This Month's Featured Story

This month marks the anniversary of the Japanese attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.  While the attack lasted just two hours, 188 U.S. aircraft were destroyed, 2,402 Americans were killed, and 1,282 were wounded.  The day after the attack, President Franklin Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan in his famous Infamy Speech.  The measure passed - with one dissenting vote - in less than an hour, formally entering the United States into World War II.

Learn More

• After the Day of Infamy (American Memory)
• Attack at Pearl Harbor, 1941 (Eyewitness to History)
• Learn about Pearl Harbor (Pearson)
• Pearl Harbor (History Channel)
• Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation (American Rhetoric)
• Remembering Pearl Harbor (National Geographic)
• The Attack on Pearl Harbor (Time)
• The Last Survivor of Pearl Harbor's USS Phoenix (Smithsonian)
• We Witnessed the Attack on Pearl Harbor (Scholastic)

Related Resources

On December 8, 1941 - the day following the attack on Pearl Harbor - President Franklin Roosevelt delivered what has become know as his Infamy Speech to the American public as well as a joint session of Congress.  He had composed the speech in his head the night before, then edited the typed draft - mostly updating military information and editing for clarity, tone, and content.

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A More Perfect Discussion

Why did many Americans oppose U.S. intervention in World War II?  

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