Pearl Harbor

"Yesterday, December 7th, 1941--a date which will live in infamy--the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan." 
-President Franklin Delano Roosevelt
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1941 Attack On Pearl Harbor
Source: history.navy.mil
On the sunrise of December 7th, 1941 the Japanese military attacked the Hawaiian military base Pearl harbor,  killing thousands of people and destroying hundred of vessels. This action by the Japanese propelled the United States into World War II.

Eyewitness Accounts 

"The bombing was becoming heavier all around us and we knew this was really it! ....There we were, the Japanese dropping bombs over us and we had no ammo. All the training and practicing for a year and when the real thing came we had no ammunition where we needed it!"
- George D. Phraner, USS Arizona
"At five minutes to eight, we heard two loud booms. The general quarters alarm sounded throughout the ship, the load speaker manned by the Boatswain Mate on duty blared out, "General Quarters! General Quarters! The Japs are here!"....We could hear the bombs exploding as they tore into the battleships.The Japanese intelligence was so good that they didn't bomb the empty hangers."
-Lawrence N. Bates, USS Tangier 
"With a quick glance to the right, I noticed the Arizona was a mass of flames and one of the AA guns was blasting away. Just about that time a plane was passing by very low and close. I saw the pilot looking over the Arizona, and as he pulled up, I noticed the red ball on the wing. Yes, I could have hit it with a stone if I had one to throw..... What happened, when the Arizona blew up, the Captain and some of the men were blown overboard, and the executive officer gave the order to abandon ship. The Captain came right back on board - water and oil soaked. He ordered everyone back to their stations to get underway."
-Paul P. Urdzik, USS Vestal

Why?

Official Response 

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the 32nd President of the US. Roosevelt served the country for twelve years during Word War II before passing away. 

Public Response

The American public's first response to the attack on Pearl Harbor was shock and disbelief in the magnitude of the attack. This shock, however, quickly turned to anger and racial towards hatred Japanese people in the US.