'A Day in Infamy' Very Powerful Words that Moved a Nation

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World War II was undoubtedly the biggest war of the 20th century. It was fought in the Pacific and in Europe. Early in the war the United States, which consisted of 48 states at the time, was not involved. Suddenly all that changed on the fateful morning of December 7, 1941 when Pearl Harbor was bombed. This changed the course of the entire war. Franklin Delano Roosevelt addressed Congress to inform them of Japan's attacks on the United States, to get them to declare war, and to rally the American people against the evil powers that were threatening freedom.
Japan had its reasons for the attack on Pearl Harbor. First, the Japanese started by protecting itself from attack. They signed a treaty declaring that Japan and the Soviet Union were at neutral grounds with each other. This was so they could have less to worry about if they attacked Great Britain or the United States. At the end of 1941, it seemed (to the Japanese) that the Soviets were going to lose, so Japan tried to take oil from Southeast Asia. Also, Japan had its mind set on conquering the Pacific, Asia, and eventually the world and the Americans did not like this (Pearl Harbor). "The U.S. wanted to stop Japanese expansion but the American people were not willing to go to war to stop it. The U.S. demanded that Japan withdraw from China and Indochina, but would have settled for a token withdrawal and a promise not to take more territory" (Pearl Harbor). So the US, with its people unwilling to fight, punished Japan in 1940 by placing “an embargo on Japan by prohibiting exports of steel, scrap iron, and aviation fuel to Japan, due to Japan's takeover of northern French Indochina" (Pearl Harbor History: Why Did Japan Attack). The United States was the main supplier of all ...

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..."Pearl Harbor History: Why Did Japan Attack? Eyewitness Accounts, Casualty List, Background."Welcome to the Official Site of the Attack on Pearl Harbor.N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2014.
"Pearl Harbor." Ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association. Web. 08 May 2014.
"The History Place - Timeline of Pacific War." The History Place - Timeline of Pacific War. Web. 09 May 2014.
"The United States Declares War on Japan." History.com. A&E Television Networks. Web. 09 May 2014.
McGrath, Jane. "HowStuffWorks "After Pearl Harbor"" HowStuffWorks. Web. 12 May 2014.
Neumann, Richard K Jr. "The Myth That “Eight Battleships Were Sunk” At Pearl Harbor." History News Network. Web. 09 May 2014.
Robinson, Bruce.“Pearl Harbor: A Rude Awakening.” BBC. Web. 10 May 2014.
Roosevelt, Franklin Delano. “Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation.” US Capitol Building, Washington D.C. 8 December 1941.

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