On December 7th, 1941, Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese. On that catastrophic day thousands of unaware and unarmed Americans died. This attack on Pearl Harbor brought the U.S. to their breaking point and immediately brought us into the Second World War. The events leading up to this horrific event are not always as cut and dry as one might think, and the question of whether or not the attack on Pearl Harbor could have been prevented is something that every American should ponder. Long before the attack on Pearl Harbor tensions between the United States and Japan had been escalating for years. Just before Hitler and his army invaded the Soviet Union, Japan signed a nonaggression pact the U.S.S.R; with this new alliance formed
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Since Roosevelt promised Americans he would not put them through a war for no reason, he needed to give them a reason and thats just what he did. The American military sent a message to the Japanese ambassador implying military consequence if Tokyo did not change its policies in the Pacific. With the embargo in place and military threats sent, Japan was a ticking time bomb. Secretary of War, Henry Stimsons wrote in his diary “ The question was how we should maneuver them into the position of firing the first …show more content…
American soldiers dropped two atomic bombs in Japan, one on the town of Hiroshima and one on the town of Nagasaki. Before the war Hiroshima was the seventh largest city in the county and contained a population of over 340,000, Hiroshima was the administrative and commercial center of the South Western portion of the island. The bombing came as a complete surprise and left people with no time to take shelter which was one of the main attributes that contributed to the unreal casualty rate. Three days following the bombing of Hiroshima the city of Nagasaki - which contained the largest population density of approximately 65,000 people per square mile even after the town was evacuated - was hit with an atomic bomb. Although the devastation was much less than that of the Hiroshima bombing, due to more warning and evacuation time, it was still indeed an atomic bomb and wreaked havoc on the city for
Since Roosevelt promised Americans he would not put them through a war for no reason, he needed to give them a reason and thats just what he did. The American military sent a message to the Japanese ambassador implying military consequence if Tokyo did not change its policies in the Pacific. With the embargo in place and military threats sent, Japan was a ticking time bomb. Secretary of War, Henry Stimsons wrote in his diary “ The question was how we should maneuver them into the position of firing the first …show more content…
American soldiers dropped two atomic bombs in Japan, one on the town of Hiroshima and one on the town of Nagasaki. Before the war Hiroshima was the seventh largest city in the county and contained a population of over 340,000, Hiroshima was the administrative and commercial center of the South Western portion of the island. The bombing came as a complete surprise and left people with no time to take shelter which was one of the main attributes that contributed to the unreal casualty rate. Three days following the bombing of Hiroshima the city of Nagasaki - which contained the largest population density of approximately 65,000 people per square mile even after the town was evacuated - was hit with an atomic bomb. Although the devastation was much less than that of the Hiroshima bombing, due to more warning and evacuation time, it was still indeed an atomic bomb and wreaked havoc on the city for