How were the Americans drawn into World War ll?

World War II was officially underway by 1939, pulling all of Europe into the chaos. Japan, on the other side of the conflict, took this opportunity to push their boarders and invade China. In doing so, they also wanted to hold the dominant influence in the Pacific. With the European countries embroiled in war with Germany, the only resistance was China and the US. In order to obtain the resources needed to fuel their industry, Japan made plans to take the US by surprise and eliminate their strength.