The day began as any other would at Pearl Harbor. The sailors were awake at 7 o"clock, and by 7:30 were out eating breakfast, talking with each other, and preparing for the day that was about to come. However, what they did not know was that the next two hours would change their lives and the lives of every American. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was one of the worst catastrophes in United States history. Everyone knows the story about what happened during those two hours on December 7th, but not everyone knows why the Japanese decided to attack Pearl Harbor. There are many reasons why the Japanese took this action, and many of them were in response to actions of the United States. Some of Japan's reasons for war were right, but the others might have been too harsh if their plan was for resolution. However, to understand why the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor you have to trace history all the way back to the 1850's. .
The attack on Pearl Harbor in December of 1941 was the result of the long lasting rivalry between Japan and the United States. Over the previous decades, relations had worsened significantly as Japan set out on a course of aggressive expansion in Manchuria, China and Indo-China. As all this was going on Japan continued to grow as a nation, becoming stronger and stronger. .
By the outbreak of the First World War, Japan had an army of over 300,000 men, the fourth largest navy in the world, and a booming economy that could produce many of the armaments it needed. Japan was now the strongest power in the East Asia, and took full opportunity to strengthen its position while the European states were distracted elsewhere. .
However, there was one disadvantage, the rise of Japan over the past 60 years had created significant problems. To feed a growing population and acquire the cheap and plentiful raw materials that were not present at home but were essential for sustained success, expansion overseas was vital.