The Nazis took quite a lot of inspiration from Americans. Jim Crow laws were cited by Nazi researchers who toured the country (which were mostly passed on for not being relevant to their situation, except for the anti-mixed race laws, which they were quite keen on), as well as our blood purity laws and our military and infrastructural strategies regarding the nations within our borders.
Japan attacking one of our remote military bases was more than an act of war - it was inconvenient. We explicitly declared war on Japan and not the rest of the axis, and it was Germany who declared war on us (because allied). Even while American GIs were storming through France and Germany, we were still making back channel attempts to reason with the Nazis and reach some form of agreement.
After all, Communism was perceived as the bigger existential threat, and the USSR had committed a lot to this fight against the Nazis (and endured a lot on their soil), so if Germany fell and was to be divvied up, they would fight hard for a sizable chunk of her and probably get away with it. Whereas if we could stop Nazi Germany from being completely destroyed by an alliance of disparate nations with very different ideas about the future, but find a way to work with her, that could go a long way towards stemming the red tide, to say nothing of the strategic considerations (Germany's location, access to resources, etc).
Of course, we know what ended up happening. Hitler put a bullet in his brain and Germany was partially controlled by Communists for nearly the next half-century.
The Nazis took quite a lot of inspiration from Americans. Jim Crow laws were cited by Nazi researchers who toured the country (which were mostly passed on for not being relevant to their situation, except for the anti-mixed race laws, which they were quite keen on), as well as our blood purity laws and our military and infrastructural strategies regarding the nations within our borders.
Japan attacking one of our remote military bases was more than an act of war - it was inconvenient. We explicitly declared war on Japan and not the rest of the axis, and it was Germany who declared war on us (because allied). Even while American GIs were storming through France and Germany, we were still making back channel attempts to reason with the Nazis and reach some form of agreement.
After all, Communism was perceived as the bigger existential threat, and the USSR had committed a lot to this fight against the Nazis (and endured a lot on their soil), so if Germany fell and was to be divvied up, they would fight hard for a sizable chunk of her and probably get away with it. Whereas if we could stop Nazi Germany from being completely destroyed by an alliance of disparate nations with very different ideas about the future, but find a way to work with her, that could go a long way towards stemming the red tide, to say nothing of the strategic considerations (Germany's location, access to resources, etc).
Of course, we know what ended up happening. Hitler put a bullet in his brain and Germany was partially controlled by Communists for nearly the next half-century.