December 7th is considered Pearl Harbor day. Pearl Harbor is a naval base near Honolulu, Hawaii. On December 7th, 1941, hundreds of Japanese fighter planes damaged or destroyed about 20 American Naval Vessels. Over 2,400 people (including civilians) died, and 1,000 were wounded.
Although the attack was a surprise, tensions between the U.S. and Japan weren't. Japan had been trying to expand into China to solve its economic and demographic issues. Eventually, this led to Japan declaring war on China in 1937. The U.S. sided with China for the most part and passed a series of economic sanctions and trade embargoes. This increased the tension between the two countries.
The U.S. didn't expect an attack so close, so Pearl Harbor was pretty much undefended. This made Pearl Harbor an easy target to Japanese Officials.
The attack started a little before 8:00 am and ended two hours later. One of the ships, the USS Arizona, exploded and sank with over 1,000 men inside.
The next day, president Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan which entered the U.S. into World War II. The main goal of the attack was to make the U.S. lift the economic sanctions and trade embargoes while also scare the U.S. out of entering the war. However, after the devastating attack, the country was ready to fight.
The story of the attack on Pearl Harbor should never be forgotten. It's a significant event that changed U.S. history forever.
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