Comparing December 7, 1941 and September 11, 2001
by Rit NosotroComparative Essay
Compare the causes and results of the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor and the attack of September 11, 2001
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Thesis: Both the Pearl Harbor and 9-11 attacks have many similarities; including their impact they had on the Americans.
Summary: The United States of America has suffered from several attacks in her history; with Pearl Harbor and 9-11 being the most infamous. Although enemies have tried to tear her apart, these attacks have done the exact opposite. Even though hundreds and thousands of people have died, because of these events, they have made the Americans more unified. Patriotism and loyalty grew immensely, despite the horrors of the aftermaths of the attacks.
The Pearl Harbor and the 9-11 attacks on the country of America left a lasting effect on those who are "We the people". The patriotic swell and comfort given to fellow citizens arose from committing people, and not from national sovereignty, because it is people that comprise a government. Although the enemies of the United States of America tried to tear the country apart, the patriotism that was born showed the world that they have done the exact opposite.
While UK declared war on Germany, America had some inkling that Japan was going to attack. But the government did not know when or where. Yet, not even then Japanese ambassadors that met with US Secretary of State knew what would happen to their rivals. They had even met 30 minutes after the attack on Pearl Harbor. At 7:00am a switchboard operator noticed a large formation of aircraft approaching the island of Oahu. Thinking it was planes that they were expecting from California, they had dismissed the idea. At 7:55 it was too late to warn the Americans who slept. There was no warning; the Japanese planes bombed airfields with air planes lining tip to tip. The second batch was dispatched to the navel field where most of America’s carriers and destroyers had been anchored. The USS Arizona sunk while many other ships capsized. Japan only lost 29 of their 350 planes. Sadly, America’s lost was the greatest between the two countries.
Not many people will forget the day 9-11 happened. Almost everybody, who had witnessed the attack, can remember where they were or what they were doing that day when they heard the terrible news. At 8:45 in the morning, a hijacked jet crashed into the south tower of the World Trade Center. People all over thought it was an accident until the observers saw a second plane crash in to the north tower of the World Trade Center. It is horrifying to watch those clips over and over on the television and on the Internet. By 10:30 that day, both towers had crashed onto the streets below.
About half an hour later, another hijacked plane crashed into the Pentagon. Then, ten minutes later, another plane crashed in Pennsylvania, because the passengers on that plane had tried to stop the hijackers, and had made the plane crash. Because of the bravery of these people, many lives were spared.
When you think about the similarities of these two dates you actually see a lot. They were both surprise attacks. Only some people knew in advance that something like this would happen, but they didn’t know when or where. Both attacks were devastating. On the attack on Pearl Harbor, 2,500 people died. On 9/11, 3,000 people died. It was also devastating on things. At Pearl Harbor, Japanese fighters sunk, capsized or destroyed more than 21 ships, and destroyed more then 200 airplanes. On 9/11, not only the World Trade Towers collapsed but many other buildings in the area were damaged. They also became great patriotic memorabilia . Slogans like “Remember Pearl Harbor” and “God Bless America” showed up on people’s cars and pins.
The differences of these two are very crucial. The attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese was an act of war. On the other hand the September 11th attacks were terrorist attacks. They were a group of people that didn’t like America because of what America stands for, so they decided to become martyrs and kill Americans. They also did it more out of anger than the Japanese.
Commentary:
American people will never forget the shocking aftermath of the events that occurred in New York and in Pearl Harbor. Those, who were there that day, will never forget the horrors they observed. There are still those who need to be comforted. If the hurt rely on the Lord and praise Him, those who are troubled will find comfort in God.
Quick Quiz
1. Which ship of the United States navel ships sunk?
a. USS Nevada
b. USS WARD
c. USS Arizona
d. USS Bush
2. Which of these were NOT cases of similarity?
a. Surprise attacks
b. Lazy people
c. Devastating
d. Memorabilia
3. By what time has both World Trade Towers crash into the streets below?
a. 7:55
b. 9:45
c. 10:30
d. 12:00
4. Which slogans showed up around everybody?
a. “Calvin and Hobbies rule the world”
b. “Apple sauce is yummy”
c. “Go America”
d. “Remember Pearl Harbor” and “God Bless America”
Answers: C/B/C/D
Bibliography
“Pearl Harbor Attack, 7th of December 1941” 8/25/2003 http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq66-1.htm
1/10/2003
“September 11th 2001, Timeline of events.” 2002 < http://www.september-11th.us/Timeline-Of-Events.html> 1/9/2003
“Remembering Pearl Harbor” 2001 National Geographic Society < http://plasma.nationalgeographic.com/pearlharbor/>
“Pearl Harbor Remembered” Timeline of events. 11/23/2003 < http://my.execpc.com/~dschaaf/mainmenu.html>
Additional information about <http://hyperhistory.net/apwh/essays/comp/cw30pearlhabor9-11.htm>
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