Pearl Harbor Argumentative Essay

On December 7th, 1941, a surprise attack was launched against the naval base Pearl Harbor located in Hawaii. The scene was filled with confusion, terror, and destruction as Japanese aircraft dive-bombed the harbored ships. The sailors stationed at the base had zero warning of the incoming attack and many thought it was a training exercise gone wrong when the first bomb hit the deck of a ship. Even though the event lasted 1 hour and 15 minutes, 2,403 American lives were lost, and 19 ships suffered severe damage or were lost completely (Remembering Pearl Harbor 1). The attack is often referred to as “waking a sleeping giant” (Robertson) because it ultimately led to America entering World War II. Thus, I believe the Pearl Harbor attacks, based

“Within 24 hours, the country declared war on Japan” (Gale in Context 12). The decision to declare war was unanimous by the senate with only one opposition in the house. Most Americans viewed the attack as an act of aggression towards America and supported the choice to enter the war fully. Because America declared war on one of its allies, Germany declared war on the United States soon after. America was now fully invested in the war. Towards the end of the war, it was clear that Japan was not going to surrender, and a full-blown invasion of the mainland may be necessary to end the war. Out of fear of unnecessary American and Japanese deaths the U.S. made a drastic choice. “Instead, in an effort to end the war quickly, the United States dropped two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945” (Gale in Context 18). After the two bombs were dropped, Japan surrendered and agreed to cease fighting. Even though the decision to drop the bombs has been debated for years, it irrefutability brought an end to the pacific theater and prevented an invasion of mainland Japan. Without America's choice to drop two atomic bombs, Japan would have continued invading countries that it wanted to usurp and control. Therefore, America's retaliation from Pearl Harbor changed the course of World War