Was Roosevelt responsible for Pearl Harbour
Was President Franklin D Roosevelt responsible for the attack on Pearl Harbour?
On December 7, 1941 the infamous bombing of Pearl Harbour by the Japanese took place, but who was really responsible? Many historians lay the blame with President Franklin D Roosevelt (FDR), citing his approach to the war as antagonistic and inciting a Japanese attack. This report however will highlight that the Japanese were the real antagonises, deliberately and purposely attacking the United States (US), United Kingdom and Holland, and Pearl Harbour was but a pawn in their war plan, thus alleviating FDR of the historical responsibility bequeathed to him over the last 70 years. The key elements within this review focus on Japan's Pacific War plans, FDR's approach to the threat of Japan, the events that led up to the Pearl Harbour attack, the 14 part message decoded; what did it say about an attack, the attack on Pearl harbour and other locations attacked within the same 24 hour period and finally; the reinforcement of Pearl Harbour and Hawaii and their shortcomings in preparedness.
In the midst of World War II, Japan devised a plan to seize all of Southeast Asia. The intentions of this plan were to take over territories of the United Kingdom, Holland and the United States of America (US) ensuring a ready supply of rubber, oil, mineral and tin, vital to the war efforts. This plan came about after the US enforced an oil and rubber embargo on Japan for their continued threat in China. There were several difficulties within the Southeast Asia plan that the Japanese government were fully aware of. They included the US occupied Philippines which stood between Japan and its conquests. They knew that an attack on the Philippines would warrant a response from the US and therefore began negotiations, but plans were already underway to attack. Their most lethal weapon was one of radio silence, enabling stealth and the inability of tracking by other countries. This was in some way also
On December 7, 1941 the infamous bombing of Pearl Harbour by the Japanese took place, but who was really responsible? Many historians lay the blame with President Franklin D Roosevelt (FDR), citing his approach to the war as antagonistic and inciting a Japanese attack. This report however will highlight that the Japanese were the real antagonises, deliberately and purposely attacking the United States (US), United Kingdom and Holland, and Pearl Harbour was but a pawn in their war plan, thus alleviating FDR of the historical responsibility bequeathed to him over the last 70 years. The key elements within this review focus on Japan's Pacific War plans, FDR's approach to the threat of Japan, the events that led up to the Pearl Harbour attack, the 14 part message decoded; what did it say about an attack, the attack on Pearl harbour and other locations attacked within the same 24 hour period and finally; the reinforcement of Pearl Harbour and Hawaii and their shortcomings in preparedness.
In the midst of World War II, Japan devised a plan to seize all of Southeast Asia. The intentions of this plan were to take over territories of the United Kingdom, Holland and the United States of America (US) ensuring a ready supply of rubber, oil, mineral and tin, vital to the war efforts. This plan came about after the US enforced an oil and rubber embargo on Japan for their continued threat in China. There were several difficulties within the Southeast Asia plan that the Japanese government were fully aware of. They included the US occupied Philippines which stood between Japan and its conquests. They knew that an attack on the Philippines would warrant a response from the US and therefore began negotiations, but plans were already underway to attack. Their most lethal weapon was one of radio silence, enabling stealth and the inability of tracking by other countries. This was in some way also
References: Ford, D. (2011). Pacific war: Clash of empires in world war II. London: Continuum International Publishing. Trefousse, Hans L. (Hans Louis). (1958). What happened at pearl harbor? Documents pertaining to the Japanese attack of December 7, 1941, and its background. United States Bibliography Anderson, C.J. (2002). The pearl harbor attack was just one of Japan 's surprises. World War II, 16(5), 92. Ford, D. (2011). Pacific war: Clash of empires in world war II. London: Continuum International Publishing. Mark Grimsley. (2007). Japan hadn 't attacked pearl harbor? World War II, 22(5), 85-86. Murray, W., & Ishizu, T. (2009). Conflicting currents: Japan and the united states in the pacific. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. Peter Mauch. (2004). Revisiting nomura 's diplomacy: Ambassador nomura 's role in the japanese-american negotiations, 1941. Diplomatic History, 28(3), 353-383. doi:10.1111/j.1467-7709.2004.00416.x Trefousse, Hans L United States. Congress. Joint Committee on the Investigation of the Pearl Harbor Attack. (1946). Investigation of the pearl harbor attack. Retreived from: http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.$b643511;view=1up;seq=7