Pearl Harbor

The US Pacific fleet was anchored at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. On Sunday December 7, 194, Japanese planes attacked Pearl Harbor while most of the American sailors were still asleep. The surprise attack, which lasted about two hours, killed 2,400 Americans, wounded 1,200, damaged or sunk 20 warships, and destroyed 150 airplanes.

The American people were stunned and angered by the attack on Pearl Harbor. However, high government officials knew that the Japanese were going to attack somewhere in the Pacific. With the policy of isolation being upheld, the attack on Pearl Harbor united the nation for war.

On December 8, 1941, President Roosevelt described the attack on Pearl Harbor as “a date which will live in infamy”# when “the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.”# He declared that “hostilities exist [and]… that our people, our territory, and our interests are in grave danger.”# Congress acted immediately by declaring war. Three days later, Germany and Italy declared war on the United Sates and World War II was on for the Americans

The attack on Pearl Harbor angered the general public of the United States, and if the majority of the people want something the congress will give it. It enraged the American public so much