A Day That Will Live in Infamy: The Attack on Pearl Harbor
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt famously called the attack on Pearl Harbor a day that would live in infamy. The Japanese bombing of the American naval base of Pearl Harbor was the event that ultimately precipitated US entry into World War II. Of course, for many years, the US had shown sympathy to the Allied powers. But the bombing of Pearl Harbor ultimately drove America to choose sides and formally end its neutrality. Supporting the Allied powers was not as popular a stance as might have been believed with hindsight, and isolationist sentiment was still a factor Roosevelt had to overcome.

The Where of Pearl Harbor

The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise attack, and an attack on a nation which was still officially neutral despite growing Japanese resentment of perceived and real American bias against the Axis powers. The attack on December, 7, 1941 killed over 2,400 Americans and resulted in significant damage to the American Naval fleet (Robinson, 2011). The US declared war upon Japan shortly thereafter. As promised, Britain declared war on Japan, commensurate with its promise that it would make such a declaration if the US entered the war on its side (“What was the Significance of Pearl Harbor,” 2019). The US had already been aiding the British with supplies, and the British were desperate for American aid. Soon after, Germany and Italy declared war on the US, as it was now at war with their ally Japan (“What was the Significance of Pearl Harbor,” 2019).

The Why of Pearl Harbor

The question arises as to why Japan was so willing to attack the United States in the first place, given US military power and strength. Japan, in contrast to Germany, had fought on the side of the United States during World War I. What transpired to cause a fissure between the US and its former ally? But the failure of Japan’s economy had given rise to militarism in the wake of the worldwide Great Depression. Just as Germany, Italy, and even the US saw a rise of radical political ideologies due to economic frustrations, so did Japan. According to Robinson (2011): “Hit hard by the Great Depression of the early 1930s, however, Japanese disillusion with party government grew and moderates gave way to militants” who promised a return to Japanese Imperial glory (par. 2). Japan was a small, resource-poor nation with a growing population. This drove its thirst for empire. Until Pearl Harbor, Japan had largely confined its attacks to its neighbors, including China and the infamous Chinese invasion of the...…Roosevelt deliberately permitted the US to be attacked to precipitate a quick entrance into the war, the evidence is that the US was in fact quite ill-prepared for any war at the time, and Roosevelt himself was attempting to buy time by extending the period of ostensible American neutrality. Furthermore, the US viewed Nazi Germany as America’s main foe, not Japan, and most of the emerging American military operations were focused upon preparing for a war in Europe, not on the Pacific front (Robinson, 2011).

Even when Japanese aircraft were detected by American radar on the day of the attack, the American military failed to act. There was also a great deal of miscommunication between America’s chief military operatives that Japan was able to capitalize upon, ensuring that the attack on Pearl Harbor would be successful. “Japanese messages were decoded by the army and navy on alternate days and all too often one service failed to properly communicate their new intelligence to the other” (Robinson, 2011, par.13).

Conclusion

The attacks on Pearl Harbor revealed crucial American military and intelligence weaknesses. But ultimately Japan was hurt more than helped by these precipitating attacks. Now the brunt of American public opinion was in favor of the war, and Japan remained as resource-poor as ever in the fight against the Allies.

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