When was Pearl Harbor bombed?

Pearl Harbor was bombed on Dec. 7, 1941. The U.S. Pacific Fleet suffered grievous damage; 21 ships were sunk or harmed, 347 aircraft were impaired or destroyed and 2,403 Americans died. The United States promptly declared war on the Empire of Japan, entering World War II.

The United States and Japan drifted toward war throughout the 1930s. Japan's wars of conquest throughout East Asia moved the U.S. to impose trade embargoes. The Japanese especially resented the American oil embargo, seeing it as a threat to their national survival. They hoped to destroy the entire U.S. Pacific Fleet in one stroke, but the absence of American aircraft carriers foiled their plan.