World War Ii

World War II:
Pearl Harbor
Cynthia Klabbers
His 204
Professor Macek
June 14, 2010
 
On Dec. 7, 1941 the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. It was a tragic event in American history which led to the US into World War II. I will discuss the events that led up to the attack and the attack itself. I will also discuss the possibility of our government letting this happen. It is hard to accept or to believe, but there are questions that many people ask about this tragedy. How could our government not have known this was to happen? This question has been asked time and again with no definitive answer. I will discuss this further in my paper. I will also discuss the Japanese-American Internment camps that were formed after the attack.
The US and Japan were not on the best of terms before the attack on Pearl Harbor. In 1931 the Japanese occupied Manchuria and a year later converted it to Manchukuo. “This was a direct threat to the Versailles system and the open door.” (Davidson, et al. 2008, p. 763). The US would refuse to recognize Japan’s takeover of Manchuria. In 1933 Japan withdrew from the League of Nations because of being condemned for their takeover and bombing of Shanghai.   “The seeds of war in Asia had been sown.” (Davidson, et al. 2008, p. 763). We also need to remember the embargo America had on Japan on July 24, 1941. “Japan stood ready to conquer the entire Southeast Asian peninsula and the oil-rich Dutch Indies.” (Davidson, et al., 2008, p. 769).   This angered the US, thus the embargo. Negotiations were attempted, but both countries were at odds with one another. The US was forcing Japan to withdraw from China and to renounce alliance with Germany and Italy in 1940. At this time the Japanese were secretly planning to attack the Philippines, Guam and Hawaii.   The Pearl Harbor attack was a desperate measure by Japan to escape from the choice that was imposed. “As Mr. Stimson so frankly expressed it: “The question was how we should maneuver them into... [continues]

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