When the news of the Pearl Harbor attack reached Japan, the Japanese people celebrated joyously. The Japan Times and Advertiser ran the headline "U.S. Pacific Fleet Is Wiped Out!" The paper went on to describe the triumphant attack and claimed that Japan had "reduced the U.S. to a thirdclass power overnight." War Minister Hideki Tojo went on the radio to announce the commencement of war with the United States. Afterward, a Japanese choir sang a patriotic song that expressed utter joy that, across the sea, enemy corpses floated in the water and littered the fields.

In stark contrast, in the United States there was only shock and outrage. One American newspaper reported, "The U.S. Navy was caught with its pants down." And within hours, demands for retaliation were issued from every corner of the country. Montana senator Burton...