Pearl Harbor

            
             Although Pearl Harbor was a great tradgedy in 1941. Now it is a memorial to the lives .
             Before entering World War II, Japan had many other problems .
             to deal with. It had begun to rely more and more for raw materials (especially oil) from .
             outside sources because their land was so lacking in these. Despite these difficulties, Japan .
             began to build a successful empire with a solid industrial foundation and a good army and .
             navy. The military became highly involved in the government, and this began to get them into .
             trouble. In the early 1930's, the Japanese Army had many small battles with the Chinese in .
             Manchuria. The Japanese Army won a series of battles, and Manchuria became a part of .
             the Japanese Empire. In 1937, the conflicts began again with the Chinese in the area near .
             Beijing's Marco Polo Bridge. Whether or not these conflicts began thoughtlessly or whether .
             they were planned is unknown. These led to a full-scale war known as the second Sino-.
             Japanese War. This was one of the bloodiest wars in world history and continued until the .
             final defeat of Japan in 1945. In 1939, World War II was beginning with a string of victories .
             by German forces. Germany's success included defeats of Poland and France along with .
             bombings of England. .
             Many of the European nations that Germany now controlled had control over important .
             colonial empires such as the East Indies and Singapore in Southeast Asia. These Southeast .
             Asian countries contained many of the natural resources that Japan so desperately needed. .
             Now that these countries were worried about matters over in Europe, Japan felt that it could .
             seize some of them. At the same time in the United States, President Franklin D. Roosevelt .
             wanted to halt the growth of Germany and Japan, but many others in the government wanted to .
             leave the situation alone. The United States began to supply materials to the countries at war .
             with Germany and Japan, but it wanted to remain neutral to prevent and overseas war.