Introduction: Summary and the Importance
This project explores the U.S. history regarding Pacific War while paying attention to two actors in the warfare: The United States and Japan. Pacific war has remained a great pain and impression to the history, especially represented by the attack on Pearl Harbor and atomic bombs dropped over Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Looking at the history around the time of Pacific war, we can learn the narratives and rationales behind the warfare, which allows us to understand the influence of ideology at the time, and lessons that Pacific war tells.
In this project, we explore Pacific war in three dimensions. Firstly, the analysis on several primary sources reveals the history around the breakout of the war. Focusing on the very trigger, Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the analysis elaborates on the interpretation and attitude of the United States as well as the shared values in the society under the war. Secondly, our project pays attention to the U.S. attitude towards “Japanese” in their society, and we will see what it meant to have identical connections to Japan, the enemy, during the war. Lastly, the project examines primary sources that tell us about the ending of the war, aiming to unfold how the United States concluded the war against Japan.
Breakout of the war: Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor
The declaration of a war against Japan
Summary of the source
This primary source illustrates the very moment in which the United States declared a war against Japan. Regarding the very trigger of the war, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the President Franklin, D Roosevelt clearly accuses Japan by saying that what Japan did was deliberately planned while the United States was diplomatically working to deal with the relation with Japan. The United States understood the warfare by Japanese military as deceiving the U.S. and severely damages the U.S. and lives of the people, the president declared a war against Japan with a confident and strong tone referring to American triumph.
Analysis of the source
The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was a significantly surprising warfare for the United States. The United States had been dealing with growing influence of Japan in a diplomatic way, such as conducting an embargo on exports or freezing Japanese assets owned by the U.S. banks, or supporting China, the opponent for Japan, and such situations made it difficult for the US and Japan to reach resolution and created unacceptable circumstances for Japan1 . This is said to have led to the decision of military attack by Japan, the unpredictable attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. From the perspective of the United States, the attack was not merely the exercise of Japanese military force but the act of deceiving the U.S. that was keeping its path on a diplomatic negotiation. Thus, the declaration of a war against Japan, so-called Infamy Speech, is delivered in a firm and determined tone while implying emotional and diplomatic hostility towards Japan.
1 Office of the Historian. “Japan, China, the United States and the Road to Pearl Harbor, 1937-41”. Accessed July 17, 2021. https://history.state.gov/milestones/1937-1945/pearl-harbor).
Interview: Immediate Reaction toward the Pearl Harbor attack
Faulk, John Henry, Joe Jirosik, and Joe Jirosik. “Man-on-the-Street,” Austin, Texas, December 9. Austin, Texas, December 9, 1941. Pdf. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc1941004_sr15/.
Summary of the source
These sources are part of a collection of interview records about citizens’ reactions to the attack on Pearl Harbor and the United States’ entry into World War ll. On December 8, 1941, just a day after the declaration of war by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, members of Archive of American Folk Song spread out ten different localities of the United States and collected comments from citizens, including university students and laborers. Generally, the interviewees generally showed anger against Japan, supported the government’s decision to join the war, and believed in the United States’ victory. In addition, the record shows another citizens’ insight into Pearl Harbor attack; many interviewees thought Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor would not be only Japan’s decision but it must be directed by Germany, Hitlar.
Analysis of the source
In fact, although President Roosevelt hoped to join the war for long, because of deep-rooted isolationism in the United States, he could not. However, as the interview represents, the Pearl Harbor attack provoked anger against Japan and support for the war entry from most citizens. The interviewees show strong anger and fury against Japan in the remarks such as that although they had complied with the request of negotiation Japan betrayed them, or that Japanese were all wrong and there was no justification of the attack. In addition, although an interviewee shows his surprise about the Congress’s so enthusiastic diplomacy shit, as one says that he and all of the people around him were “hundred percent behind” the President, generally most of the citizens agreed with the war entry. Thus, the interview shows that the Pearl Harbor attack gave Roosevelt a convenient rationale to change public opinions and join the war.
“JAP TRAP”
Summary of the source
This is a propaganda poster that was created and promoted during the time of the war against Japan. At the bottom, it says “JAP TRAP” in capital letters, which refers to material conservation, the US strategic measures, that is illustrated as a trap catching a mouse. The mouse is the symbol of Japan, while illustrating the face of General Tojo and the characteristic cap of Japanese military uniform. During the period of war against the axis, including Japan, multiple versions of propaganda was created in forms of poster, slogan, movies, and so forth. The government was intended to increase affirmative attitude towards Pacific war within the United States. Especially, to deal with limited supply during the war, material conservation was crucial, and it needed the understanding and cooperation by the people. This propaganda makes their people understand the need of their perseverance and change their behavior to support war and the victory.
Analysis of the source
With the propaganda poster, the government of the United States aimed to increase unity of the nation to fight against Japan. Considering the background of the war related to Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the emotional hostility towards Japan was already intense, and those posters were engaging to such emotions shared by the United States and creating enthusiastic atmosphere in defeating Japan. Particularly in this poster, the government’s strategy was in drawing the symbol of Japan in a way it looks stupid and weak, while making the United States and its strategy look sound, effective, and perfect. The sense of superiority was a strong support and basis for the US to unify under war. The feeling encouraged the people to enlist themselves in the military, or engage in factories, so that they can be the actual part in contributing to the victory.
“Remember Pearl Harbor” : Unified Public Opinion
Summary of the source
This source is a short document published in 1942, and the image is a front cover of the document. The title is “Remember Pearl Harbor: Don’t wait – enlist today”, including a popular slogan for the war at that time. This document encourages the citizens to enlist the United States Coast Guard in order to protect the nation from invasion and specifically explains about the systems, payments and provision of services of the Coast Guard.
Analysis of the source
“Remember Pearl Harbor” is a popular slogan throughout the United States in the period of Pacific War. This slogan was used by the United States government as a means of mobilizing its citizens to fight and support the war. Also, since just two days after the attack, this slogan has appeared in many newspapers and posters as well. In other words, while Japan had regarded the attack as a significant victory over the United States at that time, the result of the Pearl Harbor attack in the United States was the unified citizens’ attitudes toward war in the long term.
Policy against Japanese-Americans
Summary of the source
This is a photograph of a shop run by a Japanese-American. The sign on the store in this picture, saying “I AM AN AMERICAN”, was placed by the shop owner the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor. After the attack on Pearl Harbor and breakout of the Pacific War, President Franklin Roosevelt conducted an anti-Japanese policy with Executive Order 9066. The order decreed that people living on the west coast of the United States who had Japanese ancestors leave their homes and go to relocation camps. Due to the evacuation orders, the owner finally had to give up his business and go to the evacuation center despite his claim of his identity as an American citizen.
Analysis of the source
The policy toward Japanese-Americans during the Pacific War was based on prejudice against Japanese Americans that regarded them as potential threats to the United States and associated them with Imperial Japan. However, most of the interned Japanese Americans were American citizens and considered themselves loyal to the United States. The board in the photograph demonstrates the situation which Japanese-Americans experienced. The owner of the shop would try to show his loyalty to the United States or insist on his identity as an American citizen to dispel the government’s doubts and eliminate prejudice against Japanese-American. In addition, the photograph indicates that Japanese-Americans had concerns or fears of being persecuted by American society even though they did not have any patriotic feelings toward Japan.
Summary of the source
Individual camps were like communities, so interned people played several roles and cooperated with each other. For instance, they raised vegetables, fed animals, and served meals by themselves. Also, they provided education to children, held a dance party as a pastime, and published newspapers. Many photographs of such people’s lives in camps were taken by the US War Relocation Authority. People in the pictures showed smiles and seemed to have happy lives. On the contrary, however, this painting drawn by an interned Japanese-American describes a sad scene in their lives in the relocation camp. The painting drew a male Japanese American leaving the camp to join the US army and his family seeing off him.
Analysis of the source
The painting shows that a family was separated due to the husband’s participation in the US army. Many Japanese-American men were required to be American soldiers and show their loyalty to the government. Also, in this painting, barbed wire fences preventing interned people from escaping and a soldier with a weapon who separated a family from the men were described. In addition, a guard tower was depicted in the background of this painting. These descriptions indicate that Japanese-Americans were confined into relocation camps with strict surveillance and restrictions. Moreover, these objects rarely appear in the pictures by the US War Relocation Authority. Thus, it implies that the US government only highlighted the positive aspects of the internment and their kind treatment through their photographs even though the reality of the camp was not always happy but a hard time for interned Japanese-Americans.
Ending of the war: the Potsdam Declaration and the atomic bomb
The Potsdam Declaration
https://www.atomicarchive.com/resources/documents/hiroshima-nagasaki/potsdam.html
Summary of the source
The Potsdam Declaration is the document that suggests or makes Japan surrender towards the Allied Nations, such as the US, the Republic of China and Great Britain. It said that if Japan did not accept the declaration, they were ready to attack Japan immediately and destroy it completely. As a term for Japan, they wrote that Japan should exclude militarism and become a democratic country. Japan should free the citizens to speech, religion, and thoughts, and accept fundamental human rights. In addition, Japan had to disarm and cannot engage in industries that can make Japan rearmed. The occupying forces of Allied Nations will occupy Japan until Japan’s military power to start the war is completely destroyed and Japan becomes a free and peaceful nation.
Analysis of the source
As this source shows, the US and Allied Nations thought of Japan as a threat to them. They said that they will use immeasurable forces compared to the German resistance. With that, the Allied Nations will completely destroy Japan’s military force. This thought can be also said in the section of the term against Japan. They seemed to want to get rid of all military power from Japan to not let Japan have power in the world.
The power that will strike Japan by the Allied Nations was not mentioned clearly in the declaration, but that power was the Atomic bomb and it was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki after Japanese government ignored the Potsdam Declaration.
White House Press Release on Hiroshima -Statement by the President of the United States-
https://www.atomicarchive.com/resources/documents/hiroshima-nagasaki/hiroshima-press-release.html
Summary of the source
This source tells the readers the US’s process of making the Atomic bomb. The US and Great Britain worked together to create the Atomic bomb and they fought against Germany in making that. The source described the US as a country which has abundant resources and human resources to create the bomb, and it successfully made an Atomic bomb at last. In addition, they said that they had a power to destroy all power of war of Japan because they had the Atomic bomb and they indicate that Japan should accept the Potsdam Declaration to avoid them to be dropped the bomb. As Japan ignored the declaration, the US dropped the bomb on Hiroshima before this source was written. At that point, people cannot use atomic energy for peaceful use like making electricity, so it was difficult to make the information of atomic energy and the US think that they had the responsibility to control the production of the power.
Analysis of the source
This Atomic bomb can be the “final blows”1 towards Japan because it said the Atomic bomb is the power to destroy the war power of Japan. Also, the US is proud of the success of making the Atomic bomb. The source shows the amount of people who were involved in creating the bomb and also how much country resources they used. The US government wanted to hide the way to use atomic power because the peaceful use was not made up. However, there might also be a reason that they did not want other countries to know the manufacturing process because that was developed by the US and they wanted to maintain the situation that the US and Great Britain had only known about the process.
1Atomicarchive.com. “Potsdam Declaration. Proclamation Defining Terms for Japanese Surrender Issued, at Potsdam, July 26, 1945.,” 1945.
https://www.atomicarchive.com/resources/documents/hiroshima-nagasaki/potsdam.html
On My Participation In The Atom Bomb Project
https://www.atomicarchive.com/resources/documents/hiroshima-nagasaki/einstein-response.html
Summary of the source
This is the source written by A. Einstein about his participation in creating the Atomic bomb. Einstein understands that the atomic power is a dangerous power for human beings if it were used as a bomb. He understood himself as a pacifist, but he had to join the creation of the Atomic bomb because Germany was going to work on the Atomic bomb creation. He thought that the competition in creating the arms could lead to war and destruction. Only the radical abolishment of the war and the danger of war can stop this destruction.
Analysis of the source
From the source, it can be said that Einstein is conscious about Germany making the Atomic bomb. The “competition in creating the arms” that he said would cause war or destruction, was the competition in creating the Atomic bomb. From this interpretation, it can be said that ending the competition of creating the Atomic bomb will also end the war. Einstein took it for granted that the US would create the Atomic bomb and end the competition in making it.
United States History 
