Pearl Harbor

Welcome to Civics and Coffee. My name is Alycia and I am a self-professed history nerd. Each week, I am going to chat about a topic on U.S history and give you both the highlights and occasionally break down some of the complexities in history; and share stories you may not remember learning in high school. All in the time it takes to enjoy a cup of coffee. 

INTRO MUSIC

Hey everyone. Welcome back. 

Today marks the 83rd anniversary of Pearl Harbor when the Japanese military surprised the United States and the world by attacking the American military base in Oahu. An assault that lasted less than two hours and successfully damaged and destroyed part of the U.S. fleet, the events of Pearl Harbor prompted the United States to officially enter World War II. While it is outside of my normal timeline, I wanted to acknowledge this day and what it means for so many by sharing the history behind the day that will forever live in infamy. 

So this week I am diving into the history of Pearl Harbor. What happened? What prompted the Japanese attack? And how did the United States respond? 

Grab your cup of coffee, peeps. Let’s do this. 

While the attack on Pearl Harbor was itself a surprise, tensions between the United States and Japan had been building for years. Japan felt slighted at the close of World War I when their push for racial equality was rejected during peace talks in Paris. The West had colonies throughout Asia and Japan wanted to carve out its own sphere of influence. The Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 imposed restrictions on the size of naval fleets, limiting Japan’s naval capabilities in relation to those of the United States and Great Britain. Japan, feeling its status as a rising power was undermined, saw this as a blow its prestige and influence in Asia.  

The situation in Japan deteriorated even further during the Great Depression when the small island nation, already heavily reliant on ocean trade and its navy to secure raw materials, became wholly reliant on energy imports. In a book analyzing the events leading up to Pearl Harbor, former acting director of national intelligence David Gompert argues that Japan became quote “obsessed with the importance of gaining economic autarky, including self-sufficiency through conquest,” end quote. There was an internal struggle happening inside Japanese leadership as the country was trying to decide what path to choose - seek out unilateral expansion to get the resources they needed or risk economic dependency through international cooperation. Ultimately, the military leaders won out. 

By the early 1930s, the Japanese military had gained significant influence over national policy, and it pushed for the conquest of China, viewing it as a necessary step to secure vital resources and establish Japan’s dominance in East Asia. So in September 1931, Japan created a pretext for invading Manchuria by staging a bombing of their own railroad, the South Manchuria Railway. Japan knew the Chinese military forces were disorganized and felt confident they could overwhelm Manchuria easily. They were successful and by February 1932, all of Manchuria was under Japan’s control as they installed the puppet state of Manchukuo. When the incident was investigated by the League of Nations, they determined that Japan was at fault and demanded they return Manchuria to China. Instead of complying, Japan withdrew from the League of Nations in 1933, highlighting the League’s inability to effectively enforce its decisions against aggressive powers. 

Japan’s thirst for military expansion only continued to intensify and in 1937, Japan launched a full scale invasion of China. Japan dominated the contest, easily seizing Beijing. However, during their occupation of Nanjing (Nanking) in December 1937, Japanese soldiers committed horrific atrocities, including mass killings - which are estimated to be between 200,000 and 300,000 - and widespread sexual violence, with tens of thousands of women assaulted. Throughout the decade, the United States had been apprehensive to engage militarily. After the first world war, many Americans adopted an isolationist mindset and opposed any involvement in overseas conflicts. Therefore, while the information coming out of the Pacific was horrifying, there was little political support for the U.S. to intervene. 

While the U.S. maintained an official stance of neutrality, it increasingly took steps to pressure Japan economically, including halting key exports like oil, steel, and aviation fuel. The Lend-Lease Act, passed in March 1941, formalized U.S. assistance to China and other nations vital to American defense. While the U.S. lent supplies to China it also continued to impose and increase economic sanctions against Japan. 

Perhaps feeling the squeeze of sanctions, In July 1941 the military in Japan decided to occupy southern Indochina and call up one million reserves. This, some argue, put Japan on the fast track toward confrontation with the United States. From David Gompert, quote: “once that confrontation was initiated, many Japanese leaders felt as if they had no choice but to attack because the United States were preparing to encircle Japan,” end quote. Despite the sense that there was no other option, some officials in Japan warned their movements would not be well received by the United States, and that further aggression could lead to the U.S. expanding existing embargos. War Minister Hideki Tojo disagreed. Tojo felt that if Japan could get to a decent position over southern operations, they could wear down China and hold back any incursion from the United States or Great Britain. Japan’s leaders were fully aware of the risks involved, but they gambled that by securing oil from Southeast Asia, they could overcome the effects of the embargo. However, they were also banking on the idea that they could neutralize the U.S. Pacific Fleet before the U.S. could retaliate. President Roosevelt met with Japanese Ambassador Kichisaburo Nomura in an effort to convince Japan to stop its invasion of Indochina, suggesting an oil embargo could be avoided if Japan relented. Diplomatic talks proved unhelpful and Japan continued its activities. The United States did move slowly, but eventually followed through with an unofficial oil embargo in August 1941. 

The embargo, ironically enough, may have expedited the decision to attack Pearl Harbor as Japanese military officials were worried about running out of supplies. In their estimation, if the nation was on the path to war with the United States anyway, they should act quickly while they still had sufficient oil reserves. Still, the question remains, why launch a surprise attack on a country whose population was double and whose industrial output was nine times that of Japan? In explaining his decision, Tojo argued that Japan’s very existence was on the line and that the country had no choice but to wage war against the United States. 

Plans to attack Pearl Harbor and other U.S. holdings began taking shape in July of 1941. In September, the 6th Imperial Conference met to formally propose war with the United States, France, and Great Britain. The emperor gave consent for war in November, approving the final war plans on December 1st. With their plan set, Japan continued to negotiate with the United States with orders not to strike unless negotiations were unfruitful; however, not everyone was banging the war drums. Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto expressed concerns about entering into a prolonged conflict with the United States and the famous line ‘I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve’ has often been attributed to him, though historians debate whether he actually said it. While the validity of the quote remains under debate, the assessment behind it proved prescient. 

Regardless of any sense of hesitation, on November 26th, aircraft carriers with the Japanese Navy departed for Oahu. With their positions secure, the Japanese Naval Commander ordered the attack and early on the morning of Sunday, December 7th, the first wave of Japanese aircraft launched. Their target was the west side of the island where they took out anti-air defenses and destroyed airfields to prevent any counter attack. The second wave hit the east side of Oahu, before the 353 aircraft met over Pearl Harbor. Radar was a new technology in 1941 so when Japanese aircraft showed up, American military personnel believed it to be a glitch. In an attack that lasted less than two hours, Japan successfully bombed 8 battleships and destroyed 188 aircraft. Over 2400 military personnel were killed, including 1100 aboard the USS Arizona, which exploded after an armor-piercing bomb ignited gunpowder on the ship. Over 1200 individuals flocked to local hospitals seeking treatment for burns. 

While the attack was shocking and devastating, not all was lost. Three U.S. air carriers were out on maneuvers and avoided the attack and the Japanese failed to destroy any submarines. Several of the ships that were hit during the attack were put back in service and in a stroke of sheer luck, most of the U.S. navy’s planes were on their way to Midway and therefore not impacted by the attack on Pearl Harbor. Strategically, Japan had no plans on invading the U.S. mainland. Their goal behind launching their attack was to neutralize the Pacific Fleet long enough to solidify their position throughout Southeast Asia. And in this, they failed. 

The following day, December 8th, around 12:30 in the afternoon, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt entered the house chamber. Aided to the podium by his son, the President stood in front of a joint session of Congress and delivered one of the most iconic speeches in American history. “Yesterday, December 7, 1941 a date which will live in infamy,” Roosevelt began, “the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.” The speech was brief - running under 8 minutes - and to the point. Roosevelt highlighted that the distance between Japan and Hawaii made it unquestionable that the attack was deliberate and planned. He spoke about Japan’s deception in continuing negotiations with the United States while knowing their intentions were nefarious. In concluding his speech, Roosevelt said quote: “I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7, 1941, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese Empire,” end quote. Congress approved the declaration just hours later. 

In attacking Pearl Harbor and other U.S. interests in the Pacific, Japan did not anticipate a robust American response, a major miscalculation on their part. As historian David Kahn observes quote, “the attack so enraged and unified the American people that they would never tire of the struggle but would battle on to total victory,” end quote. Almost overnight, the American people shed their sense of isolationism and prepared themselves for war. The attack on Pearl Harbor was a lynch pin for thousands of Americans who wanted to take revenge against Japan and the Japanese people. Nearly 36 million men registered for service and the U.S. economy pivoted to support war efforts as manufacturers recalibrated their shops to enable the production of war supplies and new factories sprang up across the country to build things like aircraft and ammunition. 

Anti-Japanese sentiment ran rampant as many believed hardworking, honest Japanese Americans were secretly supporting Japan and undermining U.S. national security interests. The fear, fueled by racial prejudice and wartime hysteria, prompted President Roosevelt to sign executive order 9066 in 1942, which authorized the military to forcibly remove Japanese Americans from designated military zones and move them to guarded relocation centers, or internment camps. Those who were forced to move were given very little notice and able to pack only the bare minimum, causing hundreds of families to permanently lose their businesses and homes. Of course, if you know your American history at all, then you know that the U.S. continued its fight in World War II and Japan, dropping two atomic bombs, prompting Japan to surrender on August 15th, 1945.  

Also in 1945, Congress convened a special committee to investigate the attack on Pearl Harbor. Congress wanted to understand exactly what happened and why the United States was caught unprepared. In outlining their scope, Congress said quote: “why, with some of the finest intelligence available in our history, with the almost certain knowledge that war was at hand, with plans that contemplated the precise type of attack that was executed by Japan on the morning of December 7th - why was it possible for a Pearl Harbor to occur?” end quote. 

In their investigation, the committee concluded that there was a lack of coordination between the army and navy which helped contribute to the severity of the attack. Their recommendation was that quote “immediate action be taken to ensure that unity of command is imposed at all military and naval outposts,” end quote. 

Some have argued the intelligence failure was deliberate and that President Roosevelt instigated the attack by withholding intelligence from military leaders. Historian David Kahn argues this is nothing more than a conspiracy theory that does not hold up when put to the test. In his analysis, Khan argues that the intelligence failure at Pearl Harbor was not for the lack of analysis of the intelligence, but the collection of the intelligence to begin with. In his evaluation, American intelligence just wasn’t good enough as they relied almost primarily on breaking coded messages. In the aftermath of World War II, the United States spent billions in early warning radar lines and intelligence satellites. Hoping to avoid any future surprise attacks, the U.S. also kept its missiles ready to launch within minutes for decades after Pearl Harbor. 

In terms of intelligence, the U.S. government made moves to centralize information as much as possible. In July 1941, President Roosevelt created the Coordinator of Information who was in charge of collecting and analyzing all information that could impact national security. By the following year, this post was converted to the office of strategic services as a precursor to the C.I.A and put under the command of the joint chiefs of staff. The office was abolished by President Truman in 1945, who established the Central Intelligence Agency in 1947. 

The events of Pearl Harbor remain a key moment in American history, though in recent decades, they have been reconsidered in light of their broader impact, including the treatment of Japanese Americans and the war’s lasting effects on both nations. In 1962, a memorial was built around the sunken battleship the USS Arizona. According to the National Park Service, nearly two million visitors come to the site annually to learn about the attack and see the remnants of the ship, still sitting underwater over 80 years later. I was able to visit a few years ago and while the USS Arizona was not open at the time due to repairs, the area was somber. If you ever find yourself in Honolulu, I recommend visiting the memorial and learning about an important part of American history. 

The attack on Pearl Harbor proved to be the catalyst for US entry into World War II and generated a new commitment to patriotism, eroding Americans commitment to isolationism. Fear over potential enemy combatants drove the U.S. government to put thousands of American citizens into internment camps and throw their energy into developing one of the most catastrophic weapons in history with the atomic bomb. While the Japanese succeeded in pulling off a surprise attack against the United States, it ultimately awoke the sleeping giant and led to a terrible defeat for Japan, as millions of their citizens perished as the result of U.S. dropping two atomic weapons. A day that will live in infamy for many, Pearl Harbor serves as a reminder of the fragility of peace and the impact of a single moment in history—one that shaped a nation and altered the course of the world.   

Thanks, peeps. I’ll see you next week.

Thanks for tuning and I hope you enjoyed this episode of Civics & Coffee. If you want to hear more small snippets from american history, be sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening and I look forward to our next cup of coffee together. 

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