Attack On Pearl Harbor In 1941 example essay topic

(Title) The immaculate gray-blue skies hovered above the clear waters of a picturesque Pearl Harbor. The morning birds were singing as the sun broke over the horizon of Oahu Island, which would typically signal the start to a perfect Hawaiian day. To United States (U.S.) servicemen in 1941, Hawaii was a tropical paradise and a "dream" duty station. The peaceful serenity of the morning soon became shattered by the sound of bombs bursting and bulkheads exploding during the devastating surprise attack by Japanese fighter pilots. Completely unaware and unprepared, the U.S. Armed Forces desperately tried to defend themselves but could not overturn the Japanese Strike. Indeed 2,400 men died because the attack of the Pacific Fleet was unexpected, but some may question how much of a "surprise" this attack really was.

Truly, this was and is "A date which will live in infamy". , not for the bombing of Pearl Harbor, but rather for the deception, the misguidance, and the trickery used by the government and Franklin D. Roosevelt to nudge the United States into World War II. Many historians, such as John Toland, Charles Tans ill, and countless others, have revived the issue of the Pearl Harbor attack. These historians have renewed this infamous day by accusing president Franklin D. Roosevelt of suspecting the attack on Pearl Harbor was imminent by impending sources gathered by U.S. intelligence. The sources that these noted historians base their reasoning upon includes intercepted radio transmissions from Japanese Carrier fleets as they sailed across the Pacific towards the Hawaiian Islands.

When discussing the attack upon Pearl Harbor one must review the relations of the United States government and the Japanese government. The endless perils the two nations undergone is crucial to understanding why the attack on Pearl Harbor occurred and why the Japanese felt that this attack was the only way to make a mends for the pressure that was put upon the Japanese nation by the United States government. Before the attack on Pearl Harbor, in 1941, the Japanese government had been behaving in a very imperialistic fashion. During the late 1800's and the early 1900's, Japan had been invading and seizing many territories upon a conquest for what they called "the Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere".

During this campaign the Japan government seized Formosa in 1895, Korea in 1910, and in 1914 the Marshall, Mariana, and the Caroline Islands. They publicized their reasons for carrying out this campaign was for the natural resources these countries possessed. Japan desperately lacks natural resources such as oil, rubber, and other raw materials. Seizing these islands would ensure natural resources that are vital for the advancement of Japanese society. Even though the Japanese had reasons for seizing these lands, Roosevelt's staff theorized that the true reasons for this annexation was to get ever so closer to the American outposts at Pearl Harbor, if ever they decided to expand towards the Hawaiian Islands. This is only the first of many signs pointing to the upcoming attack by the Japanese.

United States military Intelligence proved to be a vital resource in uncovering Roosevelt's knowledge of the attack upon Pearl Harbor. With the help of staff members, such as J. Edgar Hoover (who was the head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation) and Signal Intelligence Systems the Japanese "secret" attack wasn't as secret as the citizens of the United States was lead to believe. J. Edgar Hoover played a consequential role in aiding Roosevelt in deceiving the American public. Hoover was the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (F.B. I) during.