As my husband notes in the Preface to this book, his interest in Pearl Harbor stemmed from his year-long association (1945–1946) with the Congressional Joint Committee to Investigate the Attack on Pearl Harbor. As director of the Committee’s minority staff, he studied all the documents furnished the Committee and attended all the hearings. After the hearings ended, he received a small grant from Harry Elmer Barnes to seek answers to some questions raised but not answered by the several investigations.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Elected President

March 4, 1933, inauguration day, was a gray day in Washington, a depressing day like the economic depression that then enveloped the nation. The sun broke through the clouds only occasionally as President-elect Roosevelt, exuberant over his victory, and outgoing President Herbert Hoover, gloomy and distressed not only at having lost the election but also at not having been able to stem the economic downturn, rode together up Pennsylvania Avenue to the capitol from the White House.

U.S.-British Cooperation

On May 10, 1940, Winston Churchill became prime minister of England. He wrote Roosevelt on May 15: “Although I have changed my office, I am sure you would not wish me to discontinue our intimate, private correspondence.”[1] The two men continued to enjoy the close relationship begun shortly after Britain and France went to the defense of Poland against Hitler in September 1939.

FDR’s Re-election a Victory for Britain

On November 5, 1940, President Roosevelt won an unprecedented third term, defeating Republican Wendell Willkie. However, he did not win by as large a margin as in 1936 over Republican Alfred Landon. With the election over and won, FDR no longer needed to exercise the same caution with respect to his dealings with England. Just two days after his re-election he met with British Purchasing Agent Purvis to discuss more military supplies for England.

U.S. Relations with Japan

Relations with Japan had been strained for some time. The Roosevelt administration was fully aware of Japan’s dependence on imports. Yet, as we have seen, it had terminated America’s long-standing commercial treaty with her. After January 1940 Japan had to ask permission on a case by case basis whenever she wanted to import from the United States. In July 1940 the administration had further prohibited exports to Japan by requiring her to get a license to purchase aircraft engines and strategic materials.

Japan and Public Opinion

Japan’s trade situation continued to deteriorate. Her situation was desperate. On November 3, Ambassador Grew in Tokyo cabled Secretary of State Hull that “the greater part of Japan’s commerce has been lost. Japanese industrial production has been dramatically curtailed, and Japan’s national resources have been depleted.” Grew believed that the United States would not be able to avert war in the Far East by continuing to embargo trade with Japan.

Intelligence

Information about an enemy is “intelligence.” Intelligence is one of the most valuable weapons in the arsenal of a belligerent. Most intelligence comes in bits and pieces—one fact here, another there, often seemingly unrelated. In the hands of an intelligent and capable agent, these bits and pieces may often be linked and made intelligible, yielding valuable information, “intelligence.” Thus coordination, analysis, and interpretation are extremely important.

U. S. War Plans—To Raid and Destroy Japanese Bases in Far East in Support of Associated Powers

Military forces regularly make plans for the defense of their country under various contingencies. However, by 1941 the U.S. military had developed war plans that went far beyond trying to defend the nation against foreign aggressors. Our Army, Navy, and Air forces were operating under a war plan based on a secret agreement reached during the American-British Conversations (ABC) held in Washington early in 1941.

U.S.-Japanese Negotiations Broken Off

U.S. “naval officials in London had been informed by the Navy Department that negotiations between Japan and the United States had been broken off and that an immediate movement by Japan was anticipated.”[1] When British Ambassador Lord Halifax heard this, he abruptly returned to Washington from Philadelphia where he had planned to weekend. The British government was “greatly excited” at the news. Halifax called on Undersecretary of State Welles that Friday evening, November 28, to see if it was actually true.