On December 7, 1941, Japan launched a surprise attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. This event shocked the American people and led to the United States entering World War II.
Pearl Harbor is located on the island of Oahu in Hawaii, which in 1941 was a U.S. territory, not yet a state. The harbor sits about 2,500 miles from California and 4,000 miles from Japan. At the time, many American military leaders thought Japan wouldn't attack Pearl Harbor because it was so far away. In late 1941, tensions were high between the United States and Japan. The U.S. had placed trade restrictions on Japan, limiting their access to important resources like oil. Japan, seeking to expand its power in Asia, saw these actions as a threat. On November 26, 1941, Japan assembled a powerful naval force, including aircraft carriers, battleships, and submarines, and set sail for Pearl Harbor in secret.
Early on December 7, there were some warning signs. At 3:42 a.m., an American ship spotted a submarine periscope near Pearl Harbor. At 6:45 a.m., the USS Ward sank a Japanese midget submarine. At 7:02 a.m., radar operators detected a large group of planes approaching, but this was mistaken for American planes arriving from California. Despite these clues, the base remained unprepared for what was coming.
At 7:48 a.m., the first wave of more than 180 Japanese planes struck Pearl Harbor. They targeted the U.S. ships, especially the eight battleships in the harbor. The attack came in two waves and lasted about two hours. The results were devastating. In total, 2,403 Americans were killed, including 68 civilians. Twenty U.S. ships were sunk or damaged, including all eight battleships. Three hundred forty-seven American aircraft were destroyed or damaged. The Japanese, in contrast, lost only 29 aircraft and 5 midget submarines.
The day after the attack, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan, calling December 7 "a date which will live in infamy." The United States officially entered World War II. While most historians agree on the basic facts of the Pearl Harbor attack, there are different views on who was ultimately responsible.
The traditional view held by most historians is that Japan was solely responsible for the attack. They argue that Japan's aggressive actions in Asia and its decision to strike Pearl Harbor brought the U.S. into the war. Some historians, known as "revisionists," suggest that President Roosevelt may have known about the attack in advance or even provoked it. They argue that Roosevelt wanted to bring the U.S. into World War II to help Britain, but he needed public support. According to this view, Roosevelt might have allowed the attack to happen to unite Americans behind entering the war.
Many historians take a position between these two views. They acknowledge that Roosevelt wanted to support Britain and was concerned about Japanese expansion. However, they don't believe he deliberately allowed the attack to happen. Instead, they argue that a combination of factors, including miscommunication, underestimation of Japan's capabilities, and focus on other potential targets, led to the U.S. being unprepared.
The Pearl Harbor attack was a pivotal moment in history that brought the United States into World War II. While we know many facts about what happened that day, historians continue to debate the underlying causes and responsibilities. As with many historical events, the full story of Pearl Harbor is complex and open to different interpretations. Understanding these various perspectives can help us appreciate the complexity of historical events and the importance of critically examining multiple viewpoints when studying history.
Fred Cannings installed and maintained the telegraph circuit between the Japanese government and the Japanese embassy in Washington D.C. He believed that the Japanese warned the US of the Pearl Harbor attack. He researched this topic with Kilsoo Haan, a Korean national who had engaged in intelligence activities through the Sino-Korean Peoples League. Canning’s collection contains newspaper articles, correspondence, photographs, reports, and speeches on the topic of the Pearl Harbor attack.
Admiral Husband Kimmel commanded the Pearl Harbor Naval Fleet leading up to and during the Pearl Harbor attack. The US blamed him for lack of preparedness for the attack. The US Navy demoted Admiral Kimmel and had him retire. His rank was posthumously restored in 1999. The collection includes correspondence, reports, dispatches, investigative documents, and personal notes relating to Pearl Harbor attack.
Laurance Safford held various naval positions focused on communications and cryptology. After the Pearl Harbor attack, he became convinced that the US had actionable intelligence before it occurred. The collection includes magazine articles, correspondence, and research files about Pearl Harbor.
Henry D. Russell was an attorney and a major general in the National Guard. In 1944 he was assigned by the Secretary of War to serve on the Army Pearl Harbor Investigation Board, a duty he assumed reluctantly. The Board’s investigation concluded that no oral or written evidence was discovered that connected President Roosevelt to the failure to send intercepted enemy information to officers at Pearl Harbor. The collection includes papers related to the investigation.
Thomas C. Kennedy was a Professor of History at the University of Wyoming. Among his papers are book excerpts and magazine articles related to Pearl Harbor.
Charles C. Hiles was a career naval officer. He served from 1914 to 1947, when he retired with the rank of lieutenant commander. Hiles was stationed at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked on December 7, 1941. After he retired, he devoted time to researching and writing about the events leading up to the Pearl Harbor attack and the U.S. entry into World War II. His papers include reports on the hearings before the U.S. Congress on the Pearl Harbor attack, newspaper articles and pamphlets.
William L. Neumann was a professor of history at Goucher College in Maryland beginning in 1954. Neumann was a conscientious objector during World War II and was the editor of "Pacifica Views," a journal published by conscientious objectors interned in work camps. Later he was chairman of the Conference on Peace Research in History. Among his papers are newspaper and magazine articles and correspondence related to Pearl Harbor.
Wilfrid Fleisher was a journalist and editor of the Japan Advertiser, an English language newspaper published in Tokyo, Japan from 1929 to 1940. He was also an Asian affairs reporter for the New York Herald from 1930 to 1940. After the Japanese government shut down the Japan Advertiser in 1940, Fleisher returned to the U.S. where he became an announcer for ABC Radio. He maintained an interest in Japan and published three books on the country: Volcanic Isle, Our Enemy Japan and What to Do with Japan.