Those Dirty Rotten...Imperialists?

This is a tidbit I wrote on the 7th of December, that day that will live in infamy. It's a little past due I realize but still interesting to think about.

World War II was the result of uncontrolled imperialism. Britain (and The United States) had been systematically expanding their own empires for decades. Intervention usually leads to settlements and exploitation. China is the perfect example with the Opium War and subsequent "Open Door" policy. Other nations felt that this was an appropriate way to show their superiority. Imperialism was a way of life for nations in the 1800s and into the 1900s. Expansionist ideology in both Germany and Japan came to a head in the 1930s with Germany's invasion of the Sudetenland and Japan's invasion of Manchuria. So in essence, we created the very monsters we were fighting. Japan was simply trying to prove to the world they were a powerful force and the only way they could do that was by invasion.

This is a pretty interesting article about Japanese reasons for attacking Pearl Harbor. It is full of other interesting historical tidbits as well.