From our 21st-century point of view, it is hard to imagine World War II without the United States as a major participant. Before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the U.S. had maintained a policy of neutrality in the conflict that had been raging in Europe and Asia. However, the events of that fateful day changed everything.
Economic conditions following World War I intensified antagonisms between nations prior to the outbreak of World War II. The Treaty of Versailles, which ended World War I, imposed heavy reparations on Germany and created a sense of resentment that would later fuel the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Germany.
The Second World War was one of the most significant events in Canadian history. Canada played a vital role in the Battle of the Atlantic, supplying troops, ships, and aircraft to help secure vital supply lines across the ocean. The country's contributions were crucial to the eventual Allied victory.
World War II involved combatants from most of the world's nations and was considered the deadliest war in history. The global spread of the First and Second World Wars made them the two most notable events of the 20th century. But they were far from the only conflicts that shaped the course of history during that turbulent period.
The attack on Pearl Harbor by Japanese forces on December 7, 1941, was a devastating blow to the United States. President Franklin Roosevelt declared it a "Day of Infamy" in a speech to Congress the following day, calling for a declaration of war against Japan.
On this day in 1917, President Woodrow Wilson learned of a shocking piece of paper that made America's entry into World War I inevitable. The parallels between the events leading up to World War I and World War II are striking, as both conflicts were sparked by a combination of political, economic, and military factors.
For two years before the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor brought America into World War II in December 1941, the nation had been on the edges of the global conflict. The U.S. provided aid to the Allied powers, particularly Great Britain, through programs like Lend-Lease, but had not yet committed to direct military intervention.
