Pearl Harbor: The Seeds and Fruits of Infamy - Ludwig von Mises ...

31.
Epilogue
World War II is now history. Th e generally accepted view is
that the United States was brought into that war as a result
of Japan’s sudden, unexpected and “dastardly” December 7,
1941, attack on the U.S. Fleet in Hawaii. As President Roosevelt
pointed out the following day in his message to Congress this
attack had been planned and undertaken even as U.S. and
Japanese diplomats were still engaged in negotiations seeking to
settle their diff erences in peace. In response Congress declared
war on Japan almost immediately. Although it is obvious that
the Japanese forces must bear the direct responsibility for the
attack, the responsibility for the full extent of the disaster is much
broader.
Th e Preamble of the U.S. Constitution provided for a government
to “establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for
the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure
the Blessings of liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.” Except
as those goals relied on the country’s being at peace, they did
not deal specifi cally with international relations. However, inherent
in the Preamble was the idea that defending this nation and
safeguarding the liberty of its citizens calls for protecting them
from domestic and foreign aggression. Th e new United States
should “mind its own business,” base its policies and practices on
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