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1853: The Black Ships Open Japan
Japan wanted to keep out "dangerous influences," such as the European missionaries and foreign ships weren't allowed to enter Japanese ports. Small fleet of American warships commanded by Commodore Matthew Perry went into the bay at Edo. They had come to open trade with other nations. The Japanese were threatened by warships so they signed a treaty with the US. -
Japan: a Strong and Independent Nation
The European nations seized huge territories all across Asia, which they ruled as colonies. The empire of China was forced to offer European powers special trade privileges. Japan's rulers were determined to keep their country from becoming a colony and to do this, they believed they were to adopt Western Culture and technology to make Japan strong. -
America Becomes a pacific Power
In the late 1800s, influential Americans began to argue that the US should follow the example of Britain, France, and other European natures in gaining colonies overseas. -
The Great Depression
The 1929 New York Stock Exchange crash and the failure of the important European banks put the entire world into an economic depression. Japan was hit hard by this, practically left with no resources. As Japan's economy grew worse, the country became more aggressive. To gain greater access to materials was to increase the amount of territory under Japanese control. -
China in Flames
In 1937 China and Japan went to war, with Japan coming out on top. This brought conflict and great suffering to the Chinese. The US ended up helping China out. World War II came around and ended up helping Japan continue its assault on China. -
The Tripartite Pact
Japan responded to America's action by joining Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy in the Tripartite (three-part) Pact. These three countries pledged to support one another if any one of them was attacked b the U.S. President Roosevelt answered this by seizing Japanese money and property in the Us and forbidding exports on oil, steel, and iron to Japan. -
War Warning
In late 1941 Japanse army general Hideki Tojo became the nation's prime minister. Tojo was not afraid to challenge Britain and the US for power. Japan planned on surprise attacks all across the Pacific, from Hong Kong to Hawaii. -
The Day of Infamy
On December 6, the Japanese government started sending a long message to its diplomat in Washington. japanese diplomats prepared for a final meeting to break off all negotiations with the US. this message was decided and sent to President Roosevelt and tot eh hg commanders of the US Army and Navy. The US was now aware that Japan may strike somewhere in the Pacific, but Pearl Harbor did not receive a warning until 8:00 am. -
The Martial Law
The Martial law was a temporary rule by military authorities of a designated area in time of emergency when civil authorities are deemed unable to function.
