Question

Based on at least two primary sources and your readings (course readings and links), explain the reasons that the United States entered the Great War (World War I).

Answer 1

Though World War II had raged in Europe since 1939, it wasn't until after Japanese planes bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941 that the US intervened. As Japan had an alliance with Germany and Italy, on 11 December 1941, four days after the Pearl Harbor attack, both nations declared war on the United States. This officially took the US into the war, but there are other explanations why the US went into the war beyond the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

World War II was an horrific occurrence that will be remembered as one of the worst chapters in the history of man. It is impossible to believe, with estimates of the dead ranging from 60 to 80 million, that this disaster was allowed to fester and explode as it did. Many in the U.S. actually thought that Europe's issues should be confined within the continent. A new enemy did carry the fight to our shores, however.

The United States was entering a period of isolationism when the war began. Americans saw the dispute as the issue for Europe, and decided to keep it that way. However, as the situation in Europe became ever more serious, the United States started to edge gradually toward war.

Of course the breaking point was the Japanese's surprise assault at Pearl Harbor. The attack, however, may not have been such a sudden and unexpected occurrence, in retrospect. Several years before the attack the tensions between the United States and Japan had slowly escalated. It was, however, this act of aggression that officially sparked the outbreak of war.

Reasons for the United States Entering World War II The Japanese Assault on Pearl Harbor Japanese Occupation of China and the Unregulated Naval Warfare of Germany Sinking U.S. Ships Fear of German Expansion and Invasion