December 7, 1941 was the date of a terrible attack on a US naval base in a port in Hawaii. That day the port was attacked from both the air and the sea. As approximately 350 Japanese planes flew over the naval port, their planes dropped bombs (Pearl Harbor's day of infamy, 2013). With the help of Japanese submarines, both reportedly damaged 8 battleships, of which 4 sank in the harbor. That day, approximately 2,403 Americans were killed and over 1,178 sailors and civilians were injured. As people say, the bombing of Pearl Harbor was a surprise attack by the Japanese – or was it? Some people believe that the United States provoked the attack on Pearl Harbor so that they could go to war and jump-start their economy, and not only do they believe that the United States provoked the attack, but these people also believe that F.D.R. and his administration knew about the attack and just sat in their chairs and watched the whole event unfold. I would have to agree with the hypothesis that the United States provoked Japan's attack; I would also have to agree that FDR stood back and let this happen. Provoking Japan The United States and Japan have had bad blood with each other since the end of World War I, and not just during World War II. Both the United States and Japan were major industrial powers in the early 1900s, competing with each other on the world stage (Ember, 2011). Furthermore, going back to World War I, the United States, Great Britain, France, and Italy all had leaders who were instrumental in bringing about the Treaty of Versailles (Buchanan, 2001). The “Big Four” felt no need to allow any country other than themselves to contribute to the treaty. Countries that want...... half of the document ......org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4206060Buchanan, P.J. (2001). Why did Japan attack us? Retrieved from The American Cause: http://www.theamericancause.org/patwhydidjapan.htmEmber, S. (2011). American History: US-Japan Relations Before World War II. Retrieved from VOA Learning English: http://learningenglish.voanews.com/content/america-history-relations-between-us-japan-worsen--122622634/116119.htmlThe Day of Pearl Harbor Infamy. (2013). Retrieved from Military.com: http://www.military.com/Resources/HistorySubmissionFileView?file=history_pearlharbor.htmThe Washington Naval Conference. Retrieved from US Department of State: Office of the Historian: http://history.state.gov/milestones/1921-1936/naval-conferenceUS freezes Japanese assets. (2013). Excerpt from story.: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/united-states-freezes-japanese-assets