An overview- Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor:
Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
18 ships of the U.S. Military were damaged, and over 24 thousand people lost their lives. This incident triggered the United States to start World war 2. Following the horrific attack, the U.S. military interned 120,000 Japanese Americans, 11,000 German Americans, and 3,000 Italian Americans for the upcoming War.
To the Japanese, pearl harbor was an easy target because the American military leaders were not expecting an attack so close to home. Hence the naval facilities at pearl harbor were relatively undefended.
Also read: How did US foreign policy change from 1939 to the bombing of pearl harbor?
8 am, Sunday, 07.12.1941
Hundreds of Japanese military fighter planes descended on the base of pearl harbor. There was a rain of bombs and bullets over the American vessels. They damaged around 20 American naval vessels. This included eight battleships and more than 300 airplanes. over 2400 Americans lost their lives, including civilians, and more than 1000 people were injured.
The reaction of the US after the attack:
On the day after the attack, President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed a joint session of the 77th United States Congress. Following Roosevelt's speech, Congress declared an attack on Japan. This was done amid outrage at the attack in which thousands of Americans died. Roosevelt approved the declaration of war on the same day.
Continuously magnifying its military mobilization, the U.S. government finished converting to a war economy, a process begun by providing weapons and other supplies to the Soviet Union and the British Empire.
Japanese Americans from the West Coast were placed in internment camps during the War. Overnight, Americans united against the Empire of Japan in response to calls to 'Remember Pearl Harbor!'.
