The US was forced to enter WWII after an attack from Japan on 8 th December 1941, at the Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, which hosted the US naval base. The surprise attack on the US led to the damage of US naval vessels that included 300 Aircraft and 18 battleships, together with 2,403 men (Mead, 2013). The attack shocked and angered the entire nation, leading to a public opinion that supports entering the war. For this reason, the United States declared war on Japan, and consequently, Japanese allies Italy and Germany responded and declared the United States as officially their enemy (Shi & Tindall, 2016). The kind response from the United States thus officially marked that the United States is taking part in the Second World War beginning from December 11th, 1941.
Seemingly, the United States had power and influence over the Japanese Navy, in that they supplied nearly 80% of oil consumed in Japan (Mead, 2013). When they cut off their supply in the summers of 1941, the Japanese government saw an opportunity to cripple the US Pacific fleet and allow the Japanese navy to reign the Pacific area without any threats. At the same time, Japan wished to create a co-prosperity sphere for Asian countries whereby Japan planned to take over the colonial holdings for Asia in the United States and Europe. Ideally, Japan saw that they would gain a better hand by crippling the US Navy, knowing that they are sparking an even greater threat during the war.
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By the year 1945, negotiations were made between the United States, Soviet Union and Britain governments for negotiation for peace. However, Japan refused to surrender unconditionally, forcing the United States to deploy its lethal weapon that marked the end of the war (Shi & Tindall, 2016). From the peace negotiations, Japan became the only country unwilling to accept peace, and therefore following their ignorance of the ultimatum for a just peace and unconditional surrender, the United States decided to deploy atomic bombs that eventually ended the war after Japan surrendered after that.
References
Shi, D. E., & Tindall, G. B. (2016). America: A narrative history . WW Norton & Company.
Mead, W. R. (2013). Special Providence: American foreign policy and how it changed the world . Routledge.
