Why Did Japan Attack Pearl Harbor

Early morning of December 7, 1941, approximately 350 Japanese fighter planes, bombers, and torpedo planes attacked Pearl Harbor, an American naval base located near Honolulu, Hawaii. This two-hour bombardment destroyed roughly 20 American ships and 300 airplanes. By the end, nearly 2,500 American soldier and sailors died, while 1,000 were left wounded. On December 8, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared war on Japan, going on to saying, “No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory... we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost, but will make very certain that this form of treachery shall never endanger us again.” Soon after, Germany and Italy did the same, marking the entry of the U.S. into World War II.
Pacific Fleet to prevent U.S. intervention on their advances in Asia; however, this is debatable. According to Professor Higgs, the U.S. economic warfare had some influence in provoking the attack. There are speculations as to the U.S. already having intentions of joining WWII prior in order to fuel their economy in a time of the Great Depression. It was just a matter of when and who would advance upon them. Higgs states, “U.S. forces sought to create a war-justifying incident... but Hitler refused to take the bait,” leading to their second option of trying to generate a reason for Japan to initiate a