Why is Pearl Harbor a Turning Point in History?
Pearl Harbor brought the U.S. into WWII, which changed the reason of why we would fight in the war, and potentially changed the outcome of World War II. Before Pearl Harbor, the United States had declared to "remain a neutral nation" in the war by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The U.S. began helping Britain by shipping supplies across the Atlantic. Despite their ships being attacked many times by German submarines, that was not enough to make the U.S. enter the war. Japan wanted to become the most powerful country in Asia, and began invading China to get supplies like iron, rubber, coal, and oil. They then allied with Germany and Italy to form the Axis three years later. Japan was growing quickly and becoming bolder. Tension between Japan and the U.S. began to rise, until the only thing separating the two countries from war was the Pacific Ocean. The United States Pacific Fleet moved from San Diego to Pearl Harbor, which was very intimidating to Japan. Right after this, the Japanese began to plan their attack on Pearl Harbor. Their main goal was to "prevent the mighty U.S. Navy from interfering with their grand scheme [of being the dominant country in Asia]." Hitler was finally under control after five years of battling. The United states slowly began gaining back territory, by defeating islands one at a time until the spring of 1945, when it was close enough to Japan to strike. Germany finally surrendered, but Japan did not. It was not until we launched our two devastating atomic bombs on Japan that they finally gave in. Pearl Harbor was the catalyst that launched the United States into World War II.
The Aftermath
President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivering the famous "Infamy" speech
On December 8th, 1941, the day after the attack, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt declared war on Japan. Millions of men signed up for the war, some lying about their ages. Women got right to work in factories that made ships, planes, jeeps, bullets, guns, and everything else needed for war. The irrational response to their fear of the Japanese led to the forced internment of over 110,000 Japanese-Americans into camps. This was in order to "protect" the United States from Japanese spies trying to steal information.
The attack on Pearl Harbor was completely unexpected. Until then, the United States had not been attacked since the War of 1812 when the British burned the White House down. The Japanese went to great lengths to ensure secrecy by turning off their radios and sending spies to Oahu. This goes to show that the United States was completely unprepared for an attack of this level, and were thrown into war without a second to stop and breathe. Americans are quite tough, so they were prepared to fight in war after a couple years of getting supplies and recruiting and training soldiers. During the war that followed, it was a mix of great loss and great victories, and it ended with triumph on the Allied side, but with sorrow still weighing down on America's shoulders. America could not have a complete victory with the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was a rude awakening for America, and was only the beginning to one of the most devastating wars in U.S. history.
The attack on Pearl Harbor was completely unexpected. Until then, the United States had not been attacked since the War of 1812 when the British burned the White House down. The Japanese went to great lengths to ensure secrecy by turning off their radios and sending spies to Oahu. This goes to show that the United States was completely unprepared for an attack of this level, and were thrown into war without a second to stop and breathe. Americans are quite tough, so they were prepared to fight in war after a couple years of getting supplies and recruiting and training soldiers. During the war that followed, it was a mix of great loss and great victories, and it ended with triumph on the Allied side, but with sorrow still weighing down on America's shoulders. America could not have a complete victory with the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was a rude awakening for America, and was only the beginning to one of the most devastating wars in U.S. history.