Pearl Harbor :: essays research papers

Pearl Harbor was one of the most vicious attacks on American soil. The surprise attack by Japan took place on sunlight morning December 7, 1941. Japan cherished to immobilize U.S.s Pacific pass by and destroy any chance of a counter strike in from the Pacific. The join States responded by creating Japanese-American Internment Camps, which uprooted tens of thousands of Japanese-American families. And later America decided to use atomic weapons to end the war with Japan. Tension between Japan and the United States started in 1931. Japan had taken over Manchuria, which was then a part of China. In 1937 Japan had started a campaign to conquer the rest of China that was long durable and didnt work. In 1940 Japan signed the Axis Alliance with Germany and occupied all of Indochina the next year. The U.S. was worried by Japans movements because of economic interests that the United States had in East Asia. The U.S. strengthened military aid to China and increased financial aid. They al so built up the military in the Pacific. The U.S. also fade off shipments of oil and raw materials to Japan. Japanese government saw this move as a threat to Japans survival because Japan doesnt have many natural resources. Japans next plan was to take control of the territories of South East Asia that have good amounts of natural resources, counterbalance though it would start a war with the United States. (Lord,Walter. Day of Infamy ) (www.history.navy.mil) (http//campus.northpark.edu)The only thing that stood in the way of this plan was the threat posed by the U.S. Pacific fleet stationed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the leader of the Japanese fleet, was the mastermind behind the plan to cripple the U.S. fleet. Yamamoto wanted to disable the U.S. Pacific fleet by destroying enough ships, airfields, runways, planes, support facilities, and 4.5 billion gallons of fuel so that there was no chance for a counter attack. As Yamamoto put it he wanted to destroy t he dagger pointed at our throat. (Beck, Roger. Black, Linda. Krieger, Larry. Naylor, Phillip. Ibo Shabaka, Dahia. World History pg.827 830)Yamamoto devised a clever plan that would have the attacking Japanese follow a ramp front and keep strict radio silence to avoid being detected by American radar. The Japanese attack was led by Vice-Admiral Chuichi Nagumo and consisted of 6 aircraft carriers, 2 battleships, and 2 cruisers.