Due to the rising tension in between the United States and Japan in 1940, Japan signed the Tripartite pact with Germany and Italy to become allies. The pack provided a mutual assistance in case of any attack by a nation not involved in the war. This pack was aimed at the United States, forcing them to think before making Allies during World War II. This pack was also an understanding between the three nations on establishment of new order in Europe by Germany and Italy and in the East Asia by Japan. While the United States did not want to get involved with the war due to the political and public opinion, in 1941 the Lend-Lease Act was established. This program provided military aid to allies participating in World War II that did not have …show more content…
the resources to fight.
Even though the political and public opinion opposed to this due to the debt that the United States faced after World War I. Countries did not pay their debts owed to the United States, pressured President Roosevelt presented the lend-lease program to congress anyways. Approved this lend-lease helped the American economy by creating jobs and building up industries after collapsing during the Great depression. The United States not only received cash for the products, but when Britain and France became “broke”, President Roosevelt found other ways to obtain the equal value for the products. Ammunition, tanks, airplanes and trucks were among the materials and products that the United States provided to allies during the lend-lease program. This program initiated intended for European allies, but then extended to China and the Soviet Union. By the end of war 40 nations had received help from the Lend-Lease Act. The program helped the United States prepare for war by producing massive amounts of essential materials during that time. By the end of the war America had become the arsenal of all its allies and had obtained a great economic benefit from …show more content…
the program. In 1941, Japanese Vice Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto appointed Rear Admiral Takijiro Onishi to find a feasible way to conduct an attack on Pearl Harbor using carrier lunched aircraft.
The reason for Japan to use carrier lunched aircraft was the distance that they had to travel from Japan to Hawaii. Rear Admiral Takijiro Onishi recruited the help of Commander Minoru Genda, who was an excellent tactician serving in Japan’s 1st Air Fleet. After meticulous studying the United States Pacific Fleet stationed in Hawaii he concluded that an attack could be only be successful if the following criteria was taken in consideration. First, and most important the attack had to be a completed by surprise against the Americans. If the element of surprise was not achieved the Americans could be waiting for the Japanese. The Americans could have had the upper hand to attack and destroy them before they had any chance of success. Second, the attack had to be conducted on a Sunday morning, Sunday was the day that Americans went to church and their defenses were lowered. Third, Japan must use all of their best carriers for the attack. The final criteria was to use the best pilots within Japan’s Air Fleet to conduct the attack on Pearl Harbor. These four points changed the way the Japanese Naval General Staff saw the possibility of attacking Pearl Harbor, and decide to support Vice Admiral Yamamoto. The training for the attack on Pearl Harbor began early on in 1941. The Japanese already had
vast experience flying their planes, since they had been fighting with China for the past few years. Pearl Harbor was different than any other target that the Japanese had ever attacked with their air-launched torpedoes. The water on the harbor where the United States Pacific Fleet anchored consisted of shallow waters and a large area occupied by Ford Island. These obstacles forced the Japanese to redesign their Type 91 torpedoes for shallow water and the air fleet had to undergo more training to enable them to drop their torpedoes more precisely. According to Armagnac (1966) “Pearl Harbor was too shallow for conventional torpedoes; they would've just dived in and stuck to the bottom of the ocean floor. So, a few months before the attack, Japanese designers created finned torpedoes that could perform a feat like that of an acrobat high-diving in shallow water” (p. 64). Under normal circumstance Japanese torpedoes will plunge at least 150 feet under water before climbing back to the surface to attack depth. The United States Pacific Fleet was under the notion that an attack on their harbor was impossible since the water was only 40 feet deep. American Battleship decks made of armor thick enough to deflect bombs, but couldn’t stop armor piercing rounds. Armor piercing bombs were in short supply, so the Japanese adapted bomb vanes to the 16-inch gun shells to ensure the bombs arm while they’re still in flight and act as armor piercing round on impact. These new tactics gave Japan the upper hand during the Pearl Harbor Battle. The U.S. Pacific Fleet found sanctuary in Pearl Harbor, with forces forward deployed in the Philippines, Dutch East Indies, Singapore, and Indochina; Pearl appeared to be a target just out of Japans reach in the Americans eyes. Believing that their harbor was safe due to the shallow waters and the development of radar, the refuge of the sleepy Hawaiian Islands proved to be the downfall of the U.S. Pacific Fleet and an unexpected entrance into WWII. The U.S. military on Hawaii was aware of the threat of a Japanese attack and had practiced drills in preparation of an attack. These drills viewed as just that, drills with an understanding that there would be plenty of warning prior to any attack. 4,000 miles of the Pacific Ocean separated Japan from Hawaii, this buffer thought to be impassable without detection. The advent of radar technology although crude in 1941 could assist in early warning, but the main means of reconnaissance was aerial reconnaissance. Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Husband Kimmel did conduct aerial reconnaissance, but it instead focused to the south and southwest of the island chain. Intelligence had believed the threat would come from that direction due to intercepted communications between the Japanese embassy and Tokyo. The ineptness of U.S. forces to locate Japans aircraft carriers attributed to possibly one of the biggest blunders pre American entrance to WWII, allowing the successful surprise attack by Japan. The events that fateful Sunday morning altered the course of WWII and the course of world affairs upon the conclusion of the war. Seen not only as a turning point for the war, it is considered one of the greatest turning points in world history. On December 8th the U.S. declared war on Japan. Honoring their pact between the Axis Powers, Germany and Italy promptly declared war on the U.S. within days. Thus, ending the political struggle between the American public’s two sides; Isolationist and Interventionist. Forced to join together as one to defend freedom. A few hours on a Sunday morning completely changed the U.S. population’s view on war, uniting a country towards one objective. Taking the country from one opposed to sending their men to fight others nation’s conflicts to one that mobilized the greatest fighting force in modern times. The defeat of the Axis Powers was just the start of the United States modern age crusades. Emerging as the single world power, victor of two world wars never fought on their soil, a complete infrastructure intact while every other industrialized nation was rebuilding. The U.S. completely primed to take the lead for the world. From the fight against the spread of Communism in the Korean peninsula in the 1950’s and the Vietnam conflict of the 1960’s, the Cold War era uniting East and West Germany under President Reagan and in our current conflicts. The United States is the most influential country in the world, and this lineage traces back to Sunday, December 7, 1941, a pivotal point in history that encompasses one of the greatest surprise attacks and the awakening of a powerful people whose land guarantees freedom.
To begin, the attack on Pearl Harbour was devastating to U.S. naval capabilities in the Pacific at the onset of their entry into the war. Japanese officials had grown tired of the U.S. oil embargo, which was meant to limit their territorial expansion and aggression in South-East Asia as well as China, and as negotiations weren’t reaching any conclusions they decided that the only course of action was a first strike on the aircraft carriers at Pearl Harbour to cripple U.S. naval capability in the Pacific (Rosenberg 1). The attack, which lasted about two hours, had resulted in the sinking of four battleships, among ...
...would hire somebody else to do their fighting for them. Let them repeat that now' he said slowly and dramatically. Let them tell that to the boys in the Flying Fortresses, let them tell that to the Marines!" (Maney 144).During the war the United States became the principal arms supplier and financier of the Allied Powers. This extreme increase in the demand for production created various job opportunities, and the nation's economy flourished and boomed during this period.
The 1940 elections showed that both the Republicans and Democrats supported building up strong the navy and air forces as means of upholding the 1823 Monroe Doctrine, which stated that any European colonization of North or South America would be considered an act of aggression (Document E). Although neither American party was in full favor of the involvement in the war at this time, both advocated military defense so that America would not be completely helpless in a potential international conflict. The build-up of the military for defensive shows how the US slowly moved away from an isolationist approach to foreign affairs. Roosevelt also contributed to pulling America out of isolationism by consenting to the 1940 Destroyer Deal, which promised to give Great Britain 50 destroyer vessels in exchange for British bases in North America. This, however, was done without permission from Congress (Source F). It showed America’s shifting perspective on the war. Although America was not officially in the war, its actions seemed to indicate an indirect retaliation against the Axis powers by militarily supporting the Allies. Not only was the United States building up its defense to be better prepared in case it did have to go to war, but, in addition to other policies that provided aid to Allies, such as the 1939 Cash and Carry Policy and the 1941
and other countries.People may argue that the foreign policies made at this time were ineffective. The Marshall Plan spent a lot of the U.S. money to rebuild and help countries in Western Europe recover from the war. Americans may not have appreciated the fact that the U.S. government decided to give other countries money when it could have been used for something more important in the U.S. The Truman Doctrine let the U.S. be in a close distance to the Soviet union and their buffer contraries, therefore provoking them and creating more unneeded tension. The idea of communism needed to be stopped but these policies may not have been the correct approach. The U.S. should have been constantly trying to negotiate with them even if they did not want to. Besides the fear of communism, people may argue that the domestic affairs were overall very good in the U.S. The economy was striving and many people had enough money to buy houses, foods, supplies, cars, and other discretionary items. The women that took over men’s jobs during the war made good money and had a lot of savings. Therefore, when the war was over they were able to help support their returning partners or family members. From the late 1940s to the early 1950s, millions of children were born, known as the Baby Boom. Also, the G.I. Bill was passed to help anyone who fought in the war, worked in factories that made supplies for the war, and anyone who did anything to help the war effort start their new life. The G.I. Bill did not include women, African Americans or Jewish people only white men. The government paid for these people to go to college, get higher paying jobs, and even get new
Therefore, Roosevelt schemed a plan to enter the United States into World War II that would change the minds of the American people, including the direct aiding of Great Britain, the German bombing of a United States warship, and the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. President Franklin Roosevelt was one of the greatest presidents in the history of the United States. He created economic stability when the United States was suffering through the Great Depression. In his first three months of office, known as the Hundred Days, Roosevelt took immediate action to help the struggling nation.1 " In a period of massive unemployment, a collapsed stock market, thousands of banks closing for lack of liquidity, and agricultural prices fallen below the cost of production," Roosevelt passed a series of relief measures.2 These relief measures, known as the New Deal, provided help for individuals and businesses to prevent bankruptcy.
As a result of establishing the presence of the United States, FDR was called upon to aid Britain during Germany's invasion. Because of FDR's charismatic ways, the 'lend-lease bill' was created under the explanation of lending your neighbor your garden house if his home caught on fire. FDR said as long as the neighbor later returns it everything is the same as it was before (Greenstein 20). By using simple analogies and drawing upon public support, FDR succeeded in basically giving Britain weapons to use free of charge. This action also helped establish an alliance with Britain for the future.
Before the United States entered WW II, President Franklin Roosevelt signed a series of documents known as the Neutrality Acts. These acts were passed and followed between the years 1935 and 1941 and were used to keep the U.S. out of the war.1 The Neutrality Acts limited weapons sales to countries not involved in the war, gave the U.S. power to keep its citizens off of ships of, or travelling to nations involved in the war, and outlawed loans to countries currently in war and countries who had not paid back previous loans.2 These acts also outlawed American ships to carry weapons to nations in the war. The U.S. believed that if a nation in war knew that a ship had weapons on it, this ship would be a prime target for that country, therefor drawing the U.S. into another war. The Neutrality Acts helped keep the U.S. out of WW II until the bombing of Pearl Harbor, at which point the U.S. helped the British through a "Lend-Lease Program". The Lend-Lease Program allowed the U.S. to give arms and...
As the American economy was gradually recovering thanks to the New Deal, Roosevelt decided to increase interaction with neighboring countries. When the Second World War began, Roosevelt saw it as an opportunity to increase production and boost America’s economy. During the 1930 to 1940s, the production of munitions greatly increased. The Second World War significantly increased American economic interaction with South America, Great Britain, and Canada. This lead to greater relations between Latin America and a faster victory as U.S. citizens began to see a shift in economic, political, and social ideals.
General Hideki Tojo was the Premiere of Japan. He and other Japanese leaders did not like the fact that Americans were sending war supplies to China and other countries in Asia. A surprise attack was ordered by Japan on December 7, 1941. The target was the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. 360 planes bombed the naval base killing about 3,000 people and destroying many warships, aircraft carriers, and submarines. This was a catalyst that brought the United States into World War II.
There were many events that led up to Japan making the decision to bomb Pearl Harbor. It all started with Japan wanting to expand their power. Japan was an island nation, it was isolated from many other nations, and Japan chose to be that way. But by the beginning of the 1900’s Japan was starting to fall apart as it was starting to become short of raw materials. Japan figured if it wanted to survive it would have to expand to get more materials. (O'NEAL 410-413). Japan started trying to take over Asia; they landed in the east coast of China in Manchuria and stationed troops there in order to try to take over northeastern China. ("Japan Launches A Surprise Attack on Pearl Harbor: December 7, 1941"). In reaction to Japan’s landing and hostility towards China the United States, who wanted to keep the open-door policy with China, placed economic sanctions of Japan to slow down Japan’s advances in China. (Higgs). President Roosevelt hoped that these sanctions that the United States put on Japan would lead them to making the mistake of declaring war on the United States (which would also bring Italy and Germany into the attack too since they were all allied) the reason why Rooseve...
President Roosevelt was concerned that the American economy, which was in a state of depression, would prevent the United States from successfully preparing for war. However, he knew that American involvement was inevitable, so he and his advisors agreed that the best way to rapidly mobilize the economy was to give industry an incentive to move quickly. One way the government encouraged companies to help prepare for the war effort was through cost-plus contracts. These contracts meant that the government covered the cost for a company to produce military goods as well as paid them a percentage of the profit. The goal of the cost-plus contracts was to encourage companies to switch the production of their businesses to help manufacture mo...
As the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 the United States officially entered World War Two. The Japanese government later learned later that this single event sets off an explosion that subsequently caused the United States to attack the Midway Islands in the Pacific Ocean. Pearl Harbor was one of the United States largest naval bases and the largest in the Pacific Ocean. This attack ceased all trade with Japan and officially added Japan as one of the US enemies. With a new world war started it created new concerns for the army. “World War II introduced a whole new set of problems in naval tactics” (Smith, 1). The main change driving these changes was the fact that aircraft carriers became more prevalent and common in every major countries naval force. Japan was able to pull off the Pearl Harbor attack as a result of aircraft carriers to launch their airplanes. As a result of the battles leading up to the Battle of Midway and conflicts with Japan this created a lot larger of an impact on WWII as a whole and to boost unity in America leading to a more prosperous period of history following the war.
Americans bought bonds to help support the war and in return, would be repaid in full at an agreed-upon interest rate. A government refusing to repay its war debts, including the interest owed to bondholders, would seem untrustworthy to lenders. Citizens would hesitate to invest their savings in U.S. government bonds, or in new businesses, knowing that the government might break its promise to repay or might allow others to do so. In other words, the U.S. government was severely restricted in its capacity t...
In the morning hours of December 7, 1941 the Japanese attacked the Hawaiian islands at Pearl Harbor. The Japanese had been feeling the pressures of World War II (WWII) as did many others. With the resources of the Japanese dwindling, the Japanese decided to attack the U.S. while simultaneously planning the attack during the negotiations of continued peace between our two countries. The Japanese were able to cover up there planning for nearly a year. Planning for the attack and ultimately war in the pacific, started in January of 1941, and was finalized during the war games in November of 1941. The U.S. on the other hand would become a reactive force after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The inability to crack the Japanese code lead, to a lack of intelligence during this time making the plan of attack for the Japanese a successful one. It would seem that the year of planning and the strategies laid out in the “Combined Fleet Operations Top Secret Order 1” of the Japanese navy would become a reality in the pacific, allowing for an easy sweep of the military targets for the Japanese fleet.
In the spring and summer of 1940, as Japan watched German and Italian forces defeat the Netherlands, Belgium, and France, they fully believed that Great Britain would be next to fall. Hoping to include the United States in the list of defeated enemies, Japan saw an opportunity to join forces with Germany and Italy in the fight against Western Powers. The Tripartite Pact was signed on 27 September 2940 and the Axis powers agreed to support each other militarily. The Axis powers, specifically Germany and Japan, agreed to communicate openly with each other and coordinate joint operations. However, this proved to be a near-impossible feat as both sides were unable to develop a common