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Essential Question: Did the United States have prior knowledge of the attack on Pearl Harbor?
Lesson Plan
1. Intro Mini lecture on US/Japanese relations prior to Pearl Harbor. Stress the sanctions
and general tension between the two nations. Introduce the attack on Pearl Harbor
2. Hand out Document A as Round 1. Students complete and debrief as a class.
3. Hand out Documents B-E as Round 2. Students complete at debrief as a class.
4. Have students complete final conclusion. Debrief as class.
FDR’s Speech (Document A)
On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked the American navy base at Pearl
Harbor. The following is an excerpt from the speech President Franklin
D. Roosevelt gave to the nation on December 8th, the day after the
attack. This is one of the most famous Presidential speeches in U.S.
history.
“Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 -- a date which will live in infamy
(famous for a bad reason) -- the United States of America was suddenly
and deliberately (on purpose) attacked by naval and air forces of the
Empire of Japan.
The United States was at peace with that nation (Japan) and, at the
request of Japan, was still in peace talks. Japan has now undertaken a
surprise attack on U.S. forces throughout the Pacific area.
No matter how long it may take us to overcome this treacherous
(shameful) invasion, the American people, because of their righteous
strength, will win an absolute victory.
I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked (uncalled for)
and dastardly (dishonorable) attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7th,
1941, war has existed between the United States and the Japanese
empire.”
Source: President Franklin D. Roosevelt, speech to the nation,
December 8, 1941
The Stimson Diary (Document B)
Henry L. Stimson served as the Secretary of War under President
Roosevelt. As Secretary of War, Stimson was responsible for the United
States military and was one of the President’s most important advisors.
The following is an excerpt from his diary, dated November 25, 1941,
only weeks before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
“During our meeting, the President brought up relations with the
Japanese. He brought up the fact that we were likely to be attacked
perhaps as soon as next Monday, since the Japanese are notorious
(famous) for making an attack without warning. The question the
President raised was how we (the United States) could maneuver them
(the Japanese) into firing the first shot without allowing too much
danger to ourselves. It was a difficult plan to carry out.”
Source: Diary of Henry L. Stimson, U.S. Secretary of War. November
25, 1941
Admiral Beatty (Document C)
Admiral Frank Beatty was a special advisor to the Secretary of War
Henry Stimson at the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He
would serve as a U.S. navy fleet commander once the U.S. entered
WWII. The following is an excerpt from his memoires written in 1954,
after the end of WWII.
"Prior
to December 7, it was clear to me that we were pushing Japan into
a corner. I believe that it was the desire of President Roosevelt to get
involved in the war in Europe. He felt that the Allies (Great Britain)
could not win without us, and all our attempts to make the Germans
declare war on us had failed. But a direct attack by the Japanese on U.S.
forces could get us involved in the war. The terms we forced on Japan—
to get out of China, for example—were so severe (harsh) that we knew
the Japanese could not accept them. We were pushing Japan so hard that
we should have known that Japan would react violently. All of Japan’s
military preparations—and we knew what they were doing—pointed
towards a Japanese attack."
Source: Memoires of Vice Admiral Frank Beatty, 1954
Bomb Plot Message (Document D)
This message, named the “bomb plot” message, was sent from Japan
Naval Command to Japan’s embassy in Honolulu, Hawaii, dated
September 24, 1941, several months before the Japanese attack on Pearl
Harbor. Since the U.S. had already broken the Japanese naval code,
U.S. intelligence officers could read this message the day it was sent.
“From: Tokyo
To: Honolulu September 24, 1941
Top Secret:
Starting now, we would like you to make reports on all ships docked at
Pearl Harbor with the following details:
1. We have divided Pearl Harbor into five sub-areas. Mark the exact
locations of all ships docked in the waters of Pearl Harbor according to
these sub-areas.
2. Regarding warships and aircraft carriers, we would like you to report
on those ships at anchor and in docks (ships that are parked in Pearl
Harbor). Report the types and classes of these ships. Mark the exact
locations of these ships according to the sub-areas on the map. If
possible we would like you to let us know when there are two or more
ships docked alongside each other.”
Source: “Bomb Plot Message,” from the Japanese ambassador in
Hawaii to Japanese Naval Command, September 24, 1941.
Official Investigation (Document E)
The massacre of U.S. forces at Pearl Harbor created great outrage
among Americans. Following the war, Congress launched an
investigation into why U.S. forces were so unprepared for the attack.
This is an excerpt from the official government investigation into the
attack on Pearl Harbor.
"This Committee has always been interested throughout the Pearl
Harbor investigation in one paramount (super important) question: Why,
with some of the best intelligence available, with the almost certain
knowledge that war was soon to happen- why was it possible for the
Pearl Harbor attack to occur? The answer to this question can be
summarized as follows:
The disaster at Pearl Harbor was the result of the failure of the Army and
the Navy to detect the approaching enemy force, and the fact that the
military commanders at Pearl Harbor had not prepared their forces for an
attack even though they knew that war could start any day. Commanders
were more worried about an attack on vulnerable (easy to attack) U.S.
locations closer to Japan, such as the Philippines, and did not expect an
attack on Pearl Harbor. The failure of the Hawaiian Army and Navy
Commands to mobilize a response to the attack cannot be ignored, but
virtually everyone was surprised that Japan struck the Fleet at Pearl
Harbor at the time that she did.”
Source: Report by the Joint Committee on the Investigation of the Pearl
Harbor Attack. Congress of the United States, July 5, 1946.
Pearl Harbor Inquiry
Evidence Round 1
Source: Who wrote this
document? When? Was it
created before or after the
attack on Pearl Harbor?
Close Reading: Based on this
document, did the United States
have prior knowledge of the
attack on Pearl Harbor?
Evidence: Provide quotes and
details from the document to
support your claim.
Source: Who wrote this
document? When? Was it
created before or after the
attack on Pearl Harbor?
Evidence Round 2
Close Reading: Based on this
Evidence: Provide quotes and
document, did the United States
details from the document to
have prior knowledge of the
support your claim.
attack on Pearl Harbor
Contextualize: What information
do you know about the US
relationship with Japan prior to
the attack? Based on this, do you
believe this source?
Doc A
Doc B
Doc C
Corroborate: Does this document
support or contradict the previous
document(s) you have seen?
Explain
Doc D
Doc E
Final Conclusion: To what extent did the United States have prior knowledge on the attack on Pearl Harbor? Do you believe the Congressional
Report (Doc E)? Why or why not? Use evidence from the documents an your own knowledge to support your claim.