100
votes
Accepted
Why didn’t Japan attack the West Coast of the United States during World War II?
There were several well-known attacks.
Aleutian Islands Campaign
On June 6, two days after the bombing of Dutch Harbor, 500 Japanese
marines landed on Kiska, one of the Aleutian Islands of ...
- 1,845
46
votes
Why was Washington State an attractive site for aluminum production during World War II?
Aluminium refining requires huge amounts of electricity so plants are often sited close to things like hydroelectric dams or abundant supplies of coal or natural gas. Bauxite (aluminium ore) needs to ...
- 666
37
votes
What advantages did Catholic missionaries to the Indians have over Protestant missionaries in old Oregon Country?
Catholic missionaries possessed a number of distinct advantages over the Protestants. First, they were well-trained, ordained priests, not merely well-meaning laymen, as many Protestants were. Unlike ...
- 6,269
23
votes
What advantages did Catholic missionaries to the Indians have over Protestant missionaries in old Oregon Country?
George A. Strieby gives an excellent answer of which I would like to expand on it a little.
Most Jesuits missionaries shared in the daily life of the Indians, travelling with them as they moved from ...
- 1,900
20
votes
Why didn’t Japan attack the West Coast of the United States during World War II?
Japan had a lot of targets closer to home. They included Southeast Asia (which they conquered), China, and India (Japan came fairly close). They did attack American possessions on the far side of the ...
- 104k
18
votes
Why was Washington State an attractive site for aluminum production during World War II?
Aluminum manufacturing is very energy-intensive and requires large amounts of electricity, which the other comments have covered.
Washington State and the Pacific Northwest has an abundance of ...
- 2,042
10
votes
What advantages did Catholic missionaries to the Indians have over Protestant missionaries in old Oregon Country?
There is a fairly long account of Catholic and Protestant missionary activity to the Indians of Maine in Lord, R. H., Sexton, J. E., & Harrington, E. T. (1944). History of the Archdiocese of ...
- 201
8
votes
Accepted
Why was Hanford, Washington, selected during World War II as the site of America’s first nuclear energy plant?
A vast, isolated area was needed to produce plutonium because no one knew for sure how much damage the radiation it gave off might do. Abundant power for plutonium production and water to cool the ...
- 6,269
7
votes
Why didn’t Japan attack the West Coast of the United States during World War II?
Japanese submarines did come to the American Pacific coast. I know of one bombardment while visiting Fort Stevens on vacation. The attack did no damage, but appears to have helped foster fears of ...
- 2,042
6
votes
Why didn’t Japan attack the West Coast of the United States during World War II?
Range of their ships...
The Japanese doctrine dictated a naval battle near the home islands, a repeat of the Russo-Japanese war. They did so largely because they lacked enough fuel to reliably reach, ...
- 1,128
6
votes
Why was Seattle chosen for the site of Expo 62?
The idea for the Century 21 exposition originated from within Seattle itself. "A defining moment in the history of Seattle, this fair began life as the brainchild of City Councilman Al Rochester." (...
- 18.9k
5
votes
Why didn’t Japan attack the West Coast of the United States during World War II?
Japan, like all major navies, had doctrines that were highly influenced by Mahon's book The Influence of Sea Power Upon History published in 1890, which emphasized the critical role of capital ships (...
- 151
4
votes
What was the Bone Bill in Washington State?
[Homer T. Bone] finally won his state House seat in 1922 as a Farmer-Labor candidate, though his district was strongly conservative. He immediately submitted the "Bone Bill," which would give ...
MCW♦
- 32.3k
4
votes
Why didn’t Japan attack the West Coast of the United States during World War II?
The following map - somewhat ironically - was recently granted the prestigious Grand Award of Japan for design. As you can see, the distance between Japan and the United States is quite large.
...
- 141
4
votes
Why didn’t Japan attack the West Coast of the United States during World War II?
I've been in excavation for 30 years...all that to say...I love "Man and Machine" and I have paid close attention to some of the logistical side of man-made machines.
I believe the "hit and run" sub ...
3
votes
Why didn’t Japan attack the West Coast of the United States during World War II?
Another bombing of the Continental US by Japan that was not mentioned yet was the Japanese bombing of Oregon via submarine-launched bomber planes.
The Lookout Air Raids are bombings that were ...
- 405
3
votes
Why didn’t Japan attack the West Coast of the United States during World War II?
Why didn’t the Japanese attempt even a single attack on the mainland? What deterred them from striking such a direct blow on America? A submarine attack would have been easy for them, but they never ...
- 54.9k
3
votes
Why didn’t Japan attack the West Coast of the United States during World War II?
Another attack I don't see mentioned here yet was on the SS Montebello off the Central California coast near Cambria. From Wikipedia:
SS Montebello was an oil tanker sunk by the Japanese submarine,...
- 131
3
votes
Why did Abraham Lincoln decline the governorship of Oregon Territory in 1849?
I haven't been able to find anything written by Abraham Lincoln himself explicitly explaining his reasons for declining the position of Governor of the Territory of Oregon in September 1849.
The ...
- 77.3k
2
votes
Age of majority in Washington state in 1945?
It seems that the legal "age of majority" in Washington state was 21 from 1854 until 1971, when it was amended by House Bill No. 309 and became 18.
There are different definitions of the term "age of ...
- 77.3k
2
votes
Why did Abraham Lincoln decline the governorship of Oregon Territory in 1849?
Oregon was too far away.
It meant that his wife Mary would have to leave her friends in Illinois, (and elsewhere in the Midwest and the South). Also, Lincoln's political connections were there, which ...
- 104k
2
votes
Why didn’t Japan attack the West Coast of the United States during World War II?
We must never forget that Germany and Japan, the Axis powers, were also developing nuclear weapons in WW2, but before the Axis could finish development and deploy their nuclear weapons or dirty bombs, ...
- 21
2
votes
Accepted
Why was Washington State an attractive site for aluminum production during World War II?
This spurt of aluminum production in Washington had nothing to do with aluminum deposits. Rather, this was brought about by to dramatic changes—the beginning of World War II, and the opening of ...
- 6,269
2
votes
Why was the Nihonmachi sector of Seattle selected for the Yesler Housing Project of the 1930s?
The main reason for the confiscation of Nihonmachi was that Japantown was close to major transportation centers—relatively close to the waterfront along Elliott Bay, and just a few blocks east of the ...
- 6,269
1
vote
Why was Washington State an attractive site for aluminum production during World War II?
Washington State is the home of the Columbia River, and its tributary, the Snake River.
The Columbia River is "only" the fourth longest river in the U.S., but it traverses the hilliest terrain. As ...
- 104k
1
vote
Accepted
What was the Bone Bill in Washington State?
Yes, this bill sure did have something to do with power production.
Homer T. Bone, once a Socialist, a Republican, and a member of several minor parties, was a Tacoma lawyer and a longtime advocate ...
- 6,269
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible