Attack on Pearl Harbor Essay Example

On December 7, 1941, a Japanese surprise attack shocked America and the world. How did the US react after being the target of a devastating surprise attack? First some background info about World War II, it took place from 1939-1945. Germany, Italy, and Japan were fighting against the allied nations (USA, England, France, Canada, Soviet Union, and more). It happened because Hitler, the leader of Nazi Germany, invaded Poland and some allied nations declared war and the whole conflict escalated because of alliances. The US entered the war because of a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, an American military base in Hawaii, by the Japanese. The attack on Pearl Harbor really scared Americans, however it also united America and proved that unity is really important to have as a country, especially during a war.

Pearl Harbor was a devastating attack. It happened on December 7, 1941. Japan attacked the US military base to stall the US and keep them from interfering with Japan’s mission to take over the area in the pacific. America had intercepted a coded telephone call where Japan said that they were planning to attack a military base in the Pacific. On the morning of December 7, Japan sent over 300 planes towards Pearl Harbor to attack. Overall, Japan lost only 29 of its aircrafts while the US lost much more. 18 US ships were either damaged or sunk, 300 aircrafts were destroyed, 2400 Americans were killed, and another 1200 were wounded. This was a devastating attack for America.

The US declared war nearly immediately after the attack, and there was lots of fear and anger in the citizens after the attack. The US declared war on the Axis Powers only a day after the attack, showing how fearful the nation was. A nearly unanimous vote was conducted on December 8, 1941, to declare war on the Axis Powers . They also didn’t directly attack in the Pacific, even though that’s where they had been attacked. The US attacked in Europe because they saw Hitler as a larger threat to the world. The fact that the US declared war so swiftly and chose to go to war by such a wide margin shows how much unity there was within politicians, something that we see less and less of nowadays. Also, attacking in Europe as opposed to the Pacific shows that the US wanted the best for the world, and not just the US. Attacking in Europe benefitted the world a lot. Second, US citizens were very angered from the attack. In a poster from after the attack, there is text that says “Avenge December 7” in red. Also on the poster, there is a man who looks to be pointing or motioning to something and he looks frustrated, just like the citizens of America. At the bottom of the poster, there is a cartoon-ish design of the attack and it is somewhat exaggerated. The fact that the text is in red, there is a man that looks mad, and that there is an exaggerated depiction of the attack shows how there was clearly a sense of fear throughout the US, especially within its citizens. To conclude, the speed and unity in declaring war certainly shows how united not only the politicians but also the citizens were. Also, there was a sense of fear installed into Americans after the attack. 

The US and Pearl Harbor recovered swiftly after the attack and quickly shifted to a country involved in World War II. The US, as a country, recovered well by re-training some workers to start making goods that would be valuable to the war effort. Companies re-trained their workers to make goods like explosives that would be benificial to the war effort, as opposed to something that would only benefit people on the home front. This shows that there was unity between all Americans and that everyone knew that they had to do their part to help the US prepare for and survive the war. Second, a salvage organization led by Captain Homer N. Wallin was created just one week after the attack. This organization worked hard to repair ships that had been damaged in the attack. A total of over 400 dives, made by both civilian and naval divers, were made in the repair process of the USS Nevada. The refloating of the USS Nevada was one of the organization's largest successes. Overall, the fact that an organization was made shortly after the attack shows how urgent it felt like it was and how scared the nation was. Also, both Navy and civilian divers repairing a ship shows how everyone felt like they had a role to play in the US’s war effort. To conclude, the way that America and Pearl Harbor recovered and moved forward after the attack shows how united America was, despite a sense of fear in all Americans.

Japanese Americans were treated extremely poorly following the attack on Pearl Harbor. First, Japanese Americans were removed, by the government, from the west coast out of fear that they could be spies. Japanese Americans were also not allowed to join the military after the attack. The mistreatment of Japanese Americans, most of whom were born in America, shows how scared the US was. Looking back on it, it seems ridiculous that Japanese Americans were being punished for an attack that they had nothing to do with, but that is just how scared the nation was at the time. In total, this is just part of the mistreatment Japanese Americans recieved after the attack. But, just the fact that they were being mistreated shows how scared the government was. Second, Japanese Internment was another way that Japanese Americans were mistreated. Japanese Internment was the removal of Japanese Americans and putting them in internment camps. Internment camps were very remote, very uncomfortable, and very crammed. Of the 120,000 internees, 75,000 of them were born in either the US or Canada and had parents that were from Japan. This again shows how scared the US was and how much tension there was as the country went to war. Overall, the way that Japanese Americans were treated after the attack shows how scared the US was. 

In conclusion, while the attack on Pearl Harbor really brought the nation together, the attack scared Americans much more and caused many more side effects for Japanese Americans and others affected by the war. I chose this topic because I thought that I would find it very interesting to not only learn about Pearl Harbor, the event, but also the reaction and side effects of the attack. I thought that it would be interesting because after the US was attacked, they had to move forward into the war and stay united, which they did. However, they couldn’t hide how much the attack scared all americans.