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” the “Tripartite Treaty” with Germany and Italy with Germany and Italy to become part of the to become part of the Axis Powers 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 Indo- China (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 7 th, (click to play)

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is a US naval base on the Hawaiian Island of Oahu (in the Pacific Ocean)

December 8 th, 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.