The attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese Imperial Navy on December 7, 1941, signaled a turning point in World War II, effectively changing the direction of the war. It was meant to eliminate the U.S. military force in the Pacific region by the surprise military strike conducted by the Japanese Imperial Navy. It cost many lives, ships, and aircraft when 2400 Americans and ships full of hundreds of airplanes were lost to this act of destruction committed by the Japanese Imperial Navy.

The instant result was the galvanization of divided American public opinion on the issue of entering into the war. It made the nation to be one and resulted in a speedy declaration of orders against Japan on 8 December 1941. This made Germany and Italy, in their turn, declare war on America hence the involvement of the USA in global conflict alongside their allies.

The attack failed to achieve its long-term objectives strategically. Not all key American aircraft carriers were inside the harbor at that time consequently they were not destroyed enabling the U.S. Navy to bounce back and eventually take over in the Pacific Theatre. Pearl Harbor changed America from being just a spectator into a serious partaker who contributed greatly towards winning the Second World War through the final fall of the Axis powers.