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Quote by: Nono  tivo, you ol' jingo you, y'all never let me down.
Good thing the British developed the Spitfire, without which they surely wouldn't have won the Battle of Britain, without which all them P-51s and B-17s would have lacked bases with which to perform their wonders.
Good thing, too, that the Brits cracked the Enigma code, having managed to get their hands on one of the deciphering machines.
This was indispensable to winning the war, US or no US. (It was also a key to beating the Japanese.)
You wish. I think no serious student of history today doubts that Roosevelt knew an attack was coming and probably took measures to facilitate it.
Which isn't an excuse for Japanese militarism, aggression and general dastardliness. Without Pearl Harbor, Hitler -- and the Japanese -- would probably have won the war. |
Japan's entrance into the war and what Roosevelt did or did not know is off the topic of the militarization for the US. As was said in another thread, a submarine attack might have been expected. Japan did have subs. But the air strike was unexpected, as the technology for this was unknown to the US. If you are all are interested I will gladly quote from a book explaining how dramatically the attack on Pearl Harbor changed our understanding of warfare and the ground, around the world, the US should control for the purpose of air warfare.
What is on subject is, the technological advances that are essential to modern warfare. A Prussian general realized the importance of this technology before WWI and that is why Germany had education for technology for military and industrial purpose. The US had liberal education that did almost nothing to advancing military technology. Liberal education encouraged everyone to be industrail and civic leaders, the resources and attimouspher of learned democracy, encourage inventions and individuals learning science and developing technology. However, until 1958, the US did not have the education for technology for military and industrial puspose that it has had since 1958. The US did not have institutionized military industry and daily government involvement with the develpment of the greatest military might on earth.
Before WWII, most people thought they would never earn enough money to pay income taxes and government spending was so restricted it didn't need the tax money it consumes today. The discussion of fascism should begin with Hoover's and Roosevelt's reorganization of government, and the hugh increase in bureaucracies, giving goverment hugh amounts of power it never had before, and then discussion of how the second war influeneced the increase of bureaucracies and the power they hold.
We were not socialized by the poor demanding more from government, but by the necessity of war in the minds of men who believe only military might can prevent war and is essential to their survival and good for the economy. What war does to mass consciousness, how it makes people agressive and paranoid, and twist the meanings of their words, was recorded by an ancient Greek historian. If we maintian literacy in the Greek and Roman classics (classical or liberal education) we would be much wiser today.