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‘A Date Which Will Live In Infamy’

1941

In an early morning air raid, Japanese planes attack the U.S. military base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, killing more than 2,000 Americans. The next day, President Franklin D. Roosevelt will deliver a speech to Congress seeking a declaration of war. The speech begins: “Yesterday, December 7, 1941 – a date which will live in infamy – the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.” Soon after, the federal government will initiate curfews for Japanese, German and Italian Americans. Hundreds of Japanese nationals living in the United States also will be arrested and moved into internment camps.