The Effects of Pearl Harbor on America
It was a silent morning on the Hawaiian island of Oahu until, just before 8:00 A.M. on December 7, 1941, that silence was broken by the sound of thundering planes, bombs, and people screaming. These were the sounds that were heard on the day of the Pearl Harbor attack when the morning silence was broken. The United States of America found itself under a surprise attack by the Japanese. The United States had been reluctant to enter World War II, which started in 1939. However, the surprise attack by the Japanese on Pearl Harbor made Americans angry enough to change their reluctance to a determination to get revenge. The attack on Pearl Harbor lead to Americans being jolted into World War II, Japanese-American neighbors and friends being imprisoned in internment camps around the country and the development and detonation of atomic weapons when Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed, ultimately ending ended World War II.
Before the attack, many Americans believed that the country should focus on recovering from the Great Depression. They were tired and did not want to fight in another long and expensive war. Before the attack on Pearl Harbor, many of the American people were divided on whether the country should participate in World War II. Some Americans thought that it was always best to support allies. Others thought that it was always a bad idea to go to war, even if America could sway the tide of war and defeat the enemy. Many Americans changed their position after the attack. "I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7th, 1941, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese empire" (Eidenmuller). After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States of America changed its position and declared war on the Empire of Japan.
American citizens were angry at Japan after the attack and this anger spread to all people of Japanese heritage, regardless of whether they were citizens of the United States or not. American military analysts were afraid that some would sabotage the United States defense and agriculture in that area because there were so many Japanese living on the west coast. Because of this analysis, "Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 ordering all Japanese-Americans to evacuate the West Coast. This resulted in the relocation of approximately 120,000 people, many of whom were American citizens, to one of 10 internment camps located across the country." (History.com Staff). The tragedy was that many of these people were fellow American citizens who had lived productive lives, contributed in many ways to the country, and were proud to call America home. The attack on Pearl Harbor by Japan changed the way people viewed others. There was an unfair prejudice against those with Japanese ancestry. Non-Japanese-Americans thought that Japanese-Americans could not be trusted because Japan committed a horrific attack on Pearl Harbor.
Another effect of the bombing of Pearl Harbor was that America developed nuclear technology. Just after the attack, American citizens and the president of the United States of America wanted revenge (Okerstrom). President Roosevelt responded by developing the atomic bomb and using it on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Before the attack on Pearl Harbor, nuclear weapons were non-existent. America built and used the bombs that would achieve revenge and end the war. "The war that began here ended with the United States dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945" (Schmidt). These nuclear weapons would not have been developed without the attack that prodded America into war.
The attack on Pearl Harbor by Japan had a large impact on the history of America. It angered a country into a world war it did not want to enter. The attack scared and angered Americans to imprison many innocent Japanese-Americans in internment camps, despite the fact that they were American citizens. The Pearl Harbor bombing led to the development of the atomic bombs by the United States. These nuclear weapons were developed during that time in history because America was angry, it wanted retaliation against Japan for its surprise attack on the United States and eventually, America wanted to end the war it had been forced to participate in. These were some of the major effects of the Pearl Harbor bombing on the United States of America and the world.
