23. The Context That Gives the Lie to a Myth
America got into a war with Germany not because Japan attacked the US, but because of Hitler. To the consternation of his generals, the Fuhrer declared war on America when he had nothing to gain, and everything to lose from gratuitously adding to his list of enemies the world’s wealthiest country and greatest industrial powerhouse. There is little reason to think that Congress would otherwise have declared war against Germany after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. In the context of the time, it was Japan against whom Americans sought payback, not Germany.
Even if a Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor could have led to war against Germany, FDR’s alleged goal to get America into the war would have been accomplished just as well if our forces had been prepared. A Japanese attack defeated by alert US forces would have still been an act of war by Japan. Roosevelt would still have gotten the war he supposedly sought, without thousands of American servicemen and civilians unnecessarily killed. The US Navy could have ambushed the Japanese and sunk their fleet before it launched a single plane against Pearl Harbor. Its mere presence in the vicinity of Hawaii would have been sufficient evidence of Japan’s hostile intent to justify war.
