AMERICAN IMPERIALISM 1890 1919
THE UNITED STATES IN WORLD WAR I
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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Japan wanted to capture American oil reserves.
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Japan wanted the destruction of American naval power in the Pacific.
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Japan wanted to force China to surrender more territory to the United States.
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None of the above
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Detailed explanation-1: -By attacking Pearl Harbor Japan believes that it can severely cripple the U.S fleet and buy them time in the Pacific and Southeast Asia. So not only would they be able to launch their attacks without interference from the U.S they would also have time to dig in defensively and consolidate their gains.
Detailed explanation-2: -Japan intended the attack as a preventive action. Its aim was to prevent the United States Pacific Fleet from interfering with its planned military actions in Southeast Asia against overseas territories of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and those of the United States.
Detailed explanation-3: -While there is no single correct or simple reason for the attack, this lesson should help students realize that Japan’s motivation for attacking Pearl Harbor was driven by its political self-interests, its scarcity of economic resources and perceived opportunity costs, and America’s embargo policy.