Name:_____________________________________________ Date:______________ Class:______________ Bell Ringer: The Attack on Pearl Harbor Instructions: Examine the pictures. Read the background information. Answer the questions below. Background: In the 1930s, various conflicts were appearing around the world. In Europe, Germany, led by Adolf Hitler, was taking over various areas. In East Asia, Japan, led by Hideki Tojo, was also taking over numerous areas. Many in the USA simply wanted to stay out of these conflicts. World War I was still fresh in the memory of many Americans and the Great Depression was still going on. Many leaders did not want to send American men to die in foreign conflicts. For reasons like these, the last thing many Americans wanted was to get involved in another world war. However, Japan’s military leaders began to plan to initiate a surprise, preemptive strike against the USA. The USA had a naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Japan knew that the only nation that could challenge their conquest of East Asia was the USA. Japan pretended to desire peace with the USA. They even gave peace medals, through their ambassadors, to the United States. Japan declared they wanted to avoid conflict with America. However, on December 7 th , 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. They killed over 2,000 Americans and sunk many ships. Japan assumed that, with Pearl Harbor crushed, nobody could challenge their conquest in the Pacific. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan. Congress agreed and abandoned the policy of neutrality. 1. Why did many Americans desire to remain neutral in the conflicts of Europe and East Asia as World War II began? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Copyright, USHistoryTeachers.com All Rights Reserved.
Bell Ringer: The Attack on Pearl HarborInstructions: Examine the pictures. Read the background information. Answer the questions below.
Background: In the 1930s, various conflicts were appearing around the world. In Europe, Germany, led by Adolf Hitler, was taking over various areas. In East Asia, Japan, led by Hideki Tojo, was also taking over numerous areas. Many in the USA simply wanted to stay out of these conflicts. World War I was still fresh in the memory of many Americans and the Great Depression was still going on. Many leaders did not want to send American men to die in foreign conflicts. For reasons like these, the last thing many Americans wanted was to get involved in another world war. However, Japan’s military leaders began to plan to initiate a surprise, preemptive strike against the USA. The USA had a naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Japan knew that the only nation that could challenge their conquest of East Asia was the USA. Japan pretended to desire peace with the USA. They even gave peace medals, through their ambassadors, to the United States. Japan declared they wanted to avoid conflict with America. However, on December 7th, 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. They killed over 2,000 Americans and sunk many ships. Japan assumed that, with Pearl Harbor crushed, nobody could challenge their conquest in the Pacific. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan. Congress agreed and abandoned the policy of neutrality.
1. Why did many Americans desire to remain neutral in the conflicts of Europe and East Asia as World War II began?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2. Why did many military leaders in Japan believe a primitive strike against the USA was needed to achieve their goals of conquest in East Asia?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. How did the attack on Pearl Harbor impact the USA’s policy of neutrality?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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The USA Enters World War IIPart A: Short Answer: Instructions: In at least one paragraph, answer the questions below.
1. Why did Japan attack Pearl Harbor?_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2. While many in Congress wanted to avoid getting involved in the early conflicts of WW II, FDR desired to help Britain and France. What actions did FDR take that proved he did not support neutrality and wanted the USA involved in the conflicts of Europe even before the attack on Pearl Harbor occurred? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. How did Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor impact the policy of neutrality in the USA?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Part B: Fill in the blank: Instructions: Choose the terms from the word bank below to complete the sentences. Washington, Neutrality, January, Jefferson, Hostility, November, Tojo, Tripartite, Entente, draft,
Manchuria, Mussolini, Orlando, embargo, Roosevelt, December, Stalin, Lend-Lease
1. Congress passed the _______________________ Acts in 1935 to avoid getting involved in foreign conflicts.
2. America tried to an economic _____________________ on Japan to petition their actions in taking over various areas in the Pacific.
3. Franklin Delano Roosevelt broke with the tradition of ____________________ and ran for a 3rd term as President.
4. Hitler broke his Non-aggression pact with _________________ and invaded the USSR. 5. On ________________________ 7th, 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. 6. The Axis Powers formed by signing the ________________________ Pact. 7. Japan began taking over areas in Asia by taking _____________________ from China. 8. Hideki _____________ was the Prime Minister of Japan when Pearl Harbor was attacked.
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Content Reading Guide: The USA Enters WW II
As tension built in Europe and Asia in the 1930s, many in the USA wanted to avoid getting involved. In 1935, Congress passed the Neutrality Acts to try and prevent the USA from entering into another world war. This meant the nation would remain neutral in the various conflicts around the world. Struggling with the Great Depression, only being decades away from WW I, trying to avoid Americans dying in another European conflict, and other issues created this desire for neutrality in the USA. Yet, in 1939, Congress agreed to FDR’s “Cash-and-Carry” weapons policy. This meant nations could buy supplies, if they paid cash and transported them through their own ships. While Congress did not want to choose a side in Europe's conflict, it was clear that the USA wanted Britain and France to emerge victorious over Germany and Italy. Germany, Italy, and Japan joined forces and created the Axis powers by signing the Tripartite Pact. In the election of 1940, FDR was reelected to a 3rd term, breaking the two term tradition of Washington. It was also clear that FDR supported Britain and France and wanted to abandon neutrality.
FDR asked Congress to increase funding for the national defense. This was a precautionary step to ensure the military was ready for war. Congress agreed with his precaution and created the Selective Training and Service Act. This was the first peace time draft in the history of the USA. All males 21 to 35 years of age were registered to remain prepared in case conflict broke out. FDR also got support for the Lend-Lease Act of 1941, which stated Britain could “borrow” USA supplies and return them. Isolationists were outraged because they wanted to stay out of the war. In June of 1941, Hitler went against his agreement with Joseph Stalin to split Poland and attacked the USSR. In response to this, Stalin’s Soviet Union received supplies from the USA, despite the fact that this regime had a Communist government.
Japan had attacked Manchuria in China to expand their country and began taking over other areas in the Pacific, like French-Indo China (Vietnam). As Hitler was taking over various parts of Europe, Japan was conquering various areas in the Pacific Ocean. The USA tried an economic embargo to petition Japan’s actions, but this did not stop Japan. Although, Japan did lie and proclaimed they wanted peace with the USA.
While claiming to desire peace with the USA, Japan knew that the USA was their largest obstacle in their plan to dominate the Pacific. In a surprise approach, on December 7, 1941, Japan, under the leadership of Prime Minister
Hideki Tojo, attacked Pearl Harbor, a USA naval base in Hawaii. 180 Planes attacked killing over 2,400 Americans and wounding over 1,000 people. 21 ships were sunk, including 8 battle ships. Before this incident, many desperately wanted to remain neutral. After Pearl Harbor, this was no longer an option. Congress agreed to the FDR’s request for a declaration of war and America finally entered WW II. Since Japan was in an alliance with Germany, this meant the USA would also be going to war in Europe as well. Therefore, the USA was going to have to fight a two front war against the Axis Powers.
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