This is an essay based around the prompt "what steps would you have taken differently to prevent pearl harbor?"

On the morning of Sunday, December 7th, 1941, thousands of American soldiers and civilians were killed in a surprise aerial attack by the Japanese in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Although the attack on Pearl Harbor was a devastating day for America, and the initiation of US involvement in World War II, it is a day to remember not only for those who died but for the lessons to be learned to help prevent any such event from happening again. I would have advised the government and military officials to honor all respects of a neutrality, recognize and act on the signals they receive, and better coordinate communications between the military and government. If these matters would have been taken, an attack on Pearl Harbor would not have been made on an unprepared naval harbor, or, due to Japanese espionage in Hawaii, might not have happened at all.

President Roosevelt declared American neutrality when war in Europe first broke out, yet some of his actions can be argued as not so neutral, due to economic and diplomatic concerns in Japan and Germany.

English: United States President Franklin D. Roose...

The USS Arizona (BB-39) burning after the Japanese...

English: A navy photographer snapped this photogra...

For example, when Germany placed a blockade on British waters, many British ships with American occupants were sunk, and Roosevelt responded with several threats of war. Germany eventually fully respected American naval neutrality, but Roosevelt's threat to enter into war was indeed a step away from American neutrality and the first sign of American readiness to enter into war. Another example came after Japanese alliance with Germany in World War II and complete Japanese occupancy of Indochina in 1941. These actions surprised US officials, who had strong economic ties to China and had long been applying diplomatic pressure on Japan to not invade China. In response to Japanese occupancy, Roosevelt, along with Great Britain and the Netherlands, completely cut...