Conspiracy theories always intrigued me. It began in 1963 with the assassination of President Kennedy. Like most Americans old enough to recall that dark, life-changing day, I remember where I was when I heard the President had been shot – and the painful days that followed.

The Kennedy assassination actually hit home for our family more so than the average American, as my father personally knew him during JFK’s years as a Massachusetts’ Congressman and U.S. Senator. So as I proceeded through high school and college, the Warren Commission Report and subsequent conspiracy theories captivated me. One of my best pieces of work in college was a thesis on the assassination. My conclusion back then, as it remains today, is that a conspiracy indeed occurred.

While the debate over the Kennedy assassination has been prominent, lest we forget the once-called “mother of all conspiracies,” as December 7th approaches.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, we painstakingly remember President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s famous quote about December 7, 1941 … “A date which will live in infamy.” However, conspiracy theorists believe President Roosevelt not only knew of the imminent attack by the Empire of Japan, but also actually provoked it with a succession of so-called “moral embargos” on Japan commencing in 1940 and culminating with an oil and fuel embargo in July 1941. Hence, a supposed reason for Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor was to protect its advance into the Dutch East Indies for much-needed oil by destroying America’s Pacific fleet.

The conspiracy theory relates to Roosevelt’s attempt to change America’s isolation stance to acceptance of war – and engage in Europe. Since neither the American people nor Congress wanted to enter the war, Roosevelt needed to sucker Hitler into declaring war on the United States. An attack by Japan on the U.S. would provoke him to do so.

As we know all-to-well, Japan attached Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. President Roosevelt declared war on the Empire of Japan on 8 December. On the 11th of December, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States. Roosevelt then immediately declared war on Germany and Italy…with the support of Congress and the American people.

If nothing else, conspiracy theories are an interesting read.