Causes and Effects of WWII
Five main events caused the U.S. to join the war
Rise of Totalitarian Regimes
Multiple countries across seas began practicing Totalitarian regimes. This meant that the leaders wanted to control the government and society in every way possible and there were no limits to authority. One of these countries was Germany.
German U Boats in the Atlantic
German submarines began sinking many innocent allied ships in the Atlantic in 1941. It was one of the main reasons the US partook on the war, it was also a major cause for the battle of Atlantic which was fought through out the whole war.
Cash and Carry Policy
A policy requested by FDR where companies in the United States had the ability sell war materials if paid cash in full. The purchaser would then pick up the items and transport them. This took Germany out of the process because Germany didn't have any major ships, they just had submarines for the most part.
Lend Lease act of 1941
An act that allowed for the United States to "lend" war materials to allied powers, mainly the British.
Pearl Harbor
After all this. it took the attack on pearl harbor by the Japanese. The Japanese started taking over large amounts of areas in the east, like China and Manchuria. The United States didnt like this idea so we restricted their trade and "froze" their bank assets. This really made Japan mad so they created a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. 2,403 Americans were killed and 1,178 others were wounded in this attack.