battle, and yet win the war, will always amaze me.
 WWII may not have ever been different in how things had happened, but I do believe that

if Pearl harbor didnt happen, the war would have only been delayed and started by some other

significant event.