Japan Began Imperializing Us Declares War on Japan Easy Drawing

On December 8, as America's Pacific fleet lay in ruins at Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Roosevelt requests, and receives, a declaration of war against Japan.

Leaning heavily on the arm of his son James, a Marine captain, FDR walked haltingly into the House of Representatives at noon to request a declaration of war from the House and address the nation via radio. "Yesterday," the president proclaimed, "December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan. No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory."

READ MORE: Why Did Japan Attack Pearl Harbor?

Roosevelt's 10-minute speech, ending with an oath-"So help us God"—was greeted in the House by thunderous applause and stamping of feet. Within one hour, the president had his declaration of war, with only one dissenting vote, from a pacifist in the House. FDR signed the declaration at 4:10 p.m., wearing a black armband to symbolize mourning for those lost at Pearl Harbor.

On both coasts, civilian defense groups were mobilized. In New York, Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia ordered the rounding up of Japanese nationals, who were transported to Ellis Island and held in custody indefinitely. In California, antiaircraft batteries were set up on Long Beach and the Hollywood Hills. Reports on supposed spy activity on the part of Japanese Americans began pouring into Washington, even as Japanese Americans paid for space in newspapers to declare unreservedly their loyalty to the United States. The groundwork was being laid for the tragic internment of Japanese Americans, thought a necessary caution at the time but regretted years later as a hysterical and bigoted response.

On December 8, 1942, the architect and engineer Albert Kahn—known as "the man who built Detroit"—dies at his home there. He was 73 years old. Kahn and his assistants built more than 2,000 buildings in all, mostly for Ford and General Motors. According to his obituary in The New ...read more

At a summit meeting in Washington, D.C., President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev sign the first treaty between the two superpowers to reduce their massive nuclear arsenals. Previous agreements had merely been attempts by the two Cold War adversaries to limit ...read more

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is signed into law by President Bill Clinton. Clinton said he hoped the agreement would encourage other nations to work toward a broader world-trade pact. NAFTA, a trade pact between the United States, Canada and Mexico, eliminated ...read more

In Linlithgow Palace in Scotland, a daughter is born to James V, the dying king of Scotland. Named Mary, she was the only surviving child of her father and ascended to the Scottish throne when the king died just six days after her birth. Mary's French-born mother, Mary of Guise, ...read more

John Lennon, a former member of the Beatles, the rock group that transformed popular music in the 1960s, is shot and killed by an obsessed fan in New York City.  The 40-year-old artist was entering his luxury Manhattan apartment building when Mark David Chapman shot him four ...read more

At a news conference, President Richard Nixon says that the Vietnam War is coming to a "conclusion as a result of the plan that we have instituted." Nixon had announced at a conference in Midway in June that the United States would be following a new program he termed ...read more

On December 8, 1940, the Chicago Bears trounce the Washington Redskins (now known as the Washington Football Team) in the National Football League (NFL) Championship by a score of 73-0, the largest margin of defeat in NFL history. The Bears, coached by George Halas, brought a 6-2 ...read more

Jeannette Rankin, the first woman elected to Congress and a dedicated lifelong pacifist, casts the sole Congressional vote against the U.S. declaration of war on Japan. She was the only member of Congress to vote against U.S. involvement in both World Wars, having been among ...read more

On December 8, 1894, humorist James Thurber is born in Columbus, Ohio. When Thurber was about 7, he lost an eye in an accident while playing with his brothers. His disability made him shy and awkward, and he was something of a misfit until he discovered a love for writing while ...read more

Sophie's Choice, starring the actress Meryl Streep as a Holocaust survivor, opens in theaters. Directed by Alan J. Pakula (All The President's Men, The Pelican Brief) and based on a 1979 novel of the same name by William Styron, Sophie's Choice co-starred Kevin Kline and Peter ...read more

A fire at the Ring Theater in Vienna, Austria, kills at least 620 people and injures hundreds more on December 8, 1881. The luxurious, ornate theater hosted the most popular performances of the day. On December 8, it was featuring the second night of Jacques Offenbach's opera Les ...read more

As they steadily lose ground to the communist forces of Mao Zedong, Chinese Nationalist leaders depart for the island of Taiwan, where they establish their new capital. Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek left for the island the following day. This action marked the beginning of ...read more

On December 8, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln offers his conciliatory plan for reunification of the United States with his Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction. By this point in the Civil War, it was clear that Lincoln needed to make some preliminary plans for postwar ...read more

Beginning on December 8, 1775, Colonel Benedict Arnold and General Richard Montgomery lead an American force in the siege of Quebec. The Americans hoped to capture the British-occupied city and with it win support for the American cause in Canada. In June, Congress decided to ...read more

A month after German naval forces led by Admiral Maximilian von Spee inflicted the Royal Navy's first defeat in a century by sinking two British cruisers with all hands off the southern coast of Chile, Spee's squadron attempts to raid the Falkland Islands, located in the southern ...read more

rodartetrathem.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-united-states-declares-war-on-japan

Share this post