As war in Europe exploded in the late 1930’s, it became increasingly difficult for the United States to remain its neutrality. President Franklin D. Roosevelt understood that majority of Americans opposed U.S. intervention, because of World War I and Great Depression hardships. By the beginning of December 1941, the United States had engaged in warlike activity – such as the Neutrality Act of 1939 and the Lend-Lease Act – but had yet to commit itself. A surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, an American naval base in Hawaii, ended all debate and eventually led to the United States entrance into World War II.
During the war the Japanese Empire continued to grow in China and bean to move into Indochina. In July of 1940, President Roosevelt tried to stop this expansion by placing a natural resource embargo on important naval and aviation supplies to Japan, such as oil, fuel, steel, and rubber. After Japan signed the Tripartite Pact in 1940 with Germany and Italy, Roosevelt instituted a more extensive embargo. These attempts slowed, but did not stop the expansion, because the Japanese were able to gain resources from their new territories.
In 1941, General Hideki Tojo became the Japanese …show more content…
The most important ships – aircraft carriers – were out at sea at the time of the attack and survived untouched. In addition, seven heavy cruisers were out at sea and also avoided detection by the Japanese. Of the battleships in the Pearl Harbor, only three – the USS Arizona, the USS Oklahoma, and the USS Utah – suffered irreparable damage. American submarine bases also survived the morning, as well as important fuel supplies and maintenance facilities. In the end, Nagumo was too conservative for canceling the third wave of bombers and refusing to search for the aircraft carriers and heavy cruisers. Hos fear of an American counterstrike allowed the American Pacific Fleet to