America at War: Background to Involvement

The Imbalance of Power.

In American popular mythology World War II began on 7 December 1941, the "day of infamy" when the Japanese attacked U.S. naval and army bases at Pearl Harbor without warning. The Japanese attack, however, did not occur in a vacuum; nor did Hitler's subsequent declaration of war on the United States on 11 December. World War II was caused by World War I—or, more accurately, by the failure of that war and the subsequent Treaty of Versailles to resolve important issues among the major powers, including comparative advantages in markets and financial resources, in military and naval strength, and in national prestige.

Versailles Discarded.

The Treaty of Versailles was imposed by the victorious Allies on a defeated Germany. Vindictive and harsh, the treaty was intended to punish Germany by compelling her to surrender territory to France, Poland, and Czechoslovakia; to suffer an Allied occupation...

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