CLEP US History II

Answer: E - In 1931, Japan invaded the Chinese region of Manchuria, which was the first act in a conflict with the United States that ultimately led to the bombing of Pearl Harbor ten years later. Japan wanted to assume control of East Asia. The United States was alarmed by the invasion of Manchuria but did little to address it (largely because of the ongoing Great Depression). Over the course of the subsequent decade, Japan continued to progress in its campaign for Asian control, eventually moving toward island nations in the Pacific, some of which were relatively close to American interests (e.g., the Philippines was a U.S. commonwealth at the time). Japan’s signing of the Tripartite Act in 1940, which allied them with Germany and Italy, only intensified American concern. The United States stopped making exports to Japan, which was a strong blow-Japan received 80% of their oil from the United States, among other goods and resources. Negotiations to end the embargoes failed, and the likelihood of war between the two parties seemed imminent by mid-1941. That autumn, Japan began to plan the attack on Pearl Harbor. (Note: The conflict between the United States and Japan was principally ideological, diplomatic, and trade-related; it was not overtly military until Pearl Harbor.)