The Pearl Harbor Attack and The End of

The Pearl Harbor Attack and The End of American Isolationism By: Dejah Bush

Background- The Attack - Pearl Harbor is a U. S. naval base near Honolulu, Hawaii that was attacked on December 7, 1941 - 20 American naval bases damaged, 19 ships were sunk or damaged including eight battleships and more than 300 airplanes - 2, 471 Americans died and 1, 000 people wounded

Why they attacked? - Renouncing of the 1911 Japanese-American Commercial Treaty in July 1941 - USA demanded withdrawal from China - The negotiations became pointless - Easy target and the US couldn’t fight back

How they tried to prevent it - Japan offered diplomatic concessions - Japan demanded that the USA cease aiding the nationalist government of Chiang Kai-shek - Spent months negotiating

The attack itself - Around 8 am, many Japanese planes were in the sky directly over Pearl Harbor. The Japanese released bombs and bullets. Around ten minutes later, a 1, 800 pound bomb smashed through the deck of the battleship USS Arizona. The ship exploded and sank with more than 1, 000 men trapped inside. - Torpedoes pierced the shell of the battleship USS Oklahoma. With 400 sailors aboard, the Oklahoma lost her balance, rolled onto her side and slipped underwater.

After the Attack - The USA declared war on Japan - Countries declared war on the United States - Other countries started to declare war - Pacific Fleet was not destroyed - Isolationism ended

Involvement of others - All nine independent Central American and Caribbean countries declared war Colombia, Venezuela, and Mexico severed ties with the Axis powers After the Pan-American union conference, Argentina and Chile still refused to sever ties Germany wanted to target US, Mexican, and Brazilian vessels

Revenge of the USA - By late 1942, the USA began to intercept messages from Berlin and Tokyo - Deported three German nationals - USA threatened to block Chilean membership in the newly created United Nations

Isolationism - A policy of remaining apart from the affairs or interests of other groups, especially the political affairs of other countries - Japan promised the USA neutrality before the Pearl Harbor Attack - The United States declared neutrality on September 5, 1939

Conclusion - Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japan in December of 1941 and thousands were killed - Other countries got involved and started to declare war - USA got revenge - Isolationism ended

Work Cited History. com Staff. “Pearl Harbor. ” History. com , A&E Television Networks, 2009, www. history. com/topics/world-war-ii/pearl-harbor. Alchin, Linda. “ 1929 -1945: Depression & WW 2. ” American Isolationism: US History for Kids *** , Siteseen Limited, 9 Jan. 2018, www. american-historama. org/1929 -1945 depression-ww 2 -era/american-isolationism. htm.