The Road To Pearl Harbor, 1919-1941

Episode 1: America in the Pacific: The Clash of Two Cultures

January 15, 2002

This overview of the U.S. and Japanese relationship, from the urn of the century until 1933, is a story of conflict. Japan emerged from World War I as a major power, but American diplomats made little effort to understand the Oriental mind. Our Japanese foreign policy, including immigration quotas and protective tariffs, does little to improve relations.