Causes for American Involvement in World War II
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February 13, 2015
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The causes for US involvement might on the surface seem like a simple response to the brutal sneak attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese. Though that event was indeed the catalyst, in fact the seeds of World War II had been planted just a few years following World War I. The battle lines were already drawn, with Germany, Austria-Hungary on one side, and Russia, France, Britain and the US on the other.
It was particularly hard for Germany after the Treaty of Versailles was signed. The treaty exacted stiff penalties against Germany such as: admission of guilt for causing the war, paying some 6600 million pd sterling as well as loss of all of its colonial possessions. What was likely most disturbing for Germany was that the treaty placed restrictive limits on German militarization. (history-of-american-wars.com, 2012) Additionally, the worldwide depression was particularly hard on the German public, and was one of the major causes of World War II.
In the early years of the United States, it was easy to remain out of European wars. Crossing the distance of vast expanses of oceans made remaining neutral a much easier prospect. Moving forward, because the United States was focused on its own domestic economic troubles with the continuation of the Great Depression, it sought to take an isolationist stance, preferring to remain neutral and out of conflicts in Europe. Yet, in 1931, President Herbert Hoover and his Secretary of State, Henry Stimson, wrote the Stimson Doctrine. In that document, it was stated that the United States would not formally recognize any of the territory gained by aggression in opposition to international agreements. This document was pointed directly at Japan, which had just invaded Manchuria and also gained control over a large portion of Northern China.