Japan needed oil. Our blockade instigated the attack, i thought. The U.S. had blockaded Japan prior to the attack. And the New Deal actually proved to be the U.S.'s salvation. Nobody got freebies, contrary to what many might believe, and it actually worked, the people pulled together. It worked and U.S. is still better because of it.I didn't say he wasn't strong just inept. The United States had no real foreign policy prior to Pearl Harbor. Yamamoto understood that and advised against attacking Pearl Harbor. He was convinced that the Japanese could do anything they wanted in Asia and the United States wouldn't interfere. He was probably quite right. However he was ordered to bomb Pearl Harbor because analysts in the Japanese military didn't think we could have a viable fleet in the Pacific until at least 1946. What I will give Roosevelt credit for he did come up speed on a foreign policy pretty quickly after Pearl Harbor. However his domestic policy wasn't working all that well. In December 1941 the unemployment rate was 16%. If the war hadn't come along I doubt he would have been a three term president.
And the U.S. didn't go after Hitler, rather Hitler (along with Mussolini) declared war on the U.S. following the war declaration against Japan, which was declared due in part to protect overseas assets. The attack on pearl Harbor simply served as the catalyst to persuade public opinion to get involved in another major overseas conflict (Similar to the effect 9-11 had, maybe).
Then again, i could definitely be wrong. I wasn't even born yet.
(also, STILL no offence intended...)