Truman's Argumentative Essay: United We Stand !

707 Words3 Pages

United We Stand!
After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 7th, 1941, The United States was justified to enter into World War II. As the US role in the war in the Pacific and in Europe expanded for the United States and loses of killed, wounded and missing soldiers began to climb beyond 400,000, the US needed to find a way to strike at the Japanese Empire without forcing thousands of more troops into further ground battles. It was for all of these reasons that President Harry Truman decided to use a nuclear bomb on prime targets within Japan. When the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima no one really knew what the overall outcome would be as this was the first attack of this sort ever used. The eventual reported outcome of loss of life was in excess of 135,000. There were tens of thousands more wounded and a portion of Japan left uninhabitable. Ultimately, the US use of nuclear weapons against Japan was revered to be more as a showing of the US advancements in the Arms Race than it was to bring about a cessation to the war and save US troops from having to continue ground assaults in the Pacific Theatre. This was the justification Truman used to justify his decision to himself, congress and the American people. …show more content…

Japan felt it was on the verge of being the strongest naval power in the world. They had felt that America was the only country that stood in their way. If Japan had not attacked Pearl Harbor, then America wouldn't have had to enter World War II when it did; if at all on the Asian front. It was only because of that attack and the mounting loss of life to the US Pacific Fleet the decision to join the war and bomb the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was made. Ultimately, the devastation created by the bombing forced Japan to surrender and the United States was

More about Truman's Argumentative Essay: United We Stand !