On a different Sunday morning 59 years ago, December 7th became the day that would live in infamy. Prior to 9/11, it was the largest loss of life on American soil from an enemy attack: 2,403 killed and 1,282 wounded. The United States was engaged in treaty negotiations with the Japanese government at the time of the attack, and a state of war was never declared until President Roosevelt addressed the nation the following day in his famous speech to a joint session of Congress.
The objective of the surprise attack was supposed to destroy American morale by sinking the pride of the navy’s ships. It would also prevent the Pacific fleet from becoming a threat to Japan’s pursuit to conquer Southeast Asia. It began as a beautiful Sunday morning, but it would soon find thousands dead and seven major battleships sunk or crippled. Navy divers worked inside the damaged ships, and five battleships and two cruisers were repaired enough to be sent to shipyards on the mainland for extensive repair. Parts of others were salvaged for the war effort and The USS Arizona Memorial, “ground zero” , was eventually turned into a memorial.
Tensions of war existed prior to the attack, and this was one reason why the fleet had been moved from San Diego to Pearl Harbor.Because of Japan and the war in Europe, many industries were being lobbied by government officials to begin converting over to military production. The United Auto Workers advocated for automakers to convert to aircraft production as early as 1940, but companies fearful of losing market share to competitors ignored the call to convert production; the auto industry was not able to offer any assistance to the war effort till 1943.
In a surprising similarity to the economy today, the federal government began to closely monitor the operation of private companies and whole industries. Unlike European countries which created war councils comprised of military and civilian officials who oversaw the economic scales involved in war production, the United States managed by creating different entities that negotiated between the needs of the military and the national economy. Well before the war ended, plans were being introduced in how to convert the country back to a peace time economy. The collaboration between the federal government, private business, and union labor allowed America to continue its economic growth after the war.
It was on December 8th that president Roosevelt delivered his famous speech. Many afternoon radio programs were interrupted to report on his address. The original draft was changed by Roosevelt, and one significant change added the timeless nature of his speech. “Yesterday, December 7, 1941 — a date which will live in world history” was changed to “…a date which will live in infamy”. And so it does.
This article was originally published December 6, 2008.