Research Paper on Pearl Harbor

Research Paper on Pearl Harbor The road to war between the United States of America and Japan began on the surprise aerial attack on the United States Navy base in Pearl Harbor on December 7th 1941. This was the first step that brought the might United States into the Second World War Relations between the two countries started to detireate in the early 1930’s when Japan started to become aggressive in Asia, mainly in Manchuria in 1931 and tried to start conquering the rest of China into 1937. Japan in 1940 decided to allied it self with the â€Å"Axis† with countries like Germany. Japan, a vastly resource free country needed supplies such as oil from countries like the United States. With their aggression in Asia the United States decided to put an embargo on Japan and halt valuable resources such as oil which the Japanese empire need greatly to expand their mighty war machine . Japan had only enough oil reserves to fight a war for about six more months, something that they couldn’t stand to bear with and the only solution to counter this problem was to move further down south into the vast and oil rich areas of South East Asia. With their aggression already in China, Japan wasn’t a very favored country in the United States, already banning immigrations from Japan and angering them even further they drew out plans to counter this problem and the only solution left was to destroy the United States Pacific fleet that had recently been shifted to Pearl Harbor in Hawaii by the United States President Roosevelt. The United States of Americas Navy Pacific fleet was established way back in the late 1800’s but established their Head quarters on February 1st 1941 only 10 months before the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese. Pearl Harbor was seen as â€Å"impregnable† by the United States. Having this massive United States Navy a stone throw away from Japan was of a large concern. If Japan was to take further aggressive action down south, the United States would be sure to come to the defense of their allies and stop the Japanese. The only option left was to eliminate the United States Pacific Fleet so they would have superiority over the entire Pacific waters and further their interest down south with little resistance if at all from the United States. For months the Japanese Navy has been practicing simulations on the attack of Pearl Harbor, if the diplomatic talks in Washington DC had failed they were prepared to go to war at all costs . On the 26th of November, the Japanese set sail of a Navy task force of six heavy aircraft carriers, the Shokaku, Zuikaku, Kaga, Akagi, Hiryu and Soryu and accompanying these aircraft carriers were two battle ships sailing to Pearl Harbor spearheaded this task force was Admiral Chuchi Nagumo . The plan to attack Pearl Harbor was devised by Admiral Yamamoto, he wanted the United States Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor to be neutralized so he could purse Japans goals in achieving domination. The task force set sail and was to avoid detection by the United States Navy at all costs. If detected they were to set sail back home to Japan immediately. Admiral Chuchi Nagumo later learned that the United States Navy most prized possessions, their aircraft carriers were not in port but some carriers were doing training excises while other carriers were stationed else where and others delivering planes to remote Pacific islands . This was certainly a major downfall in the usefulness of the attack in the Pacific fleet but the attack was to go ahead, December 8th Japanese time which is December 7th the local date in Hawaii. Chatter was created on the radios in Japan to make the United States think that the aircraft carriers were at bay but this didn’t work. The conditions were in favor of Japan, apart from the aircraft carriers belong to the United States navy not in port, the weather with the heavy fogged helped provide good coverage over the carriers from overheard reconossinace planes that were out looking for the missing Japanese carriers. All Japanese ships were to remain on radio blackout. Visibility over Pearl Harbor was clear, and this information was given over the local radio station in Oahu. In the early morning at 0600 hours the first launch of 183 aircraft, bombers laden with torpedoes and bombs, flanked by fighter aircraft escorting them they made their 1.5 hours journey to Pearl Harbor. The attack on Pearl Harbor came at a great cost to the US but then again this is very debatable. During the two waves of strikes by the Japanese, only lost a total of twenty nine aircraft . This is a very small price to pay for the huge losses the United States Navy occurred, on that day, December 7th, 2403 people were recorded as dead, a further 1178 were injured, four battle ships were sunk, the Oklahoma, West Virginia, California and the Nevada. The Tennessee, Pennsylvania and Maryland were damaged but the Maryland was put back into service in February 1942. Aircraft lost by the United States were massive as well, with aircraft parked tightly to avoid any sabotage; this made it easier for Japanese bombers. Out of the 394 planes based, 165 were damaged and only some still able to fly. This attack on Pearl Harbor seemed like a success on the day for the Japanese and my view is that it seemed like this from both sides. The United States suffers a huge loss compared to the minimal loss suffered on the Japanese side. Japan now has put a major dent into the United States Pacific fleet and is able to further their goals down south but my personal view is that the attack created more problems for Japan the solving. No aircraft carrier was in dock at all, the power of the Pacific fleet is with the might aircraft carriers. It did not sink, damaged or even find any of the aircraft carriers. All of the battle ships that were sunk in Pearl Harbor were raised except the Arizona were repaired and put back into service thus making the United States Navy rely more on their carriers. The air raid on Pearl Harbor didn’t even attempt to destroy any of the logistics, logistics such as the vast supply of oil that was in dock, without this oil the United States Navy would not have been able to repair and return to service the battle ships that were damaged at such a quick rate. From the Japanese point of view, it can only be seen as a success that they were able to sink many battle ships, destroy many aircraft and end the lives of many soldiers at such a small physical price. It is hard to determine whether this attack on this day was one of the biggest mistakes ever made by the Japanese empire, had they sent a third wave to destroy more of the logistics or if the aircraft carriers had been in port it may have changed the outcome of the war. You can order custom written essays, term papers or research papers on Pearl Harbor at our professional custom writing service. Here is the list of the most popular essay topics on Pearl Harbor: The Attack on Pearl Harbor The Bombing Of Pearl Harbor Did President Roosevelt Deliberately Withhold Information About the Attack on Pearl Harbor From the American Commanders? Critique of Pearl Harbor and the Coming of the Pacific War Causes of the Pearl Harbor Americans approval of Japanese internment following the events of Pearl Harbor The conspiracy of Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor and Retaliation Ambiguity: Duplicity at Pearl Harbor?

Explore the World With Virtual Field Trips

Explore the World With Virtual Field Trips Today there are more ways than ever to see the world from the comfort of your classroom. Options vary from live-streaming explorations, to websites that allow you to explore a location via videos and 360 ° photos, to full-on virtual reality experiences. Virtual Field Trips Your classroom may be hundreds of miles away from the White House or the International Space Station, but thanks to these high quality virtual tours that make good use of  voiceovers, text, videos, and related activities, students can get a real sense of what its like to visit.   The White House:  A virtual visit to the White House features a tour of the Eisenhower Executive Office as well as a look at the art of the ground floor and the state floor. Visitors can also explore the White House grounds, view the presidential portraits that hang in the White House, and investigate the dinnerware that has been used during various presidential administrations. The International Space Station:  Thanks to NASA’s video tours, viewers can get a guided tour of the International Space Station with Commander Suni Williams. In addition to learning about the space station itself, visitors will learn how astronauts exercise to prevent the loss of bone density and muscle mass, how they get rid of their trash, and how they wash their hair and brush their teeth in zero gravity. The Statue of Liberty:  If you can’t visit the Statue of Liberty in person, this virtual tour is the next best thing. With 360 ° panoramic photos, along with videos and text, you control the field trip experience. Before beginning, read through the icon descriptions so that you can take full advantage of all the extras that are available. Virtual Reality Field Trips With new and increasingly affordable technology, its easy to find online field trips that offer a complete  virtual reality  experience. Explorers can purchase cardboard virtual reality goggles for less than $10 each, giving users an experience almost as good as actually visiting the location. Theres no need to manipulate a mouse or click a page to navigate. Even an inexpensive pair of goggles provides a life-like experience allowing visitors to look around the venue just as if they were visiting in person. Google Expeditions offers one of the best virtual reality field trip experiences. Users download an app available for Android or iOS. You can explore on your own or as a group. If you choose the group option, someone (usually a parent or teacher), acts as the guide and leads the expedition on a tablet. The guide selects the adventure and walks explorers through, directing them to points of interest. You can visit historical landmarks and museums, swim in the ocean, or head to Mount Everest.   Discovery Education:  Another high-quality VR field trip option is Discovery Education. For years, the Discovery Channel has provided viewers with educational programming. Now, they offer a phenomenal virtual reality experience for classrooms and parents. As with Google Expeditions, students can enjoy Discovery’s virtual field trips on desktop or mobile without goggles. The 360 ° videos are breathtaking. To add the full VR experience, students will need to download the app and use a VR viewer and their mobile device. Discovery offers live virtual field trip options- viewers just need to register and join the trip at the scheduled time- or explorers can choose from any of the archived trips. There are adventures such as  a Kilimanjaro Expedition, a journey to the Museum of Science in Boston, or a visit to Pearl Valley Farm to learn how eggs get from the farm to your table. Live Virtual Field Trips Another option for exploring via virtual field trips is to join a live-streaming event.  All you need is an internet connection and a device such as a desktop or tablet. The advantage of the live events is the opportunity to participate in real time by asking questions or participating in polls, but if  you miss an event, you can watch a recording of it at your convenience. Field Trip Zoom  is a site that offers such events for  classrooms and home schools. There is an annual fee for using the service, but it allows a single classroom or homeschooling family to participate in as many field trips as they’d like during the year. The field trips aren’t virtual tours but educational programs designed for specific grade levels and curriculum standards. Options include  visits to Ford’s Theater, the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, learning about DNA at the National Law Enforcement Museum, trips to the Space Center in Houston, or the Alaska Sealife Center. Users can watch pre-recorded events or register for upcoming events and watch live. During live events, students can ask questions by typing in a question and answer tab. Sometimes the field trip partner will set up a poll that allows students to answer in real time. National Geographic Explorer Classroom:  Finally, don’t miss National Geographic’s Explorer Classroom. All you need to join in on these live-streaming field trips is access to YouTube. The first six classrooms to register get to interact live with the field trip guide, but everyone can ask questions using Twitter and #ExplorerClassroom. Viewers can  register and join in live at the scheduled time, or watch archived events on the Explorer Classroom YouTube channel. The experts leading National Geographic’s virtual field trips include deep sea explorers, archaeologists, conservationists, marine biologists, space architects, and many  more.