Congress unanimously declared war on Germany and Italy on Dec. 11. 1941, three days after the declaration against Japan, and immediately after Italian and German declarations against the U.S.

Republican Congresswoman Jeanette Rankin, a pacifist, had voted against the declaration of war on Japan; she abstained from the second vote.

Rankin said, "As a woman, I can't go to war, and I refuse to send anyone else." She did not seek re-election in 1942.