The Japanese Invasion of Pearl Harbor

Chapter 26-27 (American History Text)

1930s Japan
Japan was bogged down in the costly and exhausting China incident Mired in a bloody war with China since the Mukden Incident (Second Sino-Japanese War) in 1931

1930s Japan/US Relations

Japans war machine was fatally dependent upon immense shipments of steel, scrap iron, oil, and aviation gas from the United States This situation was highly unpopular among the American people who called for an embargo

1930s Japan/US Relations

FDR rejected an embargo on Japan in order to avoid a Japanese attack on the oil-rich, but defense-poor Dutch East Indies (Malaysia, Indonesia, etc.), BUT This situation was not to last very long!

1940s Japan/US Relations

1940- US imposed the first of it embargoes on Japan-bound supplies

1940s Japan/US Relations

1941- US froze Japanese assets in US banks and ceased all shipments of gasoline and other aspects of war

1940s Japan/US Relations

Provided the Japanese government with two options
1) Cave into the Americans and their demands 2) Break out of the embargo ring with a desperate attack on the oil supplies and other riches of SE Asia

1940s Japan/US Relations

November/December, 1941- negotiations with Japan took place in Washington, D.C.
US insisted that the Japanese pull out of China in exchange for renewed trade relations on a limited basis

The Japanese were unwilling to lose face by withdrawing at the request of the US and decided to reject the offer US officials had developed the idea that Japan would resort to warbut where?

1940s Japan/US Relations

Side Note: November 1941- Japan launched invasion force of thirty ships (among them- six aircraft carriers) aimed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

Eve of the Pearl Harbor Invasion

US believed that the invasion would take place somewhere in the Far East
Malaysia or the Philippines

No high-ranking American officials believed that the Japanese would be either reckless enough or strong enough to strike the American naval base at Hawaii Japanese delegates deliberately prolonged negotiations in Washington in an attempt to keep the US guessing

Japanese Invasion of Pearl Harbor

December 7, 1941- Japan sneak attacks Pearl Harbor
Over 350 planes in two waves attacked the US naval base in Hawaii within one hour of each other 150 warplanes were destroyed on the ground
Bulk of the US supply in the Pacific Theater

8 battleships, 3 cruisers, and 3 destroyers were destroyed

All aircraft carriers were out to sea (none destroyed)

Over 70 civilians and 2300 servicemen were killed

Aftermath of Pearl Harbor

December 8, 1941Presidential Address to Congress FDR delivers his Day of Infamy Speech Within an hour of the speech, Congress passed a formal declaration of war against Japan and officially brought the US into World War II