2. Franklin Delano Roosevelt
• Suffers from polio since 1921
• Former NY senator and governor
• Served under Woodrow Wilson as the
Secretary of the Navy
• Elected in 1932
• Runs for and wins a historic third term as
president in 1940
– The American public did not want a change of
power in the face of a possible threat of war with
Germany
3. American Foreign Policy
• Isolationism
– Adhering to a national policy of non-participation
in alliances, engagements, or conflicts with other
nations
– Roosevelt still prepared the US for war just in
case, even while sticking to isolationism
4. Reasons why US is Isolationist
• Still disturbed by the outcomes of WWI
• Anti-war writings of ex-patriots, veterans
• Concerned with the Great Depression
• New Deal projects (FDR)
• Anti-war films and entertainment
• Peace movement
5. Path to War (1935-1941)
• Neutrality
– Neutrality Act of 1935: Forbids shipment of weapons to
those at war
• Non-Neutrality
– Cash and Carry Act of 1937: Allows sale of non-military
items
– Revised Act: Allows sale of weapons, but must be shipped
in foreign vessels
• Belligerency
– Lend/Lease Act of 1941: Allows US to become weapons
arsenal to democratic nations or those fighting for
democracy
6. USA in 1940
• Not prepared for war
• Experiencing an economic boost due to the
sale of weapons overseas
• Witnessing the balance of power shifting in
Europe
• Congress increases defense budget
7. Japan’s Motivations
• Wants to conquer neighboring China,
Southeast Asia, and establish a “Greater East
Asia Pact”
• Military alliance with Germany and Italy
8. Action vs. Reaction (1940-41)
• Japan: Granted military bases in southern Asia
• USA: Bans shipments of scrap iron to Japan
• Japan: Signs Tri-Partite Pact with Germany and Italy
• USA: Lend/Lease Act approved by Congress
• Japan: Moves into bases in southern Asia
• USA: Freezes Japanese stock assets in America and bans
export of aviation fuel
9. Continued…
• Japan: Proposes summit meeting over pacific
issues and plans for war
• USA: Secretary of State Cordell Hull rejects
summit idea (FDR was at a funeral and could
not attend)
• Japan: Prime Minister Prince Konoye resigns,
Hideki Tojo takes over and orders a surprise
attack on USA base at Pearl Harbor.
Authorized in November of 1941
10. Reluctant Warriors
• Emperor Hirohito constantly asks the Japanese
government to come up with a solution other
than war
• Reads a peace poem at one of their meetings:
– “Across the four seas, all are brothers.
In such a world why do the waves rage, the winds
roar?”
11. Continued…
• Prime Minister Hideki Tojo is convinced war is the
only way. Orders highest ranking commander,
Isoroku Yamamoto, to plan the attack
• Pearl Harbor is decided upon because Tojo thinks
it will crush the American spirit and keep them
from joining the war
• Yamamoto attended college in the US, and knows
their fighting spirit. He plans the attack out of his
sense of duty, but knows it will fail
– Made two predictions that came true
12. The Honorable Yamamoto
• Held out hope until the last moment that
another solution could be found
• Officers thought him cowardly when he told
them they would have to turn back if a peace
agreement was reached after the attack was
planned
– “If anyone will disobey orders and not turn back
when the path for peace is open, resign now!”
16. • On December 7, 1941, Japanese warplanes
bombed the huge American naval base at
Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. The attack came as a
complete surprise. About 2,400 Americans,
both servicemen and civilians died. Many US
war planes and ships were destroyed or
damaged.
17. Japan’s Pacific Strategy
• Stage 1: Combined fleet attacks on U.S Pacific
Fleet while Southern Asia is seized
• Stage 2: Fortify the chain of islands running
through Wake Island and the Marshalls
• Stage 3: Find, intercept, and destroy any
forces violating their defensive perimeter.
Wage a war of attrition (Total War) with US.
• Key to victory: the American fleet at Pearl
Harbor must be DESTROYED
18. The Operation
• Entire Japanese fleet put on alert to prepare
for battle
• Pearl Harbor assault ordered
• Plan for war, but negotiate for peace
• Submarines must be at Pearl Harbor entrance
to sink exiting ships
• Outcome must be decided in one day
21. The Attack
• Yamamoto insists on not attacking until the US
has been given a declaration of war at least a
half hour before the attack
• He is assured they will receive it by his
superiors, and orders the attack
• Sits in silence in his ship’s dining room with
hands folded to await any news
22. U.S Intelligence
• Intercepted a Japanese code:
– “Climb Mount Nitaka 1208”
• Some believe it means an attack is coming on
December 8, while others ignore it
• Receives a warning from Japan in 14 parts through a
telegram but does not decipher it in time
• Japanese planes detected on radar but ignored
because no one was in their office on a Sunday
morning
• Responsible for defense of Pearl Harbor: Gen. Walter C.
Short
23.
24. December 7
• Attack occurred on a Sunday morning, just
after 7 a.m.
• Many men were either still sleep or relaxing
• Men were awoken by the sound of bombs and
explosions
– Taken completely by surprise
• Were able to shoot down some Japanese
planes, but the damage done was
overwhelming
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30. Damage
• 4 battleships sunk
3 battleships damaged
1 battleship grounded
2 destroyers sunk
1 other ship sunk
3 cruisers damaged
1 destroyer damaged
3 other ships damaged
188 aircraft destroyed
159aircraft damaged
• 2,402 killed (1,700+ on the USS Arizona)
1,247 wounded
35. Mistakes made by Japanese
• Failure to destroy oil fields on Oahu
• Failure to destroy air craft carriers
• Failure to properly assess damage
• Failure to send a third wave
• Why no third wave?
– Commander Chuichi Nagumo felt that enough damage was
done to the base. Ordered ships to turn back.
– Feared that the US would send a strike force to attack his
ships
– Carriers were needed for another operation in the South
Pacific
36.
37. Shame for Yamamoto
• After the attack ended and he was
congratulated by his officers, he was informed
that the Declaration of War did not arrive until
a half hour after the attack had begun,
meaning the US did not have warning of the
attack. He thought this was very shameful and
dishonorable
• Predicted: “We have awakened a sleeping
tiger.”
38. Pearl Harbor End Results
• US Fleet crippled (not destroyed) for 18
months
• Motivation for US to declare war on Japan
• Unites American people through patriotism to
support a war when they did not want one
originally
• Pearl Harbor is slowly rebuild and refitted and
remains a strategic naval base
• Dolittle Raids were carried out against Tokyo
39.
40. Why was there a surprise?
• US Government thought Japan would attack
Britain before them, since they had ships in South
China Sea
• Attack on Pearl Harbor was thought possible, not
probable
• All messages intercepted did not mention Pearl
Harbor
• FDR was more concerned with Germany than
Japan
• Japanese planning, organization, and skill
