Pearl Harbor

December 7, 1941. This day is notorious for the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese Imperial Army. The day was “an ordinary Sunday afternoon, with filmy clouds [sweeping] across the sky...” [1].  Students of Gustavus were shocked that the “inevitable... the thing that could happen only in a history class” had happened: an attack on the United States by a foreign power. Yet life went on for the students of Gustavus. The Gustavian Weekly mentions basketball games and other athletic or competitive events. Even though the nation was at war, daily life resumed as normal. For the next few weeks, Pearl Harbor was a hot topic in the Gustavian Weekly, but gradually the emphasis changed. In the April fourteenth edition of the Gustavian Weekly in 1942, the entire page four is dedicated to informing the campus of the New V-12 Program that the Navy had enacted [2]. On May twelfth, an article was featured which speculated on whose fault Pearl Harbor was [3]. Articles of this nature are inevitable soon after major disasters or events as both the public and politicians wonder if they are to blame for the disaster. Pearl Harbor had a profound effect on the population of Gustavus. Interestingly, articles written about World War II before Pearl Harbor referenced Japanese, while articles after referenced Japanese and “Japs” about the same amount [4]. This shows how the opinion of Japanese people changed after Pearl Harbor. Referring to the Japanese people as Japs is a racial slur, so it makes sense that this word be used after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. A year after Pearl Harbor, the articles focused on remembering the tragedy and introduced a new fear; a draft. The author asks rhetorically how the draft would influence college campuses [5].

After September 11th, 2001, Pearl Harbor is perhaps the greatest attack on the United States. Pearl Harbor was mentioned in the Weekly about once every two weeks for most of the next few years. This event effected the Gustavus community in profound ways ranging from development of racial slurs to indignation that the United States could be attacked by a foreign power. The effect on the Gustavus community was long lasting; articles about the attack on Pearl Harbor continued well into the nineties. World War II was earth shattering; Pearl Harbor was the spark that ignited the explosion.

The Gustavian Weekly: December 9, 1941 - Page 2

The Gustavian Weekly: April 14, 1942 - Page 4

The Gustavian Weekly: May 12, 1942 - Page 2

The Gustavian Weekly: Search (first Japanese, then Jap, sorted by date in ascending order)

The Gustavian Weekly: December 9, 1942 - Page 2