unlLed SLaLes along wlLh Lhelr allles emerged from Lhe dusL of World War l vlcLorlous

over Lhe CenLral powers AfLer World War l was over Lhe unlLed SLaLes had [usL proven LhaL
Lhey can play a ma[or role ln Lhe resL of Lhe world as a world power AfLer Lhe war Lhe allled
powers lefL Cermany ln a very poor sLaLe of llvlng And Lhen wlLh Lhe 1reaLy of versallles whlch
sLaLed LhaL Cermany was sLole perpeLraLor of 1he World War and Lhus because of LhaL facL
Lhey had Lo pay reparaLlons whlch were assessed aL 132 bllllon Marks (Lhen $314 bllllon 66
bllllon) ln 1921 whlch ls roughly equlvalenL Lo uS $442 bllllon and uk 217 bllllon ln 2011
Whlch for a counLy aL LhaL Llme whom [usL losL a ma[or war and was ln rulns seemed almosL
lmposslble And because of all Lhose facLors and Lhe poor sLaLe LhaL Cermany was ln lL open
Lhe door preLLy wlde for PlLler and hls ldeas Lo qulckly galn LracLlon wlLh Lhe people of
Cermany So LhaL ls a qulck seL up for World war ll Lhere are a loL oLher facLors Lo Lhe sLarL of
LhaL war buL l [usL sLaLed a few
1he sLarL of Lhe Second World War broke ouL ln and around Lurope Lhe people of Lhe
unlLed SLaLes dld noL wanL Lo be drag lnLo anoLher World confllcL overseas 1hey had [usL goL
done flghLlng Lhe llrsL World War whlch Lhe lnvolunLary goL Lhemselves drag lnLo whlch Lhe
aLLack on Lhe LuslLanla and dldn'L wanL Lo Lake parL ln anoLher one So because Lhe way Lhe
Amerlcan people felL abouL Lhe presenL war our presldenL aL Lhe Llme lranklln u 8oosevelL
was klnd of back lnLo a corner
So he prepared a speech Lo congress and Lhe name of LhaL address was lour
lreedoms" And ln Lhls address he sLaLed Lhe four freedoms were acLually goals Pe proposed
four fundamenLal freedoms LhaL people everywhere ln Lhe world" oughL Lo en[oy 1 lreedom
of speech and expresslon 2 lreedom of worshlp 3 lreedom from wanL 4 lreedom from fear
Pe sLaLed Lo congress LhaL unLled SLaLes need Lo acL ln Lhls war ln Lurope for Lhe sake of our
freedoms and Lhe freedoms of oLhers
1he acLlon suggesLed ln Lhe lour lreedoms speech would laLer Lake shape ln Lhe form of
1he LeadLease AcL of March 11 1941 lL was a clear deparLure from Lhe former leglslaLlon and
ln effecL leL Lhe 8rlLlsh prosecuLe Lhe war ln Lurope wlLh Amerlcan made equlpmenL and
Amerlcan made Cuns noL all Amerlcans agreed wlLh 1he LeadLease AcL and lL ofLen caused a
sharp debaLe ln congress of Lhe maLLer 8uL ln Lhe end boLh Lhe Pouse and Lhe SenaLe passed
Lhe leglslaLlon wlLh subsLanLlal ma[orlLles AlLhough lL dld noL formally esLabllsh Lhe unlLed
SLaLes as a combaLanL ln Lhe war Lhls acL ended Lhe preLense of lLs neuLrallLy Adolf PlLler
recognlzed Lhls and ln response ordered Cerman submarlnes Lo aLLack uS vessels such as Lhe SS
8obln Moor an unarmed merchanL sLeamshlp sunk on May 21 1941 ouLslde of Lhe war zone
A LoLal of $301 bllllon (equlvalenL Lo $611424489796 Loday) worLh of supplles were
shlpped $314 bllllon Lo 8rlLaln $113 bllllon Lo Lhe SovleL unlon $32 bllllon Lo lrance and
$16 bllllon Lo Chlna 8everse LendLease comprlsed servlces (llke renL on alr bases) LhaL wenL
Lo Lhe uS LoLaled $78 bllllon of whlch $68 bllllon came from Lhe 8rlLlsh and Lhe
CommonwealLh 1he Lerms of Lhe agreemenL provlded LhaL Lhe maLerlal was Lo be used unLll
Llme for Lhelr reLurn or desLrucLlon (Supplles afLer Lhe LermlnaLlon daLe were sold Lo 8rlLaln aL
a dlscounL for 1073 bllllon uslng longLerm loans from Lhe uS) Canada operaLed a slmllar
program LhaL senL $47 bllllon ln supplles Lo 8rlLaln and Lhe SovleL unlon And wlLh LhaL acL lL
seemed llke Lhe unlLed SLaLes wanLed Lo remaln neuLral buL sLlll wanLed Lo ald Lhe Allles and
also ln en[oy Lhe proflLs of war And also Lhls could been a proposed moLlve for Lhe unlLed
SLaLes Lo enLer Lhe war because lf Lhe Allles would have losL Lhe war Lhen how would Lhey be
able Lo pay back Lhe unlLed SLaLes for everyLhlng LhaL Lhey lenL Lhem
1hen Lhere was Lhe ALlanLlc charLer lL was a plvoLal sLaLemenL flrsL lssued ln AugusL
1941 LhaL early ln Lhe war lL deflned Lhe Allled goals for Lhe posLwar world 1he ALlanLlc
charLer was drafLed by 8rlLaln and Lhe unlLed sLaLes and laLer agreed Lo by Lhe all Lhe Allles
1he charLer sLaLed Lhe ldeal goals for Lhe end of Lhe war no LerrlLorlal aggrandlzemenL Lo
LerrlLorlal changes made agalnsL Lhe wlshes of Lhe people resLoraLlon of selfgovernmenL Lo
Lhose deprlved of lL free access Lo raw maLerlals reducLlon of Lrade resLrlcLlons global
cooperaLlon Lo secure beLLer economlc and soclal condlLlons for all freedom from fear and
wanL freedom of Lhe seas and abandonmenL of Lhe use of force as well dlsbarmenL of Lhe
aggressor naLlons And ln Lhe ueclaraLlon by Lhe unlLed SLaLes of 1 !anuary 1942 Lhe Allles of
World War ll pledged adherence Lo Lhe charLer's prlnclples 1he ALlanLlc CharLer was drafLed aL
Lhe ALlanLlc Conference (codenamed 8lvlera) by 8rlLlsh rlme MlnlsLer WlnsLon Churchlll and
uS resldenL lranklln u 8oosevelL ln newfoundland lL was lssued as a [olnL declaraLlon on 14
AugusL 1941 1he unlLed SLaLes dld noL offlclally enLer Lhe War unLll afLer Lhe !apanese ALLack
on earl Parbor ln uecember 1941
1he pollcy was lssued as a sLaLemenL as such Lhere was no formal legal documenL
enLlLled 1he ALlanLlc CharLer 1he Lerm ALlanLlc CharLer was colned by Lhe ually Perald a
London newspaper afLer Lhe [olnL declaraLlon had been publlshed lL deLalled Lhe goals and
alms of Lhe Allled powers concernlng Lhe war and Lhe posLwar world 1he ldeals expressed
Lhrough Lhe elghL polnLs of Lhe ALlanLlc CharLer were so popular LhaL Lhe unlLed SLaLes Cfflce of
War lnformaLlon dlsLrlbuLed 240000 posLers of lL ln 1943
Cn 9 AugusL 1941 PMS rlnce of Wales salled lnLo lacenLla 8ay wlLh WlnsLon Churchlll
on board and meL Lhe uSS AugusLa where 8oosevelL and hls sLaff were walLlng Cn flrsL
meeLlng Churchlll and 8oosevelL were sllenL for a momenL unLll Churchlll sald AL long lasL Mr
resldenL Lo whlch 8oosevelL replled Clad Lo have you aboard Mr Churchlll Churchlll Lhen
dellvered Lo Lhe resldenL a leLLer from klng Ceorge vl and made an offlclal sLaLemenL whlch
desplLe Lwo aLLempLs a soundfllm crew presenL falled Lo record
1he Axls powers vlewed Lhls charLer as a dlplomaLlc agreemenL whlch ulLlmaLely made
Lhem belleve ln a poLenLlal alllance agalnsL Lhem ln 1okyo Lhe ALlanLlc charLer rallled supporL
for Lhe mlllLarlsLs ln Lhe !apanese governmenL who pushed for a more assresslve approach
agalnsL Lhe uS and 8rlLaln
ln Lhe case of Lhe unlLed SLaLes Lalk was Lhe prelude Lo acLlon wlLh ulLlmaLely lnvolved
Lhe unlLed SLaLes even more deeply lnLo Lhe war lor Lhe someLlme some unlLs of Amerlcan
navy had helped ln convoylng 8rlLlsh shlps across Lhe ALlanLlc lnevlLable some Amerlcan as
well as 8rlLlsh vessels had come under flre from Cerman submarlnes ln SepLember 1942 Lhe
Amerlcan desLroyer Cteet was aLLacked by a Cerman uboaL lL was as Lhe resldenL conceded
aL a press conference an unbloody aLLack Lhe Lorpedoes had mlssed Lhelr mark WhaL he dld
noL menLlon elLher aL LhaL press conference or ln hls subsequenL message was LhaL Lhe aLLack
was noL preclsely unprovoked before belng flred on Lhe Cteet had been Lralllng Lhe uboaL
ln response 8oosevelL ordered LhaL Lhe Amerlcan navy Lo slnk Axls submarlnes
wherever lL encounLered Lhem ln an address Lo Lhe Amerlcan publlc on SepLember 11 1941
he explalned hls acLlon lL was ln a way a reversal of Lhe slLuaLlon durlng World War l when
Cerman submarlnes by flrlng flrsL and wlLhouL warrlng had provoked Lhe unlLed SLaLes lnLo
enLerlng Lhe war 1hls Llme lL was Lhe Amerlcans who would shooL on slghL So Lhus Lhe unlLed
SLaLes soughL of vlolence Loward Lhe Axls whlle sLlll remalnlng neuLral"
lL was as one Amerlcan hlsLorlan puL lL" Lhe beglnnlng of Lhe e focto war ln Lhe
ALlanLlc" 8uL when full scale war dld come lL would noL come ln Lhe ALlanLlc buL ln Lhe paclflc
And confllcL would noL resulL from Lhe confllcL wlLh Cermany buL lL would resulL wlLh [apan
!apan was looklng Lo proflL from Lhe war ln Lurope and Lo expand lnLo SouLheasL Asla and
Chlna had long been accompanled by Amerlcan counLermoves lL seemed ln Lhe unlLed SLaLes'
lnLeresLs Lo supporL an lndependenL Chlna and Lo malnLaln Lhe Amerlcan Sphere of lnfluence ln
Lhe aclflc ln Lhe beglnnlng Lhe unlLed SLaLes efforL Lo check !apan's expanslon came ln Lhe
form of moral condemnaLlon and verbal warnlngs 8uL here Lhe long sLory of Luropean
appeasemenL was noL golng Lo be repeaLed Lhese were followed by economlc reprlsals Whlch
ln Lurn meanL resLrlcLlve llcenslng of oll and scrap meLals Lo !apan ln Lhe !uly of 1940
accompanled by an embargo on Lhe exporL of avlaLlon gasollne ln SepLember of LhaL year ln
response Lo !apans' occupaLlon of lndoChlna exporLs of scrap lron and sLeel were halLed
enLlrely 1en monLhs laLer wlLh !apan allled wlLh Cermany and lLaly ln Lhe 1rlparLlLe pace
8oosevelL declded on even sLronger measures agalnsL !apan 8y an execuLlve order all
!apanese asseLs ln Lhe unlLed SLaLes were frozen 1haL acLlon effeLely halLed all Lrade beLween
Lhe unlLed SLaLes and !apan lncludlng oll shlpmenLs consldered vlLal by Lhe !apanese
AfLer all Lhe moves Lhe unlLed SLaLes made Lowards !apan Lhe effecL was LhaL !apans ls
was Lo sLrengLhen Lhe forces LhaL wlshed Lo wage war agalnsL Lhe unlLed SLaLes So rlnce
konyes who favored a peaceful arrangemenL wlLh WashlngLon was replaced as prlme mlnlsLer
by Ceneral Pldekl 1o[o who welghed hls new governmenL wlLh mlllLary members ?eL he was
heslLaLed Lo Lake Lhe ulLlmaLe sLep and wage war agalnsL Lhe unlLed SLaLes So whaL he dld
perused a pollcy called duel lnlLlaLlve"of preparlng war Subaru kurusu an experlenced
dlplomaL was senL Lo WashlngLon Lo ald Ambassador nomura who felL ouL Louch wlLh Lhe new
found governmenL ln !apan Cn november 20 1941 Lhe Lwo ambassadors called on Lhe
Amerlcan secreLary of sLaLe Cordell Pull Lo submlL LhaL lasL offer for a o vlveol !apanese
LerrlLorlal resLralnL ln SouLheasL Asla for Lhe resumpLlon of Amerlcan Lrade
1haL was no rouLlne communlcaLlon was apparenL boLh from Lhe LexL lLself and from Lhe
clrcumsLances of lLs dellvery 8uL lL was clear LhaL for anoLher reason as well Lver slnce Lhe
summer of 1941 WashlngLon offlclals had been able Lo read Lhe mosL secreL communlcaLlons
beLween 1okyo and Lhe dlplomaLs slnce ln an operaLlon known as Maglc Lhe !apanese code
had been broken Among some of Lhe decode Lelegrams Lhey were cerLaln of llLLle doubL LhaL lf
Lhe negoLlaLlons were golng Lo fall and LhaL !apan was ready Lo wage war agalnsL Lhe unlLed
SLaLes
1he Amerlcans upon recelvlng Lhe offer lL Look Lhem abouL a week Lo produce a
counLerproposal And Lhls counLerproposal asked for a greaL deal more Lhan Lhe !apan's
orlglnally had offered lncludlng Lhe wlLhdrawal of all !apanese forces from Chlna and lndo
Chlna and a vlrLual dlplomaLlc reallgnmenL provldlng for a nonaggresslon pacL beLween Lhe
!apan and Lhe WesLern allles 1he offer made Lo Lhe !apanese ln effecL had been re[ecLed
1haL was lL lL was over 1here had been some llngerlng doubLs ln Lhe mlnds of Lhose
who made Amerlcan pollcy of how unaccepLable Lhe proposal Lo !apanese acLually was 1haL
was dlspelled by Lhe secreL !apanese messages lnLercepLed and decoded under operaLlon"
Maglc"
lnlLlally sLaylng calm seemed Lo be WashlngLon's moLLo 1hey knew LhaL !apanese were
abouL Lo sLrlke buL preclsely where was unknown Maglc" noLwlLhsLandlng Lhere had been
some secreLs LhaL Lhe !apanese were able Lo keep Lo Lhemselves Pence when lL Lurned ouL
LhaL earl Parbor was Lhe LargeL calm was replaced by conslderable confuslon wlLh
WashlngLon LaLer hlsLorlans would wrlLe LhaL earl Parbor aLLack made Lhe war lnLo a global
one
1hen on uecember 7
Lh
1941 !apan bombed earl Parbor AlrcrafL and mldgeL
submarlnes of Lhe lmperlal !apanese navy began an aLLack on Lhe uS under Lhe command of
Admlral lsoroku ?amamoLo Lhe aLLack was devasLaLlng ln loss of llfe and damage Lo Lhe uS
fleeL AL 0603 on uecember 7 Lhe slx !apanese carrlers launched a flrsL wave of 183 alrcrafL
composed malnly of dlve bombers horlzonLal bombers and flghLers 1he !apanese hlL Amerlcan
shlps and mlllLary lnsLallaLlons aL 0731 1he flrsL wave aLLacked mlllLary alrflelds of lord lsland
AL 0830 a second wave of 170 !apanese alrcrafL mosLly Lorpedo bombers aLLacked Lhe
fleeL anchored ln earl Parbor 1he baLLleshlp Arlzona was hlL wlLh an armorplerclng bomb
whlch peneLraLed Lhe forward ammunlLlon comparLmenL blowlng Lhe shlp aparL and slnklng lL
wlLhln seconds Cverall nlne shlps of Lhe uS fleeL were sunk and 21 shlps were severely
damaged 1hree of Lhe 21 would be lrreparable 1he overall deaLh Loll reached 2330 lncludlng
68 clvlllans and 1178 ln[ured Cf Lhe mlllLary personnel losL aL earl Parbor 1177 were from
Lhe Arlzona 1he flrsL shoLs flred were from Lhe desLroyer Ward on a mldgeL submarlne LhaL
surfaced ouLslde of earl Parbor Ward sank Lhe mldgeL sub aL approxlmaLely 0633 abouL an
hour before Lhe aLLack on earl Parbor !apan would lose 29 ouL of Lhe 330 alrcrafL Lhey
aLLacked wlLh
So afLer LhaL faLal day Lhey people of Amerlca no longer belleve we should be neuLral ln
Lhls war 1he war came Lo us and now lL's personal lu8 now flnally had Lhe supporL of Lhe
people and congress so on uecember 8
Lh
1941 Lhe unlLed SLaLes of Amerlca declared war on
!apan So because of Lhe 1rlparLlLe acL on uecember 11 1941 Cermany and lLaly declared war
on Lhe unlLed SLaLes ln response Lo Lhem declarlng war on Lhe !apan
So afLer some odd years of Amerlcan resldenL lranklln u 8oosevelL walklng Lhe fence
of War ln Lurope by passlng Lhe leadlease acL and drafLlng up Lhe ALlanLlc CharLer 1he unlLed
SLaLes was now full blow lnLo World War ll now he had Lhe supporL of Lhe people and Lhe
supporL of hls congress And Lhe unlLed SLaLes would play a blg role ln Lhls war and would
unLlmely change Lhe ouLcome of Lhls war And once Lhe unlLed SLaLes pulled Lhrough Lhls war
Lhey showed Lhe resL of Lhe world LhaL Lhey are lf noL Lhe greaLesL world power of Lhe Llme
And l Lhlnk lf Lhe unlLed SLaLes would have Lurned ouL a loL dlfferenL lf lL wasn'L for Lhls war
because Lhese world wars' shaped Lhe counLry lnLo Lhe greaL naLlon LhaL ls lL Loday


1he Causes and evenLs LhaL
lead Lo unlLed SLaLes enLry lnLo
World War ll"


8y 8rlan C Slers
10/6/11
PlS1 2200