Did the Americans want to get into WW2 just to boost their economy?

That’s debatable. The US was very much isolationist, and wanted to stay out of the war. Regardless, the US economy would have been helped supplying Great Britain. Google “Lend Lease” WWII.

You need to do your own work for this paper. There’s lots of easy information out there. Don’t be lazy; it’s an interesting subject, because history repeats itself.

yes…

It sounds like you’re implying that “the Americans” knew about the Pearl Harbor attack beforehand. The consensus among historians is that FDR did not have prior knowledge of the attack.

Good luck with your essay. Judging motives is difficult. The US didn’t get into WWII “just” to do any one thing. It was a complex situation. But no, helping the economy was not the primary motivation behind the US’s involvement.

http://awakeandarise.org/article/PearlHarbor.htm

I would be interesting in reading more about the source douments for this:

On January 27th, 1941, eleven months before the attack, our U.S. Ambassador to Japan, Joseph Grew, sent a message to Washington stating: “The Peruvian Minister has informed a member of my staff that he has heard from many sources, including a Japanese source, that in the event of trouble breaking out between the United States and Japan, the Japanese intended to make a surprise attack against Pearl Harbor with all their strength….” But FDR ordered the Pacific fleet to be kept at Pearl Harbor anyway instead of its normal berthing on the U.S. West Coast.

James Perloff informs us that after meeting with President Roosevelt on October 16, 1941, Secretary of War Henry Stimson wrote in his diary: “We face the delicate question of the diplomatic fencing to be done so as to be sure Japan is put into the wrong and makes the first bad move — overt move.” Then, on November 25th, 1941, the day before FDR’s administration sent an ultimatum to Japan’s ambassadors, Stimson wrote in his diary: “The question was how we should maneuver them [the Japanese] into the position of firing the first shot….”

Judith Greer debunked many elements of the FDR/Pearl Harbor conspiracy theories on Salon a few years back. I hope FDR conspiracy stoiries aren’t standard teaching in Canadian schools.

@ alfreda prufrock i am reasearching this whole topic, and im not just trying to get all my information off of you people. Im not being “lazy”, its just when i read about this in books its all very confusing. The books content is almost written in military talk. I am just trying to get familiar with this topic so when i go back and reasearch further i can actually understand what the books mean. And by the way im in high school, its not a huge important essay, only 3 pages. I just want a good mark. Its not like a 10 page university essay…

Pick up any history book for an overview. You can easily write a decent 3 page paper.
Later if you want, explore it more in depth by considering the political motivations of various parties, the interests, and the propoganda.

@seventhsense your a litte late… I wrote that paper in like december :P