LogFAQs > #954876889

indica posted...

Actually, it's well known that FDR planned and wanted to enter the war but the U.S. public was super against it, so when Pearl Harbor happened...
There's even some conspiracy (meaning I'm not sure how true it is) that FDR knew about Pearl Harbor but allowed it to happen anyway

I dont think FDR necessarily knew Pearl Harbor was coming, but the idea that he anticipated war with Japan is certainly up there in terms of feasibility. Every geopolitical move the US made after the first year of conflict in China (which remember, starts in 1937) was absolutely moves that greatly increased the odds of conflict with Japan.

On top of that, FDR was heavily involved in the Atlantic shipping once the European theatre got hot, and again, made a bunch of moves that made it clear America was a de facto ally to Britain.

FDRs actions are mostly that of a man who desperately wants into the war, but was hamstrung by a political system and people who didnt want to fight. Which is to say, he did everything he could short of declaring war specifically in the hopes that at some point war support amongst the citizens would flip and the US could enter. Pearl Harbor was an undeniable event that could not be ignored, but it would not surprise me in the least if in the alternate timeline where that doesnt happen, he likely finds another way to enter anyway.

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