Wake throughout the world. many believe that

Wake a Sleeping GiantEvery president of the UnitedStates takes an oath, to protect, preserve, and defend the nation theyserve.

Presidents are faced with the world’smost difficult of challenges; they must make decisions for the good of thecountry.  Their choices can change thecourse of history.  Franklin D. Roosevelt’s decisions greatly impacted the world, and still do; specifically, his involvement in President Harry S. Truman’s bold decision to drop not onebut two atomic bombs on Japan.

This actionstuck controversy throughout the world.  Manybelieve that this action was inhumane.  Whileothers believe that it brought honor to those men and women who were killedduring the attack of Pearl Harbor.  Thisaction was justified and here is why. When World War II began, the UnitedStates was a neutral country. That is until Japan attacked U. S.

soil.  The reasons for the Japanese attack had beenbuilding up for over a decade.  TheJapanese were seeing themselves as an imperial force and had ambitions toexpand into China.  The United Statesresponded to Japan’s declaration of war on China by enforcing trade embargosand economic sanctions.  What pushedJapan over the edge was when the U. S. organized with the British and Dutch toimplement an oil embargo.  This hurtJapan because 90% of Japanese oil was imported.

Without oil, Japan’s military was impaired; all of their war effortscame to a sudden halt.  This actiondeeply upset Japan, which led them to one of the most disastrous decisions inhistory. On December 7, 1941 the UnitedStates was attacked at Pearl Harbor Naval Base near Honolulu, Hawaii.  This was the setting of a devastatingunforeseen attack.  The attack took placejust before 8am, on a Sunday, hundreds of Japanese fighter planes descended onthe base, where they succeeded in destroying and damaging 20 American Navalvessels including 8 massive battleships, and more than 300 airplanes.

This heartbreaking event shook Americans whenthey found out that the Japanese killed over 2, 400 Americans and wounded over1, 000 these men and women were sailors, soldiers, and civilians.  The very next day the President of the UnitedStates, Franklin D. Roosevelt asked congress to declare war on Japan.              Followingthe assault, for the first time, after years of debate American’s were equallydetermined to go to war.  Japan attackedthe U. S. with the intention to lift the sanctions and deter the U. S.

frominvolvement with their endeavors.  Whathappened was the exact opposite instead they set off a domino effect that ledto global conflict.  On December 8, Congress approved Franklin D.

Roosevelt’s declaration of war.  Three days after congressed approved going towar, Japan’s allies Germany and Italy declared war against the United States.  The United States entered World War II twoyears after the war began because of Japan.            A generalrule in war is to never go against a power that can outmatch you; it is commonsense to not wage war with a country that can completely obliterate yourcountry entirely.  It is important forWorld leaders to not blindly make drastic or impulsive decisions without fullytaking into account the consequences of those decisions and how it can affecttheir people.  Which is why Japan wasfoolish to believe that the United States would react cohesively in response tothe attack of Pearl Harbor.  Just likethe Japanese, Americans are proud people; the U.

S. considered Japan to be aninferior enemy.  That was a mistake thatcost the U. S. greatly, a mistake that would not be made again.            PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt set out to avenge Pearl Harbor and hit the heart ofJapan.

That decision was justified whenJapan attacked U. S. soil.  It was a decisionthat was influenced by their actions.  Theatomic bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan were not theorders of President Franklin D.

Roosevelt, but the orders his Vice PresidentHarry S. Truman when he assumed Presidency after FDR’s death on April 12, 1945in the midst of World War II.  Only a fewmonths into his Presidency the bombs were dropped.  This stuck controversy throughout the worldand Harry S. Truman receives criticism to this day for this collaborativedecision, although, this criticism is based on limited historical knowledge onthe matter.

PresidentTruman’s basis for his decision to drop bombs was to avoid the invasion ofJapan, which would of in turn led to more casualties on both ends.  By 1945 Japan had already been subjected tomonths of attacks by American aircraft and Japan’s home islands had been on anAmerican naval blockade. The result was the loss of an estimated 3million.  This was a conflict that seemedendless because of Japan’s leaders’ refusal to back down.  The leaders gathered a large part of thepopulation to defend their home islands to create a national militia. That iswhen President Truman dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki thesignificance of dropping the bombs in those locations was because it was amilitary installation and a strong industrial area.

Just to demonstrate and fully understandJapan’s relentlessness, Japan’s military still wanted to make a desperateattempt to fight back.  The atomic bombswere necessary to clearly make Emperor Hirohito understand that the defense ofhis homelands was hopeless.              It was onlythe dropping of the atomic bomb’s that made the leaders of Japan finallynegotiate surrender.  Any other optionthat would of secured American victory would of led to many more American and Japanesecausalities.  Japan’s losses would havebeen far greater without the bombs. Therefore, although it may not seem like it in the eyes of many peoplearound the world including some Americans, the moral solution to the end of thewar and secure the safety of the United States was to drop the atomicbombs.  Which is why the collaborativedecision to both wage war on Japan and drop two atomic bombs was the rightthing to do.