Pearl Harbor: The Effects Of The Atomic Bomb

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On December 7, 1941 twenty American naval vessels were destroyed, 2,000 American soldiers and sailors died, and about 1,000 were injured. This event would forever be known as Pearl Harbor. Pearl Harbor was an incident in American history where the Japanese bombed a naval base in Oahu, Hawaii. Japan attacked Pearl Harbor because they feared the United States would plan a naval attack on them due to their new acquired territories such as: Philippines, Guam, America Samoa and other small islands. The Japanese thought they could do a swift first strike against the united pacific fleet and cripple America’s ability to respond. By delaying America’s ability to respond they were hoping to gain the territories and control most of the Pacific Rim. …show more content…

The dropping of the bomb brought unending effects to the Japanese but also caused a quick ending to the war. In my opinion the atomic bomb was needed. The effects of the bomb did affect many people and caused unnecessary deaths but if it wasn’t dropped many more American deaths would have occurred. Not only did the bomb save lives, it helped end the war quickly and get Japan to surrender. The bomb caused fear in many other nations making the United States the strongest country. Soon after the bomb was dropped many countries feared the development of atomic bombs. This facilitated peace talks and preventing of wars. Each side had their own opinions as to why or why not the bomb should be dropped. The moral and ethical debate over the decision to drop the atomic bomb will never be resolved, however it did bring an end to the most devastating war. If an atomic bomb were to be used today, or accidentally set off, it could wipe out the entire earth whereas the destruction and radiation alone would have devastating effects. Cancer would rise dramatically and a nuclear winter where all the light is extinguished could occur (7 Crucial Pros and Cons of the Atomic Bomb,

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