Pearl Harbor
The US joins WWII, and
Japanese Internment begins…
World History 2010
Japan
While Germany was seeing the rise of the
Nazis, economic depression, and the
segregation and harassment of political
enemies & racial/religious/other
minorities…
Japan’s economy was depressed as well.
Japan cont’d
Extreme nationalism
Militarism
Foreign Expansion was viewed as a cure
for the depression
Japan (cont’d)
By 1937, Japan was at war with China to gain
territory.
In 1940 (one year after WWII had started), the
US terminated a treaty with Japan, cutting
Japan’s access to American raw materials.
Then, Japan signed
the “Tripartite Treaty”
with Germany and Italy
to become part of the
Axis Powers
The US vs. Japan
In response to Japan joining with Germany
and Italy, the US increased its aid to
China.
In July 1941, Japan seized French IndoChina (now Vietnam). In response, the
US froze all of Japan’s assets.
For the next 4 months, Japan negotiated
with the US to restore trade.
Japan’s Big Decision
In negotiating, Japan had to choose
between two things:
– Give up expansionist plans (no more invading
other countries to get raw materials) in
exchange for the US lifting its trade embargo
OR
– Go to war with the US
December 7, 1941
The following 3 minute clip describes
Japan’s initial attack on the US.
It includes actual live radio broadcast
(breaking news) from US radio on the
afternoon of December 7th, 1941.
(click to play)
Pearl Harbor
Pearl
Harbor is
a US
naval
base on
the
Hawaiian
Island of
Oahu (in
the
Pacific
Ocean)
December 8th, 1941
The next day, the Japanese
attacked British and American
posts throughout the Pacific.
President Roosevelt formally
declared war
On December 11, honoring the
“Tripartite Treaty,” Germany and
Italy declared war on the United
States.
Neither Adolph Hitler nor
Admiral Yamamoto believed that
the US would play a significant
role in the war
Assignment #1 (20 minutes)
At the end of the unit you will be creating a
newspaper using the paragraphs you have
written, Holocaust photos and captions, and
other materials. To add depth to your
newspaper, your assignment is to write a letter
to the editor about Pearl Harbor. You letter
should:
– explain three things you have learned about the
bombing of Pearl Harbor;
– explain why you think the Japanese attacked Pearl
Harbor; and
– pose two to three questions you would like to ask a
Pearl Harbor survivor (Japanese or American).
Japanese Internment
The US went to war because of the Attack
on Pearl Harbor
They fought in the Pacific and in Europe
Within the US, something else was
happening as a result of the bombing of
Pearl Harbor…
Japanese Internment
(7 minute clip from Ken Burns’ The War)
– On DVD, click:
“Lesson Plan Clips”
Then, “Japanese Americans and Internment”
Then, “Made into an Enemy”
Discuss:
Why do you think only the Japanese Americans
on the West Coast were affected by Executive
Order 9066?
Why didn’t fellow Americans object to the
internment of Japanese Americans in 1942?
What was the social, economic and personal
impact of the internment - for those sent to
camps and those left behind?
Was the government justified in sending
Japanese Americans to relocation camps purely
on the basis of ethnicity? Why or why not? What
would other options have been?
Your Second Assignment:
Create a Venn Diagram to compare the
Japanese Internment to the Holocaust
Then, draft a paragraph explaining your
hypothesis as to:
– why each event happened,
– why there was no large objection by the
people,
– and how each could have been prevented.