Hvilken virkning havde bombningen af perlehavnen på nationens mobiliseringsindsats?
Consequences of the attack on Pearl Harbor
Angrebet på Pearl Harbor fik straks en splittet nation til at handle. Den offentlige mening havde i løbet af 1941 bevæget sig i retning af støtte til at gå ind i krigen, men der var stadig betydelig modstand indtil angrebet. Fra den ene dag til den anden forenede amerikanerne sig mod det japanske imperium og reagerede på opfordringerne til at "Husk Pearl Harbor". En meningsmåling, der blev foretaget mellem den 12.-17. december 1941, viste, at 97 % af de adspurgte støttede en krigserklæring mod Japan. Yderligere meningsmålinger viste en dramatisk stigning i støtten til, at alle raske mænd skulle tjene i militæret, op til 70 % i december 1941. Den amerikanske solidaritet i krigsindsatsen muliggjorde sandsynligvis den betingelsesløse overgivelse, som de allierede magter senere indtog. Nogle historikere, heriblandt Samuel Eliot Morison, mener, at angrebet dømte det kejserlige Japan til nederlag, simpelthen fordi det vækkede den "sovende kæmpe", uanset om brændstofdepoterne eller maskinværkstederne var blevet ødelagt, eller om hangarskibene var blevet fanget i havn og sænket. Da USA's industrielle og militære kapacitet først var mobiliseret, kunne USA's overvældende ressourcer strømme ind i både Stillehavs- og Atlanterhavskvartererne. Andre, såsom Clay Blair Jr. og Mark Parillo mener, at den japanske handelsbeskyttelse var så inkompetent, at amerikanske ubåde alene kunne have kvalt Japan til nederlag.
Consequences of the attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor immediately galvanized a divided nation into action. Public opinion had been moving towards support for entering the war during 1941, but considerable opposition remained until the attack. Overnight, Americans united against the Empire of Japan in response to calls to "Remember Pearl Harbor." A poll taken between December 12–17, 1941, showed that 97% of respondents supported a declaration of war against Japan. Further polling showed a dramatic increase in support for every able-bodied man serving in the military, up to 70% in December 1941. American solidarity in the war effort probably made possible the unconditional surrender position later taken by the Allied Powers. Some historians, among them Samuel Eliot Morison, believe the attack doomed Imperial Japan to defeat simply because it awakened the "sleeping giant", regardless of whether the fuel depots or machine shops had been destroyed or even if the carriers had been caught in port and sunk. U.S. industrial and military capacity, once mobilized, was able to pour overwhelming resources into both the Pacific and Atlantic theaters. Others, such as Clay Blair, Jr., and Mark Parillo believe Japanese trade protection was so incompetent that American submarines alone might have strangled Japan into defeat.
Consequences of the attack on Pearl Harbor