15875. FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT AND THE ATTACK ON PEARL HARBOR. This paper examines the revisionist historical view that President Roosevelt and his administration knew of the impending Japanese attack in advance and may have even provoked the attack as an excuse to become involved in the war effort and to overcome public resistance to American participation in World War II. It is argued that there is a lack of solid evidence to support these claims. Rather, it seems that the surprise of the attack was due to miscommunication and other human errors instead of a conspiracy on the part of the U.S. government. 17 pages; 40 footnotes; 9 bibliographic sources.