Pearl Harbor
Question: On what date did Japan attack Pearl Harbor?
Answer: December 7, 1941.
Question: What did Congress do on December 8, 1941?
Answer: Congress declared war on Japan.
Question: What was the Pacific Theater?
Answer: The region where WWII was fought across the Pacific Ocean, East Asia, and numerous islands.
Question: What was Midway Atoll?
Answer: A small American-controlled atoll northwest of Hawaii.
Question: In what month and year did the Battle of Midway begin?
Answer: June 1942.
Question: What major American military base did Japan attack?
Answer: The U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
Question: Which two countries declared war on the United States on December 11, 1941?
Answer: Germany and Italy.
Question: Which two types of military power were especially important in the Pacific?
Answer: Ships and aircraft.
Question: What is an aircraft carrier?
Answer: A warship that serves as a floating base for military aircraft.
Question: How many Japanese aircraft carriers were sunk during the Battle of Midway?
Answer: Four.
Question: What part of the American military was Japan mainly trying to damage?
Answer: The U.S. Pacific Fleet, especially its battleships and aircraft.
Question: After Pearl Harbor, the United States fought in which two major theaters?
Answer: The Pacific Theater and the European Theater.
Question: Give one reason Japan expanded across Asia and the Pacific.
Answer: Japan wanted land, raw materials, military bases, or a larger defensive empire.
Question: What location did the Japanese code name “AF” represent?
Answer: Midway.
Question: Which American aircraft carrier was lost at Midway?
Answer: The USS Yorktown.
Question: Approximately how many Americans were killed during the attack?
Answer: 2,403 Americans.
Question: How did Pearl Harbor change American public opinion about entering WWII?
Answer: It united much of the public in support of entering the war.
Question: Why could a very small island have great strategic value in the Pacific?
Answer: It could provide a base for aircraft, patrols, supplies, and control over nearby ocean routes.
Question: How did American codebreakers help Admiral Chester Nimitz prepare for the Japanese attack?
Answer: They determined that Japan planned to attack Midway, allowing Nimitz to position American aircraft carriers nearby.
Question: How was Midway different from a traditional battleship battle?
Answer: Carrier-based aircraft attacked from long distances. The opposing surface fleets did not line up and exchange gunfire directly.
Question: Why was Pearl Harbor historically significant and not simply destructive?
Answer: It united much of the American public behind entering World War II and transformed the United States from a neutral nation into a wartime power.
Question: Explain the cause-and-effect relationship between Pearl Harbor and America’s role in WWII.
Answer: Japan’s attack caused the United States to declare war, ending American neutrality and making the United States an active wartime power.
Question: Why did the enormous distances of the Pacific affect how the war was fought?
Answer: Military forces depended on ships, aircraft, island bases, and long supply lines to travel and fight across the ocean.
Question: How did the false report about Midway’s water supply confirm Japan’s target?
Answer: Midway sent an uncoded message reporting a water shortage. The United States then intercepted a Japanese message stating that “AF” lacked water, confirming that “AF” meant Midway.
Question: Why do historians call Midway a turning point even though it did not end the Pacific War?
Answer: Japan lost four major aircraft carriers, experienced pilots, and offensive strength, while the United States gained momentum for future attacks.