The attack on Pearl Harbor happened seventy-seven years ago tomorrow, my thoughts are have we learned the lessons from the events that preceded it and the attack itself which plunged the United States into a World War it had wanted to avoid?

I know that it happened a very long time ago, but it was a pivotal point in world history that should never be forgotten. So here is some background information from the History website, I know that some school systems skip over too much of our history and I want you to know what really happened.

“The United States was particularly unhappy with Japan’s increasingly belligerent attitude toward China. The Japanese government believed that the only way to solve its economic and demographic problems was to expand into its neighbor’s territory and take over its import market.

To this end, Japan declared war on China in 1937, resulting in the Nanking Massacre and other atrocities.”

History.com wrote the following about the path to war,“American officials responded to this aggression with a battery of economic sanctions and trade embargoes. They reasoned that without access to money and goods, and especially essential supplies like oil, Japan would have to rein in its expansionism. Instead, the sanctions made the Japanese more determined to stand their ground.”

This should be ringing some bells if you understand that there are some parallels between today and then. I will address this at the end of this blog.

From Encyclopedia Britannia, “In July 1939 the U.S. announced the termination of the 1911 Treaty of Commerce and Navigation with Japan. Beginning in the summer of 1940, the U.S. began to restrict the export to Japan of materials useful in war. Between June 1940 and the fateful crisis of December 1941, the tension constantly mounted. In July 1941, by which time the Japanese had occupied all of Indochina and had entered into an alliance with the Axis powers (Germany and Italy), the U.S. government severed all commercial and financial relations with Japan. Japanese assets were frozen, and an embargo was declared on shipments to Japan of petroleum and other vital war materials. Militarists were steadily gaining in influence in the Tokyo government; they bitterly resented U.S. aid to China, which by this time had been stepped up. They saw in the German invasion of the Soviet Union an unrivaled opportunity to pursue a policy of aggression in the Far East without danger of an attack upon their rear by the forces of the Red Army. Nonetheless, negotiations looking to find some kind of understanding between the United States and Japan took place through the autumn of 1941, and not until near the end of November did it become clear that no agreement was possible.”

I will continue this next week and I encourage you in the mean time to look at the reference material to understand the history of the attack.

That is my opinion- Jumpin Jersey Mike