On December 7, 1941, one of the greatest tragedies in the history of the United States occurred. The Japanese launched a surprise air attack on the US naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. After just two hours of bombing, more than 2,400 Americans died, 21 ships were sunk or damaged, and more than 188 American planes were destroyed (1900 story). The United States was in total shock and disgust, so in response it declared war on Japan. Between 1937 and 1941, the escalating conflict between China and Japan affected U.S. relations with both nations, and ultimately helped push the United States toward full-scale war with Japan and Germany ( History). In 1937 China and Japan went to war. Although Chinese forces resisted, Japan advanced further into China. The conflict has brought great suffering to the Chinese people. In December, Japanese troops captured the Chinese city of Nanjing. Over the next month they massacred as many as 300,000 Chinese civilians. The United States felt it had a strong and special relationship with China and often acted as that nation's protector, yet most Americans in the 1930s did not want the nation to be involved in foreign wars. President Franklin Roosevelt felt he could only protest Japan's actions. Additionally, Americans were more concerned about rising tensions in Europe. The infamous dictators Adolf Hitler in Germany and Joseph Stalin in the Soviet Union had come to power (Teacher). World War II had begun when in September 1939, Germany and Russia attacked Poland and France and Great Britain declared war in return. President Roosevelt felt he had to act. In the summer of 1940, Roosevelt banned the sale of some American goods to Japan. At the same time, Congress is... middle of paper... Porto? Learn more about the attack on Pearl Harbor, Pearl Harbor Day, and the Pearl Harbor Memorial. Np, nd Web. December 16, 2012.day.html>."PRESIDENT HARRY S TRUMAN." Harry Trumann. Np, nd Web. December 16, 2012..Rosenberg, Jennifer. "Attack on Pearl Harbor." History1900.Np, nd Web. December 15, 2012.."Speech Analysis: Franklin Roosevelt's Pearl Harbor Speech." Six minutes RSS. NP and Web. 16 December 2012. "US drops atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki 1945." The chronology of world history. Np, nd Web. December 16. 2012.