Japan Attacks Pearl Harbor Professer. Hangen : Kevin Carroll Word Count: 1543
1 Mr. Vice President, Mr. Speaker, Members of the Senate, and of the House of Representatives: Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 a date which will live in infamy the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan. 1 This passage is from President Franklin Roosevelt s press conference where he addressed the nation following the attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. The Japanese attacked American forces at Pearl Harbor, which in the end caused the United States to enter World War 2. How does someone know or verify that this historical claim is true? To verify the historical claim that the Japanese attacked American forces at Pearl Harbor, which in the end caused the United States to enter World War 2 it must be investigated using different types of sources. There are many different sources that could be used to verify this claim, there are textbooks and newspapers from 1941, and there are also images and videos that can verify the attack by the Japanese. People just need to collect this evidence in order to verify the historical claim. Some of the best sources and evidence that can be used to verify historical claims are textbooks. They give a strong overview of the event but then they also give a historical background of the time period. For example a textbook that goes over the events of Pearl Harbor most of the time also cover all of World War 2. With 1 "Franklin Roosevelt Infamy Speech: Pearl Harbor Transcript," Time,, accessed March 27, 2017, http://time.com/4593483/pearl- harbor- franklin- roosevelt- infamy- speech- attack/.
2 all of the war being covered it better explains why the United States hadn t entered the war and why it took the Japanese attacking Pearl Harbor to cause the United States to enter the war. To verify the historical claim that the Japanese attacked American forces at Pearl Harbor, which in the end caused the United States to enter World War 2 the textbook The American Promise A History of the United States Volume 2 written James L. Roark. Prior to the Second War World the United States had adopted the good neighbor policy, which meant that no nation had the right to intervene in the internal or external affairs of another. This policy was in place when World War Two start and is why the United States attempted to stay neutral. They help keep the United States neutral during the war Congress passed a series of neutrality acts between 1935 and 1937 designed to avoid entanglement in foreign wars. The neutrality acts prohibited making loans and selling arms to nations at war. 2 With the fighting and conflict growing in Europe to help protect the United States developed the cash- and- carry policy that required warring nations to pay cash for nonmilitary goods and to transport the in their own ships. 3 Even with the United States attempts to stay neutral during the Second World War, they were ultimately dragged into it once again with one major event. 2 James L. Roark, The American promise: a history of the United States (Boston: 3 James L. Roark, The American promise: a history of the United States (Boston:
3 On December 7, 1941, 183 aircraft lifted off six Japanese carriers and attacked the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor on the Hawai i an island of Oahu. 4 The attack on Pearl Harbor sank all of the fleet s battleships, killed more than 2,400 Americans, and almost crippled U.S. war- making capacity in the Pacific. 5 This attack couldn t be ignored; this major event is the reason the United States entered World War Two. On December 8, Congress endorsed the president s call for a declaration of war. Both Hitler and Mussolini declared war against America on December 11, bringing the United States into all- out war with the Axis powers in both Europe and Asia. 6 Even with the verification from this textbook that the Japanese attacked American forces at Pearl Harbor, which in the end caused the United States to enter World War 2, further evidence should be viewed to show the textbook is accurate. A good source or evidence that can be used to verify the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor is newspapers. Newspapers are great evidence to verify this historical claim because they re from that time period. Several newspaper articles can be found from 1941 that addressed the attack on Pearl Harbor. One comes from the Daily News that was published the day after the attack, December 8 th, 1941 written by Francis McCarthy. Newspapers provide strong evidence to verify this historical claim. This news article has eyewitness accounts of the events that happened that 4 James L. Roark, The American promise: a history of the United States (Boston: 5 James L. Roark, The American promise: a history of the United States (Boston: 6 James L. Roark, The American promise: a history of the United States (Boston:
4 day. People were able to report that they could plainly see the Rising Sun insignia of Japan on the dive bombers wings. 7 Other eyewitnesses where able to give accounts of what they saw for example, I was returning home from work and was above Pearl Harbor when I saw a bomb fall on Ford Island, in the middle of the harbor. 8 This newspaper like others also provides images, which are valuable evidences to help verify the claim that the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor. Images are great evidence to support the claim that Japanese planes bombed Pearl Harbor. There are several images that show United States Navy ships surrounded by black smoke, which is caused by explosions and fire. There are images of sunken ships, for example there is an image of the USS Oklahoma a battleship that was hit by a torpedo and capsized. The image shows only a tiny bit of the bottom and propeller, which belongs underwater, of the battleship above water. These images are from 1941 taken not long after the attack. There are also images taken from present day that can provide evidence that the attack on Pearl Harbor happened. The USS Arizona was another battleship that was sunk during the attack on Pearl Harbor. This battleship today is still underwater and can be seen from aerial images. It was made into a memorial that people can go and visit located 7 "Pearl Harbor attacked by Japan in 1941," NY Daily News, December 07, 2015,, accessed March 27, 2017, http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/pearl- harbor- attacked- japan- 1941- article- 1.2457538. 8 "Pearl Harbor attacked by Japan in 1941," NY Daily News, December 07, 2015,, accessed March 27, 2017, http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/pearl- harbor- attacked- japan- 1941- article- 1.2457538.
5 directly above the battleship. There are videos of the memorial that show parts of the battleship sticking out of the water. Videos are a great form of evidence also. A great piece of video evidence that verifies the attack by Japan and it causing the United States to enter World War 2 is the video of Presidents Franklin Roosevelt s press conference following the attack. Roosevelt starts his speech off by stating, yesterday, December 7th, 1941 a date which will live in infamy the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan. 9 This tells the nation what has occurred and is great evidence because this video comes from the day after the attack. At the end of his speech Roosevelt asks that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7th, 1941, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese empire." 10 This statement from the video supports the claim that the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese caused the United States to enter World War 2. The historical claim that the Japanese attacked American forces at Pearl Harbor, which in the end caused the United States to enter World War 2 has been verified by supporting evidence from various sources. Textbooks, newspapers, images, and videos all supply sufficient evidence that supports the historical claim 9 "Franklin Roosevelt Infamy Speech: Pearl Harbor Transcript," Time,, accessed March 27, 2017, http://time.com/4593483/pearl- harbor- franklin- roosevelt- infamy- speech- attack/. 10 "Franklin Roosevelt Infamy Speech: Pearl Harbor Transcript," Time,, accessed March 27, 2017, http://time.com/4593483/pearl- harbor- franklin- roosevelt- infamy- speech- attack/.
6 that the Japanese attacked American forces at Pearl Harbor, which in the end caused the United States to enter World War 2. Some evidence may be better then other but when combined with each other they all support the same claim making it irrefutable.
7 Bibliography Carpenter, Bryce. "Sharing the legacy of George DeLong, Pearl Harbor Veteran and proud public servant." VAntage Point. December 07, 2016. Accessed March 27, 2017. http://www.blogs.va.gov/vantage/33152/george-delong-pearl-harbor-veteran-and-proudpublic-servant-nca-intern-shares-his-veteran-legacy/. "Franklin Roosevelt Infamy Speech: Pearl Harbor Transcript." Time. Accessed March 27, 2017. http://time.com/4593483/pearl-harbor-franklin-roosevelt-infamy-speechattack/. Nelson, Shane. "Planning ahead for a USS Arizona Memorial visit: Travel Weekly." Travel Weekly- The Travel Industry's Trusted Voice. September 28, 2015. Accessed March 27, 2017. http://www.travelweekly.com/hawaii-travel/insights/planning-aheadfor-a-uss-arizona-memorial-visit. "Pearl Harbor attack." Encyclopædia Britannica. Accessed March 27, 2017. https://www.britannica.com/event/pearl-harbor-attack. "Pearl Harbor attacked by Japan in 1941." NY Daily News. December 07, 2015. Accessed March 27, 2017. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/pearl-harborattacked-japan-1941-article-1.2457538. Roark, James L., Michael P. Johnson, Patricia Cline Cohen, Sarah Stage, and Susan M. Hartmann. The American promise: A history of the United States, volume 2, from 1865. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2015. Maolsuperstar. "The USS Arizona memorial, Pearl Harbor in Hawaii." YouTube. November 27, 2014. Accessed March 27, 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n57wajbtewm.