United States NavySailors standing amid wrecked planes at the Ford Island seaplane base, watching as the U.S.S. Shaw exploded during the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.Historic Headlines
Learn about key events in history and their connections to today.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese warplanes attacked the home base of the American Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, drawing the United States into World War II. More than 2,300 Americans were killed.
“Reports from Hawaii indicated that Honolulu had no warning of the attack,” The New York Times noted. “Japanese
bombers, with the red circle of the Rising Sun of Japan on their wings, suddenly appeared, escorting by fighters. Flying high, they suddenly dive-bombed, attacking Pearl Harbor, the great Navy base, the Army’s
Hickam Field and Ford Island. At least one torpedo plane was seen to launch a torpedo at warships in Pearl Harbor.”
The next day, President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed Congress, declaring that Dec.
7, 1941, was “a date which will live in infamy.” Within an hour, Congress declared war against Japan with only one dissenting voice.
On Dec. 11, Japan’s Axis allies, Germany and Italy, declared war on the United States. Congress immediately voted to respond in kind. “For the first time in its history,” The Times noted, “the United States finds itself at war against powers in both the Atlantic and the Pacific.”
Japan had hoped that the attack on Pearl Harbor would cripple the Pacific fleet and give Japan dominance over the Pacific. The United States, however, was able to recover from its losses and strike back against Japan. In April 1942, the U.S. launched a bombing mission, known as the Doolittle Raid, over Tokyo, a symbolic retaliation for Pearl Harbor that improved morale.
In June of that year, the United States Navy won a decisive victory over the Imperial Japanese Navy in the Battle of Midway, inflicting severe damage on the IJN fleet. After defeating Japan in prolonged fighting at Guadalcanal, the Americans went on the offensive in 1943 with an “island hopping” campaign. The United States won a number of fierce battles to secure islands from Japan and in 1945 captured the islands of Iwo Jima and Okinawa near Japan. The Pacific War came to an end in August 1945 after the United States dropped atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Connect to Today:
In his May 2011 announcement of Osama Bin Laden’s death, President Obama compared the events of September 11, 2001, with Pearl Harbor: “Nearly 10 years ago, America suffered the worst attack on our shores since Pearl Harbor. This mass murder was planned by Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda network in Afghanistan, and signaled a new threat to our security …”
After President Obama’s announcement, The New York Times reported on the deluge of personal reactions to the news on Facebook, Instagram, Path, Twitter and Tumblr.
What are your thoughts on the relationship between big news events and what appears to be the public’s increasing “urge to be part of the news” in social media forums? Do you think our perception of breaking news stories is different today than what people experienced when they heard about Pearl Harbor, for example, as a result of social media? Why or why not? Do you tend to share your own feelings and opinions about news events with other people online? Why or why not?
Teachers: See a related lesson plan.
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