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What Led to the Attack on Pearl Harbor?
By Cindy Grigg
Caption: A Japanese propaganda poster
from 1940 for the Tripartite Pact. The
Japanese symbols say: "Good friends in three
countries". Japan, Italy, and Germany were
known in World War II as the Axis Powers.
In the 1930s, a military group came into
power in Japan. The new leaders of Japan
dreamed of ruling Asia just as the Nazis
dreamed of ruling Europe. Japan needed more
raw materials like oil, rubber, and minerals.
Japan began invading its Asian neighbors.
In 1937, Japan began a major invasion of China. Three years later,
Japan controlled much of eastern China. Japan formed a military
alliance with Nazi Germany and with Fascist Italy. The Tripartite
Agreement made the three countries allies. They became known as
the Axis Powers.
In the United States, President Roosevelt was worried. He
watched Japan's actions with great concern. Both Hawaii and the
Philippines were territories of the U.S. There were U.S. military
bases in both places. Many American citizens lived there.
In 1940, Japan continued its invasions in Asia. It attacked French
Indochina. It already controlled Korea. Now it invaded the countries
of North and South Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. The U.S. became
even more concerned about its military bases in the Philippines.
In May 1940, President Roosevelt moved the main base of the
U.S. Pacific fleet from California to Hawaii. He wanted the Pacific
fleet to be closer so that it could better protect those territories.
In Europe, Germany waged war on its neighbors. Britain was
under attack by Germany. Many British and French colonies in Asia
were in danger from Japan. Many Americans felt that the U.S.
should not become involved. They did not want to see another
world war with the U.S. fighting on foreign soil. Several bills were
passed in Congress that prohibited the United States from helping
countries that were being invaded. These bills became known as the
Neutrality Acts. Senator Burton Wheeler of Montana led the fight in
Congress to keep the U.S. out of any new wars.
In December 1940, President Roosevelt wanted the U.S. to loan
ships, planes, and weapons to Britain. He thought the U.S. should
help Britain so it could keep on fighting off the German assault. In
return, Britain would lease some British territory to the U.S. The
Lend-Lease Plan got congressional approval in early 1941. The U.S.
was also building up its military so that it could protect itself. Most
Americans at that time were still not ready to enter another war to
stop Germany and Japan.
Peace talks between Japanese and U.S. ambassadors were meant
to keep both countries out of war. However, Japan would not stop
its aggressions in Asia. The U.S. stopped exporting oil, gas, iron,
steel, and rubber to Japan. Without these raw materials, the Japanese
war efforts were limited. FDR told Japan that trade would not start
again until the Japanese withdrew from both China and Indochina.
The president also sent aid to China so that it could defend itself.
The Japanese government would not accept America's rules. It
did not believe that the U.S. was neutral. From Japan's point of view,
the U.S. was threatening Japan. Admiral Yamamoto of the Japanese
navy felt that the U.S. military bases at Pearl Harbor were "a dagger
being pointed at our throat." Japan planned a secret attack on
American military bases in Hawaii - the headquarters of the U.S.
Pacific Fleet. Japan thought that a quick, damaging attack would
make America plead for peace. Then Japan would be free to wage
war on its neighbors.
To hide its plans, Japan began a new round of peace talks with the
United States in November 1941. However, the U.S. learned from
reading a secret, coded message that the Japanese talks were only
meant to lull the U.S. into a false sense of security. A message was
sent to U.S. Pacific military bases. It said:
This dispatch is to be considered a war warning: Negotiations
with Japan have ceased and an aggressive move by Japan is
expected within the next few days.
However, it was believed that Japan would strike the Philippines
or some other spot in Asia. No one thought Japan would strike Pearl
Harbor. Hawaii's isolated place in the Pacific, it was thought,
Name
offered it protection.
What Led to the Attack on Pearl Harbor?
Questions
1. What caused Japan to invade countries in Asia?
4. Did Japan's plan to attack U.S. bases in Hawaii achieve the
goal it desired?
A. Yes, Japan's goal was to destroy the ships in Pearl
Harbor.
B. No, Japan's goal was to make the U.S. plead for peace,
not declare war.
C. Yes, Japan's goal was to provoke the U.S. into war.
D. No, Japan's goal was to kill every American in Hawaii,
and the attack did not succeed in doing that.
5. The U.S. stopped ______ oil, steel, and rubber to Japan.
A. exporting
B. selling
C. sending
D. all of the above
6. The U.S. was expecting an attack by Japan on American
military bases in the Pacific.
A. false
B. true
2. Japan formed alliances with which two countries?
A. Germany and Russia
B. Germany and Italy
C. Great Britain and Russia
D. Great Britain and France
3. What caused President Roosevelt to move the main base of
the U.S. Pacific fleet to Hawaii?
A. Moving the Pacific fleet to Hawaii was an aggressive
move intended to provoke Japan into war.
B. He wanted the Pacific fleet to spy on Japan.
C. Japanese aggressions in the Pacific made the president
move the Pacific fleet closer to U.S. territories in Hawaii
and Asia so the fleet could better protect them.
D. Most Americans wanted another world war to stop
Germany and Japan.
7. Admiral Yamamoto of the Japanese navy felt that the U.S.
military bases at Pearl Harbor were "a dagger being pointed at
our throat." Which type of figurative language did he use in
that statement?
A. alliteration
B. metaphor
C. simile
D. idiom
8. Put these events in the order in which they happened:
A. U.S. Congress passed the Lend-Lease Plan.
B. The U.S. warned military bases in the Pacific that the
Japanese might attack.
C. The main base of the U.S. Pacific fleet was moved from
California to Hawaii.
D. Japan invaded China.