Hawaii Before The Attack

Relations between the United States and Japan, strained in the 1930s over Japan's foreign policy in China and the resulting failure of Roosevelt to invoke the neutrality act, only worsened in 1940 and 1941. In July 1940, the American government placed an embargo on all scrap iron, steel, high-octane gasoline, and aviation lubrication oil going to Japan. On September 27, 1940, Japan signed the Tripartite Pact with Germany and Italy, making them allies. On January 7, 1941, U.S. Ambassador to Japan Joseph C. Grew in Tokyo warned his superiors, "There is a lot of talk around town to the effect that the Japanese, in case of a break with the U.S., are planning to go all out in a surprise mass attack at Pearl Harbor. I rather guess that the boys in Hawaii are not precisely asleep." Though it's clear now that America was on a path toward war with Japan throughout the 1940s, no one really expected any attack east of the Philippines. Hawaii, not yet a state, was to Americans a dreamy paradise in 1941.

Hawaiian Sunset, soft shadows falling, The hush of twilight, and lovely you. Hawaiian Sunset, I hear it calling, and in the sunset I'll come to you.

Sammy Kaye. March 1941

On December 7, 1941, 350 Japanese planes launched in two waves from six aircraft carriers attacked the American navy and army facilities on Oahu, killing 2,400 Americans and forcing America into a war.

Reaction to the AttackSong titles and lyrics about the attack on Pearl Harbor and America's entry into the War were often vicious and full of themes of violence. Intense competition among sheet music and record producers in Manhattan's Tin Pan Alley meant that songs were written and rushed into production days or even hours after the attack. These songs thus captured the raw anger, humiliation, and feelings of betrayal that most Americans felt about Pearl Harbor. The attack also made it socially acceptable to express these emotions in ways that took on not just connotations of nationalism and patriotism, but also of race.

It's fairly well known now that most Americans did not know what "Pearl Harbor" was before December 7, 1941. After December 7, everyone knew, and the place was quickly immortalized in the battle cry, "Remember Pearl Harbor!" Within days songs appeared invoking the name. An advertisement in the December 17 issue of the show business journal Variety proclaimed, "America Will Never Forget...WE'LL ALWAYS REMEMBER PEARL HARBOR...

Most Pearl Harbor-inspired songs are dark, violent, and often overtly racist. America had been taken by surprise at Pearl Harbor. Worse, the Japanese had not conducted themselves in accordance with Western notions of "fair play". Negotiations in Washington were ongoing. Admiral Kichisaburo Nomura, the Japanese Ambassador to the United States, and special envoy Saburo Kurusu had arrived at Secretary of State Cordell Hull's office an hour after the attack began with a letter officially breaking off negotiations. The late delivery of the letter to Secretary Hull, the "sneak attack," and the delay of a formal declaration of war until the evening of December 7 made the Americans feel they had been stabbed in the back.

Notes and Connections

1. What does the author mean by

2. How did Japan view the embargo

and/or phrases does Joseph Grew use to warn the

precisely asleep?

significant about

4. How did most

perceive Hawaii

how Americans viewed Hawaii? What is the tone

6. What emotions do you think most

after the attack?

words in phrases provide evidence

7. What does the author mean by “the attack also made it socially

and/or phrases represent a shift in the American

and/or phrases in

surprise at Pearl

10. How does the usage of the term dupe show how many Americans perceived Japan?

One of the most referenced terms to describe Japanese was the term "yellow." While this is undoubtedly a reference to the "cowardly" act of a sneak attack, it also seems clear that use of the word is part of the common race caricature of Japanese seen throughout the war. Perhaps the most frequently used rhyme in the anti-Japanese songs of WWII is that of rhyming "Jap" with "sap." The word sap has somewhat fallen out of use today, but it refers to someone who is a dupe, who is gullible and can easily be convinced to do the bidding of others.

Doc 1 Doc 2

Doc 3

1. From analyzing document one, what does it tell you about Carson Robinson? Explain by using evidence?

2. What questions do you have about document one?3. Does document two help you in anyway in making sense of document one? Explain by using evidence.4. What do you notice about document three? How does the document further help in backing up your

analysis from document three?

Remember Pearl HarborPerformed by Carson Robison A-SideRecorded December 1941

Written by Frank LutherRemember Pearl Harbor!

Remember Pearl Harbor, when you sight down the barrel of your gunRemember Pearl Harbor, never stop, 'til you drop every oneGive'em bomb for bomb, give'em shell for shellKill a hundred rats for every boy that fellRemember Pearl Harbor, wipe the Jap from the map, give'em hell

Dawn on a Sunday morningDawn on the wide blue seaA warrior isle of sunshineLay so peacefullyThen from the sky without warningThe vultures swarmed to attackHiding behind their "peace talk"They stabbed our boys in the back

Remember how we used to call them our "little brown brothers?"What a laugh that turned out to beWell, we can all thank God that we're not relatedTo that yellow scum of the seaThey talked of peace, and of friendshipWe found out just what all that talk was worthAll right, they've asked for it, and now they're going to get itWe'll blow every one of them right off of the face of the Earth

1. Who do you think the artist is talking to? Provide evidence.2. What is the tone of the song? Provide evidence.3. What phrase does the artist repeat? What is the purpose of this?4. What is Robinson referring to when he states “Dawn on a Sunday morning Dawn on the wide blue sea

A warrior isle of sunshine Lay so peacefully” 5. What words does Robinson use to describe how he perceives Japan? Why does he use these words?6. How does this song answer the question of How was it possible for Japanese Americans to be stripped

of their “ life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness during World War Two?