“If it was just a matter of letting Pearl Harbor happen, why didn’t FDR ask for a declaration of war against Germany on Dec. 8, instead of waiting until after Hitler’s declaration on Dec. 11?”
It wasn’t just a matter of letting Pearl Harbor happen, in my opinion. But fine, let’s say it was, they could easily be waiting for Germany to declare war. Or waiting for some contingency or another. There are a million causes for war. Probably would have gone with the old U-boat standby.
The idea, to me, that we only went to war with Germany because they declared war on us, when they possessed no threat outside of the threat that had existed on the high seas for a while, is outlandish. After all we had done, with lend-lease and repeatedly calling Germany the aggressor, how anyone can imagine we’d fight Japan and still leave Britain alone is beyond me.
Review the copy of the FDR draft of the "Day of Infamy" speech - on display at the FDRL at Hyde Park, NY - note what is edited out.
The German declaration of war against the US was delivered to the American embassy in Berlin - the cause noted was the several/many violations of neutrality by the US in the Atlantic - not the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor.;