The Significance of Pearl Harbor

Derek Johnson

The Significance of Pearl Harbor

World War II has been welletched into American memory. There have been countless documentaries, films, books and memorials dedicated to this war keeping it alive in the minds of the American people. From a historical standpoint, World War II gave birth to significant economical, industrial, government and civil changes that became the foundation of modern America. The war created a huge stimuli for the U.S. economy. With the creation of millions of new jobs, the unemployment rate sank to nearly zero resulting in a higher standard of living. Demands for faster, better production lead to new strives in production standards and new technology. A greater workforce lead to better and safer workplace standards. Federal power rose and state power decreased as belief that the acceptance of federal intervention became popular. Women were needed in the workforce and were able to enjoy full independence for the first time. Black Americans saw some improvements in treatment as armies became less segregated resulting in more leadership opportunities. The status earned from heroic deeds and the camaraderie fostered by fighting side by side helped create a foundation for the civil rights movements to be successful. (Winkler, 2006) We also made some horrendous mistakes like the internment of American citizens with Japanese ancestry. The significance of this war is apparent. It changed the course of our history. But it was also a war we may have never played an active role in and potentially could have been far less significant in the history of our country had the attack of Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941 never happened.

World War II actually began years before that December day in 1941. During September 1939 Nazi Germany attacked Poland and sparked one of the greatest armed conflicts in the history of humanity. However, America was hesitant to join the war despite coming out of World War I strong. It was estimated that 75% of citizens were against entering the war and it is widely accepted that Roosevelt's successful presidential campaign was partly thanks to his commitment to keep away from war (McClellan, 2000). This is not to say that we weren't involved. From the beginning, President Roosevelt sided with the Allies and especially wanted to help the British who were fighting the Nazis (Schlesinger,1997).FDR believed that this war was inevitable. Since the initial invasion of Poland he spent his time getting America ready to join the war. In late 1939, Roosevelt persuaded Congress revoke embargoes on arms. This allowed us to sell firepower to Britain and France and eventually to Congress approving cash and carry arm sales to the Great Britain (Winkler, n.d.). The production of the arms by America were invaluable to the Allies and helped them win several campaigns. The jobs created by the increased demand lead to economical and industrial benefits for America (Winkler, 2006).

However, not everyone was looking on the bright side of the war. Roosevelt's planning had also lead many people to believe that he was looking for a way into the war despite having won an election based off his vows to keep America out of the war. Harry Elmer Barnes said in the Perpetual War for Perpetual Peacethat "In order to to promote Roosevelt's political ambitions and his mendacious foreign policy some three thousand American boys were quite needless butchered." (McClellan, 2000). It has even been theorized that Roosevelt not only

knew about the attack on Pearl Harbor beforehand, he let it happen as a means to justify our entrance into the war (McClellan, 2000). Others believed that the president was at fault for not leading us to war earlier. Robert A. Divine wrote in the Reluctant Belligerent that "By surrendering the initiative to Germany and Japan, the nation imperiled its security and very nearly permitted the Axis powers to win the war." (McClellan, 2000).

Regardless of which opinion is correct, the question of why the attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise is still one that needs to be explored. First off, why attack us? Up to this point, we didn't have one soldier on the battlefield. We did have supplies and access to provisions. When Japan invaded French Indochina in 1940, we countered by embargoing all oil exports leaving Japan with dwindling oil supplies (United States passes Export Control Act. (n.d.)).It needed to secure oil resources but the Philippines, a U.S. territory, was in the way. Seizure of this land would certainly involve the U.S. in the war. Without oil resources, Japan would be left with machines of war. Japanese military plans turned from defensive to offensive. They predicted that if they were to attack America and take out many of their naval ships, they would not be able to revive fast enough to be stop the Japanese conquest of the islands and would allow Japan access to oil once again (Goldstein,1993). By mid 1941, Operation Z was being set in motion. The plan was to have a massive airstrike rain down on the naval fleets resting in Pearl Harbor. Japanese ships would carrier bomber planes close to the Hawaiian shores where they would take off in the cover of dark (Weinberg, 1994).

American intelligence was by any standard exceptional. So why was the attack a surprise? It was reported that a warning had come through cautioning the U.S. to be diligent in anticipation of an attack. In addition, the Department of War had long since cracked the Japanese code of encryption and should have been able to pick up on their plans for Pearl Harbor. Not to mention we had patrols in the ocean that could have picked up on the naval carriers (McClellan, 2000). But these warnings never specified Pearl Harbor explicitly. In fact, the most anticipation was for the Philippines (Weinberg, 1994). With no reason to be on high alert, Pearl Harbor was wildly unprepared. There was no sort of protocol for an attack. Ammunition was secured and inaccessible, posts were left unmanned, command not in place and many other preparations were not in place (McClellan, 2000). In the end, a lack of specific intelligence and preparation seem to be the real cause.

In the early morning of December 7th, 1941 the blood of over 2,000 American citizens and members of the armed forces was spilled along with massive damage to defensive property by a seemingly unprovoked and undetected Japanese attack. While the Japanese thought that this attack would bring America to its knees, it did the opposite. The American people banded together in a way the Japanese never anticipated (McClellan, 2000). Citizens took it as their personal duty to fortify American defenses and offenses in anyway possible. America had entered the war in full force to enact their sense of American justice.

World War II changed the course of our history. It brought about many progressive civil changes. It bolstered our economy and led to industrial innovation. It shaped modern America. Regardless of why it happened, Pearl Harbor was the catalyst for our involvement in that war. It was both a tragic and significant event in our country's history. A turning point. Without it we may not be the country we are today.

WORK CITED

1. Goldstein, D. (1993). The Pearl Harbor papers: Inside the Japanese plans. Washington: Brasseys (US).

2. McClellan, J. (2000). Changing interpretations of America's past (2nd ed.). Guilford, Conn.: Dushkin/McGraw Hill.

3. Schlesinger, A. (n.d.). Rating the Presidents: Washington to Clinton. Political Science Quarterly,179179

4. United States passes Export Control Act. (n.d.). Retrieved August 11, 2015.

5. Weinberg, G. (1994). Aworld at arms: A global history of World War II.Cambridge [England: Cambridge University Press.

6. Winkler, A. (n.d.). Franklin D. Roosevelt, His Life and Times: An Encyclopedic View Otis L. Graham, Jr. Meghan Robinson Wander. The Public Historian, 168169.

7. Winkler, A. (2006). Franklin D. Roosevelt and the making of modern America. New York: Pearson/Longman.

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