THE RESPONSE OF
THE UNITED STATES
TO PEARL HARBOR
Teylor Parks, Eldred Eady, Christoph McFadden,
Tyia Burns

Pearl Harbor: Facts and Events
1899: Pearl Harbor becomes a US naval base. February 1933: U.S. Navy stages a mock attack on Pearl Harbor. Pearl Harbor fails this exercise.
1 September 1939: World War I begins.
May 1940: Pearl Harbor is now the main base of the US fleet.
7 December 1941: The Empire of Japan launches a sneak attack on Pearl Harbor.
Nearly 3,000 Americans perish.
8 December 1941: The US enters WWII.

Map of Oahu and Pearl Harbor from Shelley Tanaka’s Attack on
Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor: Background Knowledge
Japanese and American
Relations



During the late 1930s, Japan began to expand. However, it wasn’t until Japan captured Indochina (now Vietnam) that
American and Japanese relations began to strain. America started an oil boycott. In order for Japan to get oil, it either had to let go of Indochina or go to war with America, Britain, and China.

Planning An Attack

Japan began planning an attack. Since America was no longer exporting oil, Japan decided to get oil from another place: the
Dutch East Indies. To prevent the US from interfering, Japan planned to attack Pearl Harbor in order to cripple all of the US fleet and oil.

RESPONSES TO
PEARL HARBOR
• Political Response
• Media Response
• Average Citizen’s Response

America’s Political Response
America’s Political Response to Pearl Harbor:
At around 1:30 PM, President Franklin Roosevelt was alerted that Japan had attacked Pearl Harbor. Nearly
3,000 Americans were killed in this attack.
Roosevelt spoke about the attack with many people including British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

“Day of Infamy” Speech
On December 8th, 1941, Roosevelt addressed congress and the nation on the attack of Pearl Harbor and asked
Congress to enter the war.

“The United States was at peace with that nation, and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its government and its Emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific.”
-Franklin D. Roosevelt

Roosevelt ends his speech by calling on Congress to “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.”
America immediately entered the war.

This political cartoon expresses America against the Axis