Japan had sought to become a dominant force in Asia in order to increase its influence and acquire the raw materials it lacked. The small island believed that it had to expand and seize other parts of Asia such as China and the Pacific islands. Nationalism had grown in Japan during the 1930s just as it had in Germany. Loyalty toward Emperor Hirohito was drilled into young children, who revered the man not only as a leader, but as a god. When Japan attacked China, it found itself fighting not one but two governments — the Chinese Nationalists, led by Chiang Kaishek, as well as the Chinese Communists with their leader Mao Tsetung. America preferred the Nationalists, yet was determined to remain neutral.

The Attack on Pearl Harbor

Relations between the United States and the Japanese had weakened prior to the Pearl Harbor attack. The United States, along with much of the rest of the world, had condemned the expansion of Japanese power in Asia and the South Pacific. Government officials believed a Japanese attack was fairly imminent, but strongly suspected that it would occur in the South Pacific islands (such as the Philippines). As the Japanese attacked Oahu on that peaceful Sunday, the new radar technology had detected blips on the screen, but most believed they were U.S. aircraft.

The attack crippled nearly all of the U.S. battleships, with the Arizona exploding into a blaze five stories high. Four-fifths of her crew died instantly. The only vessels to escape the onslaught were two aircraft carriers, which had been at sea — the Lexington and the Enterprise. These two ships would soon have surprises of their own for the Japanese.

FDR Responds

In 1940, FDR made history, for never before had a president served longer than two terms, or eight years. President Roosevelt's leadership was pulling the nation out of its economic depths, and the public rewarded him with a third term. Seeing Europe embroiled in conflict, Roosevelt tried his best to remain neutral, though he viewed the world stage cautiously. When France fell in 1940, he did whatever he could within his neutral status to aid the beleaguered British. But no one could deny the prudence of appropriating funds for American warships and airplanes. Congress passed the first-ever peacetime draft. Still, isolationists believed that the oceans on either side of the American continent would protect it from war. Many of them, including the prominent Charles Lindbergh, spoke out in an organization called America First, filled with isolationists who wished to prevent U.S. entry into the growing conflict.

That sentiment changed dramatically on what would otherwise have been a restful Sunday. On December 7, 1941, Japanese dive-bombers and torpedo planes launched a surprise early-morning attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (then a territory). The air raid sank most of the American Pacific fleet of ships and destroyed aircraft on the ground. It also killed more than 2,300 servicemen and nearly 100 civilians. President Roosevelt, reflecting the mood of an outraged nation, called on Congress the next day with these remarks:

Yesterday, December 7, 1941 — a date which will live in infamy — the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.

The United States was at peace with that nation and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with the Government and its Emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific. . . .As Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy, I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense. . . . With confidence in our armed forces — with the unbounding determination of our people — we will gain the inevitable triumph — so help us God.

I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December Seventh, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese empire.

Three days after the Hawaiian attack, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States. Suddenly thrust into the Second World War, Americans found themselves immersed in the war effort, with emotions running high. During the early months of 1942, more than 100,000 Japanese Americans (though they were U.S. citizens) found themselves relocated into internment camps. Anti-Japanese sentiment crossed to hysteria as these citizens were forced to leave their homes and jobs to live under the harsh conditions of the camps. It's reported that President Roosevelt opposed this relocation measure, but that he bowed to public pressure. After he was re-elected in 1944, Roosevelt ordered the camps closed.