The December 7, 1941 sneak attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese was one of the great defining moments in history. In less than two hours after the attack began 2,403 Americans were killed and 1,178 military and civilian were wounded. The U.S.S. Arizona was completely destroyed and the U.S.S. Oklahoma capsized. The attack sank three other ships and damaged many additional vessels. More than 160 aircraft were destroyed. The United States was in shock! December 8th, 1941 Franklin D. Roosevelt declared war against Japan.
At first the war in the Pacific did not go well for the Americans. The Japanese seized the Philippines, Guam, Wake, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malay, and Indonesia. "In the Philippines in 1942, Japanese soldiers forced Americans and Filipino prisoners weakened by insufficient rations to walk 65 miles, clubbing, shooting, or starving to death about ten thousand of them" (Norton, pg. 763). This only served to increase American's hatred toward the Japanese. .
Harry Truman became President following the unexpected death of Franklin D. Roosevelt on April 12, 1945. On May 8th, Germany surrendered to the Allied forces less than a month after Truman took office. Finally, the U.S. could focus its energies and power to quickly defeat the Japanese with minimal loss of American lives. The Japanese had refused to sign the Geneva Convention of 1929. The United States and the world were aware of the inhumane treatment inflicted upon Prisoners of War by the Japanese Military. There was a 39% death rate of Prisoners of War in Japan compared to 1% in Germany. .
The Manhattan Project had begun in 1942 with the design of a new weapon like none the world had ever seen. At the time of FDR's death the project was almost complete. However, as Vice President Truman, knew virtually nothing of the project or foreign policy, since he had not been part of the administration's inner circles. The night of FDR's death James Byrnes, the Foreign Policy Advisor, briefly told Truman about the Manhattan Project and the design of a bomb so powerful it had the potential of wiping out entire cities.
