SUNY Ulster 081
Cause and Effect
14 November 2013
Wars are greatly impact the countries involved possibly the world. The war that immensely impacted the world and America after the 1920s was World War ll. The United States was not involved from the beginning of the war, but a few actions caused the U.S. to join the war effort against the axis powers. A few causes were Nazi aggression and the bombing of Pearl Harbor; the result of this war greatly impacted America in more ways than one. There are a few causes that led to the American involvement in the global war. One cause was while the U.S. was a neutral country, Nazi aggression scared many Americans. So, in September of 1940, President Roosevelt offered Britain help. Roosevelt traded fifty old destroyers to Britain in return for military bases in the Western Hemisphere. The easy victory for Roosevelt’s third presidential run encouraged him to push for greater American involvement in the war. In January 1941, Roosevelt decided to provide war supplies to Great Britain without anything in return. Congress later passed the Lend-Lease Act in March 1941. This gave the President the power to aid any nation whose defense he believed was vital to American security (Cayton). This act further involved our nation to become a factor of the war. Although this wasn’t a major cause why the U.S. was involved in the war, these actions eventually led to U.S. involvement in the war. A direct cause why America joined World War ll was due to the bombing of Pearl Harbor. On December seventh, 1941, a little after seven o’clock, the Japanese led an airstrike on the U.S. military base. While the Japanese were taking over the Pacific islands, the only thing that could stop them was the remarkable American fleet. So, they decided the best would be to destroy the American fleet. By 9:45, the attack was over leaving 2,400 Americans dead, and nearly 1,200 wounded. Three hundred war planes were damaged, and eighteen