Pearl Harbor & Japanese Internment

On December 7th 1941 the Japanese Navy attacked the US Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, Hawai’i

Results of the Attack

2,388 people were killed and another 1,178 were wounded.

• Though the U.S. Navy lost several ships and many planes, the damages were not

critical.

The U.S.S. Arizona continues to leak oil in this 2004 photograph

WHY did the Japanese attack the United States?

Because

1) The U.S, was conducting a blockade which kept the Japanese from acquiring the raw materials and petroleum they needed to keep their war machine going

2) The Japanese knew that war with the U.S. was inevitable, so they hoped to destroy our navy before the war started.

Reactions to the attack

Reactions to the attack

Reactions to the attack

Reactions to the attack

Because Pearl Harbor was a “sneak attack” Americans began to distrust Americans of

Japanese or even Chinese descent.

There were rumors that Japanese-American citizens would spy for Japan or sabotage the war effort.

The U.S. government decided to lock up any Japanese-Americans for the duration

of the war.

Internment camps were set-up in isolated areas of the country

Japanese-Americans were rounded and sent by train to their new “homes”

120,000 Japanese-Americans were placed in camps for the duration of the

war.