Consequences of Pearl Harbor Attack: Manhattan Project

The relationship with Japan has always been a difficult one but throughout World War II it has only gotten worse. Japan held off supplies from the United States, while they planned to attack Pearl Harbor. There were many casualties as a result of this attack. Americans do not handle their own getting hurt and they will not stand for it. How hard should the United States fight back, is the real question. Should the US have dropped the atomic bomb on Japan?

The United States is out to cause pain to Japan. During World War II their citizens had no problem throwing grenades at the United States Soldiers. The attack on Pearl Harbor has caused an abundance of mistrust among the United States and their Japanese American inhabitants. The United States showed so much grace to Japan but that time is over. When they attacked Pearl Harbor over 2000 U.S military lives were lost, almost 20 navy boats were destroyed, and 68 civilians were even killed. There is no standing for this. The atomic bombs were built to protect this country, is this not the moment the country has been waiting for? The moment where the bomb is dropped so the world can be reminded that you do not mess with the United States. They cannot forget that we will protect our own, and when they hurt one of us, they hurt all of us. Due to the atomic bomb only ever being tested underground, is it not known how much damage will be caused. At this point though, all that matters is that Japan feels some of the pain our country is having to go through because of their actions.

As much as we all want to see mass destruction, the United States also does not want to be seen as abusing its power either. The leaders of the country should be the most affected because the pain we are feeling as a country was a direct result of their commands. The United States has never sent off an atomic bomb before on another country as a weapon. The bombs have been tested underground but they have never been tested to their full capability. It has to be remembered that there are families there as well and not all of Japan has wronged the United States. The country as a whole did not decide to cut us off from certain supplies or to attack our Pearl Harbor. Many families are hurting because someone they loved is gone. Some children do not have a father, some women do not have a husband. To want to inflict this kind of pain on families is almost torturous, it will affect generations to come. The United States is one, we support our own, and We help our neighbors. Do the Japanese people do the same or will we be leaving families alone with no help? At what point do we need to sit back and wait for a more civilized plan? At what point is it too much?

Our President Harry Truman has had the Manhattan Project going on in secret for quite a while now. There has been lots of hard work done on this atomic bomb and this would be the perfect moment for the United States to use it. Japan was given the chance to surrender but they chose to ignore the warning. The United States is constantly reminding their military to protect the country, now it is time to use one of the biggest weapons known to man. The Navy lost thousands of men on the day of the Pearl Harbor attack. The men are still healing, they cannot just continue to be sent overseas where they have to remember to trust no one due to the fact that they never know if that sweet old grandma is going to pull a grenade out of her armpit and chuck it at them. If Japan wants to not heed the warning the United States so graciously gave them, then it is not our responsibility to protect them. The United States must put their people first and that includes their military. At some point sending people overseas will not suffice, more must be done. The leaders of the United States need to fight and protect their men for once like they are always expecting others to do.

On the other hand, the military understands why President Harry S. Truman would not want to drop the atomic bomb on Japan. The Manhattan Project has spent years working on the atomic bomb. The question remains is it ready to drop, will it ever be ready to drop? I know many people within the Navy and other military branches would rather just go back over to Japan rather than drop a faulty weapon. No one is quite sure what the repercussions of this decision will be. Those within the military know how to fight to get the job done, and when they signed up they knew what they were getting themselves into. As much as I think everyone would like to stand back and let the government handle this, it is known that they can not solve this all by themselves. They need help and there are people standing at the sides ready to jump into battle to get revenge for their fallen brothers and sisters. To get revenge for the families who lost someone because of Pearl Harbor. Why drop a bomb that may or may not work, when they United States has people they know can get the expected job done.

The United States was sure to let it be known to Japan that their refusal of surrender would lead to total destruction. This action would also provide a great message to other countries around the world. The Soviets are getting too big for their britches and they need a reminder of who the United States is. By dropping the atomic bomb, there is a chance that is could be the final blow of World War II and then the United States can finally put that behind them. By doing the bomb over sending the military back over, the American soldiers would be protected, and it would avoid making citizens more mad because of the unwanted military personnel around their towns. Some people are worried about the radiation but after consulting with multiple scientists they claim that they do not foresee that as an issue. Japan is not listening or wanting to come to any compromises. Japan will never accept the idea of peace so as a country we must become more aggressive. We have run out of choices. The Manhattan project was created for a reason, and now is the time to put all those hours to use. It is time to drop the bomb.

The Manhattan Project has been underway for a few years now but no big tests have been done on the atomic bombs. The United States has tried to establish peace with Japan but we have not been at it for a very long time. Americans are already on edge from the Pearl Harbor attack on top of being in a World War, this would only add to the stress the country is feeling. The entire world is fragile right now, this could only make things worse. This could cause another attack on American soil which is not needed right, it is never needed. I was shown how Americans react when their own is hurt, like during Pearl Harbor. We have no idea how their people will react. There is also no way to confirm that the atomic bomb will do what we want it to. What if we drop the bomb and it never goes off? That would just anger them more, which is frankly something we do not need, and if it does go off, when then? The United States has no idea how many casualties will come from this. Finding a way to make them abandon their plan of dying before they surrender is still possible. There has to be a way to get peace.

In the end, there were positives and negatives to each of the choices. On August 6, 1945, Harry S. Truman made the decision to drop to have Enola Gay dropped the atomic bomb over Hiroshima. The blast was much bigger than expected and as soon as the bomb exploded, more than 80,000 lives were lost. By the end, it was estimated that more than 200,000 lives were lost due to the bomb explosion itself and many perished due to radiation sickness.