Excerpts from the Congressional Record of 1941 support the author's discussion of the debates leading to the decision to declare war. The book explores the rationales defending past conduct by those who had been of both interventionist and anti-interventionist sentiments, as well as their collective effort to forge a national consensus that would support a multi-year international conflict. Emphasis is also placed on the reasoning behind war not being immediately declared on Germany as well as Japan and the motivations behind Germany's decision to enter the conflict on it's own initiative. Lengthy attention is given to Jeanette Rankin, the only House member to vote against the war.