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Essay On Pearl Harbor

Decent Essays

The events of Pearl harbor marked a turning point in the United States history, the US, prior to this event was a powerful nation yet, by many countries was not seen as the superpower it is known as today. The attack on Pearl Harbor marks the shift from a strong nation to the global force and power it possess today due to economic, social and military shifts made from this attack and leading the United States into World War II. A reported statement by Japanese General, Isoroku Yamamoto best summarizes this “I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.”1. Shows this shift and the importance of the attack on shaping American history.

United States Prior to Pearl Harbor Attack
Prior to the …show more content…

Despite this however tensions were rising in the world as expressed by the following “increasing the capacity of the U.S. Navy by 11%. Four days earlier, Roosevelt had condemned the actions of Italy 's declaration of war against France and the United Kingdom.”3. This showed how global tension had been steadily increasing due to the expansion of the Japanese empire as well as aggression in europe in form of Germany and Italy. It also showed how the United States was attempting to prepare to defend itself from the aggression on both borders. The Atlantic from Italy & Germany aspirations for military power and control, however the more pressing matter was the Pacific front due to Japan at this time had invaded China as well as other island across the pacific building an empire close to American territories and allies such as Guam and the Philippines.
Troops involved on the Pearl Harbor Attack
The attack was a complete surprise and as a result was a devastating attack on the American pacific fleet. This attack was carried out by “Japanese battleships and destroyers which had escorted 43 fighters, 51 dive-bombers, 49 high-level bombers, and 40 torpedo planes from six carriers that floated 200 miles north of Pearl Harbor. The aircraft had traveled in complete radio silence in order to catch the Americans by surprise.”4. One reason this was so successful was due to the careful timing and planning of this attack as it was done in with

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