The United States entered the Second World War late in nineteen forty-one after a surprise attack by Japanese forces on Hawaii.

The time and the place of the attack was a surprise. But American military and political leaders had believed that the United States, sooner or later, would be pulled into the fighting. And they began to prepare for war.

VOICE TWO:

President Franklin Roosevelt had been assistant aecretary of the Navy under President Woodrow Wilson during World War One. He remembered how American troops were not ready for that war. Now that he was president, Roosevelt wanted to be sure that the United States would be ready when it had to fight.

Throughout nineteen forty-one, Roosevelt urged American industries to produce more arms and military goods. And he established new government agencies to work with private industry to increase arms production.

Some business leaders resisted Roosevelt's efforts. They felt there was no need to produce more arms while the United States was still at peace. But many others cooperated. And by the time Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, the American economy was producing millions of guns and other weapons.

文章来源网站：转载(nsalon.com/enradio/voaspe/vopspe4/voanation/200612/20061207191420.html)，该站的Alexa排名：