On this date in history, December 7th, 1941, "A date which will live in infamy", the Japanese navy attacked Pearl Harbor, killing over 2300 U.S. military personnel and civilians.
Here's a short history of the events that led to the attack, and the subsequent outbreak of hostilities for the U.S. in WWII.
1. In 1853, President Millard Fillmore sent U.S. Navy commander, Commodore Perry to Japan for the sole purpose of scaring the living hell out of the Japanese people. The reason for this trip was to FORCE the people of Japan to accept a demand from the U.S. Government that they open their doors to foreign trade with the U.S.
Commodore Perry entered Edo Bay and began firing his ship cannons. The Japanese were scared out of their wits. The most powerful weapon in Japan, at the time, was the sword. The Japanese had no war ships, cannons, rifles, etc.
A trade agreement was eventually signed. Immediately thereafter, the Japanese people revolted against their own government. A revolution took place, in which the people of Japan overthrew the Shogun, and then promptly established a military government. The idea was to put in place a government that had the power to defend Japan from any further aggressive naval movements from the Western nations.
President Grover Cleveland lost his bid for re-election. Once Cleveland was gone, the U.S. Congress quickly acted to annex the Hawaii islands, making them ours. (The Japanese were watching.....and worrying.)
3. In 1898, at the close of hostilities between the U.S. and Spain, the U.S. signed a peace agreement with the government of Spain, in which Spain would turn over her possessions and territories to the U.S. Among the possessions held by Spain, was the Philippines. The U.S. Army was sent to the Philippines with the intention of quelling the rebels. The Philippines was now a U.S. possession, and again, the Japanese were watching and worrying.
4. There was now a determined military buildup taking place in Japan. The problem for Japan, of course, was that ship-building requires copper, steel, magnesium, coal, and a multitude of other natural resources.....none of which could be found in quantity on the Japanese Islands. In order to have a large military force, Japan was first going to have to find a suitable piece of land which would provide the raw materials necessary to build up a large military force. The Japanese then began an Island-hopping campaign of their own, in which large chunks of land were being confiscated for their minerals.
5. The Russians were looking for a port that wouldn't freeze over during the winter. They found one on the Korean peninsula. However, before the Russians could get their hands on it, they would first have to defeat the new Japanese Navy. Russia lost that battle. Japan secured the Korean peninsula for itself. If I'm not mistaken, the year was 1908.
6. In the 50 years since Commodore Perry forced his way into Edo Bay, the people of Japan had gone from Shoguns and Swords, to having one of the most powerful military forces in the world. The victory over the Russian Navy only made the Japanese more brave, and more determined than ever to keep the western nations at bay.
7. The U.S. maintained peaceful trade with Japan during this entire time. We provided coal, steel, oil, and other natural resources to the Japanese War Machine. That is, until the Japanese took possession of the Rubber Plantations. Henry Ford was beginning to wonder where he'd get the rubber necessary to put tires on his vehicles, so he started planting rubber trees in several nations of South America, using the local population as slaves to help harvest the rubber. But, slaves aren't any too motivated to work, so the plantations quickly failed. Pressure was placed on the U.S. government to take back the foreign rubber plantations that had been claimed by the Japanese.
8. As Japan continued to expand its territory, U.S. businessmen were losing more and more of the imported goods they relied upon in order to produce their own products. More pressure was place on the U.S. government to force Japan to give up its newly acquired territories. However, the people of the U.S. were nearly unanimous in their opposition to the U.S. getting involved militarily. After all, WWI had just ended, and the people of the U.S. were in no hurry to get involved in yet another foreign war. This all took place during the period from 1920 to 1939.
9. When Germany began its march to revenge the losses suffered during WWI, Churchill wasn't yet Prime Minister of Great Britain. However, Churchill was working closely with Roosevelt. Churchill wanted the U.S. to get involved with WWII, so as to help protect the British shipping lanes. The Germans were sinking British ships by the hundreds, threatening the British with starvation.
10. For two long years, the U.S. Navy patrolled the North Sea, hoping that Germany would fire upon us, making it possible for the U.S. to finally enter the war. The plan failed. Germany refused to take the bait. A couple of U.S. ships were fired upon, (The Greer), but Congress knew full well that Roosevelt was hoping to use this as bait. Congress wouldn't bend. The U.S. was to remain neutral in WWII. After all, the U.S. wasn't under attack.
11. Harold Ickes, then Roosevelt's Secretary of the Interior, came up with a plan. If Germany wouldn't take the bait, maybe Japan would. "The Backdoor Plan" was then put into action. If we could somehow get the Japanese to fire upon U.S. ships, this would make it possible for the U.S. to finally enter WWII, against Germany and Hitler. Not surprisingly, the plan worked just as Ickes had envisioned it......with the exception of the large attack on Pearl Harbor. Neither Ickes nor Roosevelt could imagine such a large attack on the U.S...........but it was most certainly welcomed by the Roosevelt Administration, Churchill, and U.S. businessmen, such as Henry Ford.
Joel
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