Singapore in World War II

The Far East players consisted of Britain, the United States and Japan. To Britain, Singapore was a symbol of its Victorian heyday as the preeminent world super-power of the 19th century. The United States, while a close ally of Britain, had little interest in preserving ancient history, since it was bent on its own course of expansionist policy and global influence. Japan had allied itself with Britain in World War I, but much had changed in the aftermath of a Versailles charged with "Yellow Peril" racist rhetoric (McIntyre 223). Having been left out of the feeding frenzy that ensued upon the vanquished, and despite its Anglo-Japanese Alliance with Britain, Japan embarked on an aggressive plan to gain control of Far East Asia.

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as important as the Island was in the Far East, America was not prepared to support Singapore at the expense of security in the Atlantic and Mediterranean regions. The American position was propelled by the promise of raw materials of the Far East and the overt desire to avoid antagonizing Japan (McIntyre 103). Consequently, America's most valuable possession in the Far East, the Philippines, was written off as indefensible (Morton 87). While Churchill made repeated requests for the presence of the U.S. Asiatic fleet in Singapore during 1940, Roosevelt was embroiled in a presidential election year for an unprecedented third term in office. The bitterness of World War I and the Great Depression had made the nation xenophobic. Any dabbling in Asia would be unpopular, so not even one U.S. squadron could be sent to Singapore without political repercussions (Watson 117). There were also other considerations. America drew security in its overwhelming natural and material resources. Unwilling to invest in a protracted conflict, the U.S. would look for an opportunity to launch a massive, all-out strike against the enemy at the earliest possible moment. Therefore, the U.S. was willing to risk losing the Philippines in the short
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Some common words found in the essay are:
War Depression, Chamberlain Churchill, Beach McIntyre, Afterwards American, Japanese Results, Britain Singapore, Atlantic Pacific, Chiefs Staff, British Command, Naval Treaty, world war, naval base, singapore naval base, singapore naval, pearl harbor, british command, australia zealand, fall singapore, 19th century, defense singapore, world war ii, air power, dc department army, washington dc department,
Approximate Word count = 2313
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page)

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