(December 7, 1941, Associated Press) Honolulu, Hawaii: Airplanes dropped bombs and torpedoes on the naval base at Pearl Harbor this morning, causing damage to shipping. An official statement by the U.S. naval command alleged that the airplanes were carried to within attack range by ships that had come from the direction of the western Pacific Ocean. The motive for the alleged attack is unknown.
Immediately after reports arrived from Honolulu, President Roosevelt asserted, without evidence, that the attack had been perpetrated by the Empire of Japan, which he has frequently blamed for widespread unrest in China. The Roosevelt Administration’s hostility toward Japan is linked by many to racism.
Rep. Jeanette Rankin of Montana, a frequent critic of the President, issued a statement decrying his “steps toward war”, which she called “a wrong method of trying to settle a dispute”. Senator Gerald Nye of Oklahoma called for an investigation of the “true causes” of the “so-called attack”, saying that it could have been staged by industrialists hoping to profit from American involvement in foreign wars.
Sources in the State Department who asked not to be named disclosed that many diplomats are of the opinion that the only way to avoid a disastrous conflict is to bring Japan and the Chinese government to the negotiating table. “The United States must serve as an honest broker,” said one official. “We can’t do that if we overreact to far away events in the Pacific Ocean that pose no immediate danger to American security. Even if Japanese airplanes were involved, it is likely that they were rogue elements attempting to provoke a military clash.”
Experts on Japan noted that the country’s Shinto religion has been heavily influenced by Buddhism, which rejects militarism. They also pointed out that the history of American interference in the Far East has aroused resentment among the Japanese. In 1853, Commodore Matthew Perry illegally entered Japanese territorial waters with a squadron of warships to deliver an ultimatum to the Emperor. He returned the following year with a larger force and compelled the Japanese government to accept the Treaty of Kanagawa, which has become a symbol of Western imperialism.
A further affront to Japanese sensibilities took place in 1905, when the United States, ostensibly serving as a neutral mediator, pressured Japan into accepting the Treaty of Portsmouth, which deprived it of many of the gains that it had made during its war with Russia and denied it reparations for the cost of defending itself against Russian aggression.
Since 1931, when Japan supported a secessionist movement in Manchukuo, relations between it and the U.S. have become further strained. The Roosevelt Administration has refused to recognize Manchukuo and has denounced Japan’s defense of its ally.
Congress is expected to open debate tomorrow on what response to make to the Pearl Harbor incident. Opinion appears to be divided sharply between hawks who want to “punish” Japan and less bellicose figures who believe that it is vital to understand the Japanese point of view and avoid hasty actions. There is also concern about whether the American economy, still suffering the effects of the Hoover Administration, can afford a major military buildup.
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