Pearl Harbor Significance

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Midway, the Battle That Ultimately Doomed Japan in WWII By: John King Could a loss at Midway have cost America the Pacific, and led to WWII ending in a different way? The Battle of Midway is know as the turning point of the war in the Pacific. It turned the tables and put the United States into an offensive position. Midway was one, if not the, most important battle of World War II because of the background,strategies, battle tactics, and most importantly the outcome and effects of this battle. “Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 – a date which will live in infamy – the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.” These words were spoken the day after the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the President of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt. The bombing of Pearl Harbor cost more than 2,000 lives and nearly destroyed 20 naval vessels. Eight of these ships happened to be battleships, but luckily no aircraft carriers were in the area. On December 8, the day after Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt gave his address to the nation. He ended this address with, “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,” thus beginning the United States role in WWII. Four months and eleven days after Pearl Harbor, the United States attacked the Japanese mainland with long range bombers. This ... ... middle of paper ... ...st would have been devastating to the U.S. Work Cited “1942 Battle of Midway.” Youtube. 4 April 2013. Transcript. 20th Century Battlefields. 5 February 2014. < http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRT4bRmFR40> Trueman, Chris. “Battle of Midway.” “Battle of Midway.” 2014. The History Channel website. Feb 6 2014, 9:34 http://www.history.com/topics/battle-of-midway Eidenmuller, Michael. “ Franklin Delano Roosevelt Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation ”Great Speeches for Better Speaking.” 4 June 2008. American Rhetoric. 6 February 2014 http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/fdrpearlharbor.htm "The Battle of Midway, 1942" 2001. EyeWitness to History. 6 February 2014. < www.eyewitnesstohistory.com>

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