December 7, 1941, "a day that will live in infamy", these words have been used for decades, over 60 years of our nation uttering these words every year to remind us. of how our nation was drawn into World War II. The media of the time gave the American people the impression that the Japanese were an evil people and that all they wanted to do was bring the whole world under their control and that our nation was next. The reality is not accurate; the Japanese never sought to control the entire world, but only to "liberate" the countries of East Asia from the influence of Western nations, to make their corner of the world purer. The Japanese were heavily involved in a long and bloody war on the Asian continent for control of China and did not want to engage in a two-front war with the United States. I would argue that the reasons why their country engaged in a two-front war were far more complex than many people realize and that if they had the choice, they would prefer to fight one enemy at a time before moving on. to their next opponent. The war with China was one that lasted much longer than the Japanese originally thought or wanted it to last. And according to Jonathon Utley, the war with China was never intended to be a war. It began as a minor incident between two minor groups of troops near the Marco Polo Bridge, just outside the Chinese capital, Beijing. American intelligence considered it only a minor incident that would likely be resolved on the spot, without further aggression. But both countries were more determined to win and beat the other that it quickly escalated into a full-blown war. On the one hand you had Japan which was much more aggressive...... middle of paper ...... This diplomatic and negotiating disaster cost both countries hundreds of thousands of lives and showed once again to the world that the war was a nasty affair. Maybe in the future people will be more willing to sit down and seriously discuss things before it results in armed conflict. Works Cited Roosevelt, Franklin, (April 8, 1939). Roosevelt press conference. No. 537, 13:260ff, PPC, FDRLShigenori, Togo. (1956). The Cause of Japan, (Togo Fumihiko & Ben Bruce Blakeney, Trans.). New York, NY: Simon and Schuster, Inc. Utley, Jonathon G. (1976). Up, Down in Foggy Bottom: Oil Exports and Japan, 1940 – 1941. 17 – 28. Utley, Jonathon G. (1985). Going to War with Japan, 1937 – 1941. Knoxville, Tennessee, University of Tennessee Press. Welles Sumner, (February – March 1951). Roosevelt and the Far East, Harpers 202 27-38, -70-80.