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Japan Invades Manchuria
The Japanese wanted to expand their empire and to do so, they invaded Manchuria. Within only a few months, Japan controlled the entire resource rich province. This upset the U.S. because of its unprovoked nature. -
Japan Invades China
Japan began to take over China as well as parts of Indochina which included Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. The United States did not approve of the aggression of this act and cut off their trade with Japan in protest. -
Congress Passes the "Cash-and-Carry" Provision
This provision allowed the U.S. to sell weapons to European countries as long as they paid cash and transported their own weapons. This made it easier for the U.S. to sell weapons to the nations they supported. -
Germany Invades Poland
Germany invaded Poland and bombed their military bases as well as cities. After two days, Britain and France decided to declare war on Germany. Britain and France both had close relations with the United States which made us decide further into going to war. -
Germany Begins Bombing Britian
Every single night for two full months, Germany bombed Britain using their air force called the "Luftwaffe". At this point of time, Germany had not only attacked one of the United States's allies, but two. Britain was actually their closest ally in this time period. -
Germany Invades France
On this date, Germany took over France along with Italy and they took over the whole government. This affected the United States because France was one of their closest allies. This event threatened the ideals of democracy in Europe which the U.S. strongly advocated. -
German Submarine Fired on a United States Destoryer
On this date, a German submarine fired on the U.S. destroyer. In response to this, President Roosevelt demanded the Navy shoot the submarine on sight. Only two weeks later, an American merchant ship was sunk by a German submarine and in mid October and U.S. destroyer was completely blown up by another German sub. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, which was the largest United States naval base in the pacific. This was the final straw and push that the U.S. needed to put aside their promise of neutrality. When President Roosevelt received the news, he decided to go to war with Japan.
