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Japan and the United States
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Opening For Trade
Commodore Perry visits Japan and encourages the Japenese to open to the United States for trade. At the same time, he and other Americans helped the Japenese government to westernize their industries and country. -
Japan's Manifest Destiny
Japan learned many ideas from America. Among those ideas, was the concept of Manifest Destiny. America used Manifest Destiny to justify it's expansion from the Atlantic to the Pacific while Japan used the concept to expand it's territories throughout the Pacific. Japan invaded China in 1937 in search of natural resources such as oil, rubber, and metal. -
America's Monster Must be Controlled
In effort to stop Japanese aggression, FDR imposed sanctions on the American sale of oil, metal, and fuel to Japan. He also froze the U.S. bank accounts of wealthy Japanese. This angered the Japanese who believed it was their destiny to exert control the Pacific. -
Two Powers Come to the Table
The United States and the Japanese came together throughout 1941 to negotiate an end to the embargo. The US wanted Japan to disengage from Indochina and China. Japan wanted the US to lift the embargo on sales of oil, metal, and fuel which the Japanese depended on to increase the size and power of their military. -
There's a New Kid in Town- Tojo
General Hideki Tojo wrestled power from the government and became its new leader. He quickly enacted plans for war and asked Yamamoto to plan an attack on America. Yamamoto --who studied in the US-- didn't believe that Japan could emerge victorious from a conflict with the United States, but he planned the invasion nonetheless. -
Japanese Attack Pearl Harbor
Admiral Yamamoto executed an attack on the unsuspecting US base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The two privates at the base detected the planes coming in on December 7 at 7:02 am; however, they thought they were US planes arriving from California and didn't take it seriously. The Japanese dropped bombs and out of 400 aircrafts, 188 were destroyed and 159 were damaged. The Americans lost 2,403 men compared to the Japanese who lost 55 men. Most of the battleships, were destroyed or severely damaged. -
Date that will Live in Infamy
Franklin Roosevelt worte a speech to Congress in which he asked them to declare war on Japan. He thought that it was time to fight back for the damage caused by the Japanese at Pearl Harbor. Congress declared war on Japan and shortly after, Germany declared war on the US. -
Preparing for War
Detroit manufacturers adapted industrial space to create planes, guns, and artillery. The United States supplied troops and military equipment to the Allied cause. Many historians believe the US outproduced the Axis Powers during WWII. The article states that the US produced four tons of supplies per soldier; whereas, Japan produced two pounds of supplies per soldier.
