Abstract

On December 7th, 1941, a Sunday morning, the Japanese attacked the U.S naval base, Pearl Harbor, in Hawaii. Overall, 2335 servicemen and 68 civilians were killed, 1178 people were wounded, more than 180 U.S. aircraft were destroyed, six battleships were damaged, and two battleships were completely destroyed. The Japanese suffered only small losses. One day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. declared war against Japan. As that day marked the U.S.'s first official involvement in the war, it also marked a long and deadly battle between the U.S. and the Japanese in the Pacific.
The Japanese's mentality about war during the early 20th century was that it was glorious to die in battle. If a soldier died in battle, it would bring honor to him and his family, but if the soldier survived and Japan lost the war, his was considered a disgrace and dishonored himself and his entire family forever. The Japanese even created a squad of pilots and soldiers called kamikaze who would fight U.S. military forces until they ran out of fuel or ammo and would then crash into U.S. battleships or throw themselves in front of U.S. tanks with grenades. The Japanese at the time believed in personal sacrifice for the good of the Japanese population.
Due to Japan's ideals about death in battle, they had entered a total war as evidenced by Japan's surprise attack on the U.S. and fire bombings over Tokyo that were claiming thousands of innocent civilian lives. They no longer valued the lives of their soldiers and were willing to sacrifice them to win the war. The U.S. had no such mentality and were suffering great losses due to "kamikaze" soldiers. It appeared the Japanese would not stop fighting until they either won the war or killed their entire country.
In 1945, President Truman took over office after President Roosevelt died. After four years of merciless killings by the Japanese, he became determined to stop them. Scientists had created a new top-secret bomb called the atom bomb that was more powerful than anything anyone had at the time. President Truman warned the Japanese people to evacuate, but few did. On August 6th, 1945, the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, a Japanese city that manufactured goods for the Japanese military. The bomb was devastating, but the Japanese refused to surrender. Three days later, on August 9th, another atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. The damage from the bombs forced the Japanese to surrender unconditionally, marking the end of World War II.

A kamikaze pilot about to crash into a U.S. battleship. Pilots were given only enough fuel to reach their destination, ensuring that they would use themselves to attack U.S. ships and not come home.
Iverson, Lola. "Kamikaze Pilots." Web log post. Lola Iverson. Blogspot, 2 Apr. 2009. Web. 6 Mar. 2011. <http://lolaiversonisverybeautiful.blogspot.com/2009/04/kamikaze-pilot.html>.

The Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. Many Japanese bombs hit naval ships filled with fuel and ammo, creating huge explosions.
Dobner, Jennifer. "Another Pearl Harbor Possible." Dreams of the Great Earth Changes. Web. 06 Mar. 2011. <http://www.greatdreams.com/war/pearl-harbor-three.htm>.

Pearl Harbor being attacked by the Japanese. A total of 180 aircraft and 8 battleships were damaged or destroyed in the attack.
Gregory. "Pearl Harbor Bombing Pics." Christian Songs Free Download | Jesus Christ Wallpapers. Web. 06 Mar. 2011. <http://www.turnbacktogod.com/pearl-harbor-bombing-pics/>.

Thesis Statement

During World War II, the U.S. decision to drop the atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki was one of the most controversial decisions in U.S. history. Nevertheless, the actions of President Truman were justified on the basis that total war had broken out, the Japanese were performing cruel experiments on the innocent people of Manchuria, and the atomic bombs ended by war by destroying Japanese cities and killing citizens, forcing Japan to surrender unconditionally.