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Infamy Speech: What Led Them To Join World War II

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On December 7, 1941, the Japanese launched a surprise attack on the American Fleet known as Pearl Harbor. Just before 8 a.m., hundreds of Japanese fighters planes and bombers attacked the American Naval base at Pearl Harbor, near Honolulu, Hawaii. Because American military leaders were not expecting an attack so close to home, the naval facilities at Pearl Harbor were relatively undefended. The attack lasted only two hours, but it was devastating. More than 200 Japanese fighters destroyed nearly 20 American ships, 8 of which were battleships. In addition to the destruction caused to the fleet, more than 2,000 American soldiers were killed, and over 1,000 were injured. Since the attack was so close to home, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt took immediate action. Just one day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Roosevelt delivered a speech …show more content…

was in the midst of “talks to keep peace.” He asked congress to declare war on Japan. Congress approved his declaration of war with only one dissenting vote. After the events that took place at Pearl Harbor, America had officially joined World War II. These events, and America joining the war, would impact America in a major way, and would change the course of American history (Santella).
America at War: What Led Them to Join the War? Although the events that took place at Pearl Harbor was a complete surprise, there were many people that believed an attack was inevitable. Since Japan had begun taking over areas of China, an American ally, the American’s believed that they had to take action, although

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