Attack on Pearl Harbor

A surprise Japanese military strike on the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941. It prompted the United States to enter World War II.

Imperial Japanese Navy: The naval branch of Japan’s armed forces from 1869 to 1945. It planned and carried out the carrier-based strike.
Second Sino-Japanese War: A war between Japan and China that began in 1937 and merged into World War II. Japan’s war in China deepened its conflict with the United States.
United States declaration of war on Japan: The U.S. Congress’s declaration of war against Japan on December 8, 1941. It followed the attack by one day and brought the United States into the war.
Attack on Pearl Harbor advance-knowledge conspiracy theories: Claims that U.S. leaders knew of the attack in advance and allowed it to occur. They contrast with the documented failures of intelligence and warning.
First Air Fleet: The Imperial Japanese Navy’s carrier task force that assembled for the Pearl Harbor operation. Its six aircraft carriers launched the attack force.
Japanese invasion of French Indochina: Japan’s occupation of parts of French Indochina in 1940 and 1941. The move prompted U.S. economic sanctions and intensified the crisis.
Day of Infamy speech: Franklin D. Roosevelt’s December 8, 1941 address to Congress about the attack. Its phrase “a date which will live in infamy” framed the national response.
Pearl Harbor advance-knowledge debate: Historical debate over what U.S. officials knew before the attack and when they knew it. It separates evidence-based disputes from claims of deliberate foreknowledge.
Pearl Harbor: A U.S. naval harbor and base on the southern coast of Oahu, Hawaii. The harbor’s ships, airfields, and defenses were the strike’s targets.
Hull note: A U.S. diplomatic proposal delivered to Japan on November 26, 1941. Its demands formed the final diplomatic context for Japan’s decision to attack.

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