Stephanie Velasquez
4/22/14
The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor appeared to be quite unexpected, but should it have been? On December 7, 1941 Japanese planes and submarines made a surprise attack on the U.S at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Battleships at Pearl Harbor sunk along with combat planes and many Americans. Pearl Harbor was one of the greatest tragedies to Americans. Why did the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor? There was at least three reasons why the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. These reasons were; Japan was tired of the old order, the United States also froze Japanese assets and bank accounts, and the United States stopped all trade of oil, steel, and iron.
One reason for the attack was that Japan was tired of the “old order.” Japan wanted a new order, they wanted to be in power. The “old order” referred to the United States, France, and Great Britain having power. Japan wanted a subject and wanted that subject to have a great deal of power. They were tired of the U.S having more control and wanted a switch up. The need for a new order caused the Japanese to attack because Japan wanted to fight for more power. They did not want to seem less superior to the other states like the U.S, Great Britain, and France.
A second reason for the attack was the fact that the United States froze all Japanese assets and bank accounts. Why would they do this? The United States felt like the Japanese were being too aggressive in their war with China. It was also meant to restrict Japan’s growing influence. By freezing all of Japanese assets it caused the Japanese to attack because the Japanese felt like they were being the United States, what you can call, “puppet” since by doing that and stopping trade between the United States and Japan, it had a greater effect on the Japanese.
A third reason for the attack was the fact that the United States stopped all trade of oil, steel, and iron with the Japanese. The U.S imported to the Japanese in 1937, 380...