Pushing Back the Axis
During late World War II, although many actions taken were not moral they were necessary to accomplish the task at hand.
In order to bring World War II to a close, there were measures taken by the United States of America that may be looked back on and regarded as unacceptable, yet at the time they were the only feasible solutions.
When World War II was entering its later phases, America was forced to choose what operations they would pursue to ensure an end of the fighting. One of the major events that took place was the strategic air raiding of America and Britain targeting Germany. It is difficult to justify dropping over 50,000 tons of explosive devices every month, but this is what was being done to the Germans. Looking back in time it is easy enough to say that this was the wrong way to go about solving an issue, however in the heat of the war it was the only idea that had been presented that would have obtained the end goal for the U.S. If the idea of what is moral was present during wartime, then there would never be war. So even though it is astonishing to consider the amount of devastation caused during World War II by America alone, these actions were necessary to settle the war and restore peace among the world.
There were many actions the United States took during World War II that would be considered unethical, however they were all carried out with the intention of helping to solve an issue, not to merely cause chaos.
Political
During late World War II, Harry S. Truman became president after Franklin D. Roosevelt passed away. Truman was the president that had to make many of the controversial choices regarding ethics during wartime. He made the decision to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He was indeed aware of the sever consequences that releasing the bomb would inevitably have, but he knew that as president it was his duty to decide what would be best for the United States, and for the rest of the world. If it were not for the atomic bomb being dropped, Japan would not have surrendered for a much longer time, or possibly ever. Truman did not deploy the bomb as an act of malice or in an attempt to injure civilians, but rather because he knew that it was a horrific action to carry out, yet the world would benefit from this in the end. It seemed that World War II would never end, and there had to be a significant event to put the fighting to rest. Although dropping an atomic bomb is by no means a moral action, at that point in time it was necessary to make Japan surrender, ultimately leading to the end of the war.
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Economic
Before the war began, America was in the Great Depression. Millions were jobless, and families were having their homes foreclosed on and were not getting enough food to eat. Since the day World War II began, U.S. citizens had been continuously told that America was going to remain neutral and would not be getting involved in the war. This in itself caused many disputes because people could not agree on whether or not they should be preparing for war. When the U.S.A. decided to join the war after the Japanese bombing on Pearl Harbor, people were not sure if this was a financially sound choice for the country to be making. Those who were already suffering from the depression did not want to be pushed farther below society to a point of no recovery. Yet despite all the negativity and uneasiness joining the war caused, being a part of the war actually significantly improved the economic state America was in.
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Social
World War II completely altered the traditional roles women had always played, and it allowed for a lot of social change to begin. Since most of the men were out fighting in the war, it was the women's' job to undertake the duties that were typically for men. Being at war is hardly ever perceived as an ethical decision, but if the United States had not have had such vast numbers of men out of the country it would have taken much longer for women to begin gaining similar levels of equality as men. During this time, women proved themselves as valuable members of a work force, and they demonstrated that they could complete a job just as efficiently as any man could. These years were invaluable regarding the Women's Rights Movement, so despite the fact that the world was at war, which is hardly justifiable, it provided women the opportunity to prove themselves worthy of equality.
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The decisions made during World War II that have been deemed as immoral were not just spontaneous; they related to other significant events in the United States history that had shaped the country.
U.S. as a World Power
Theodore Roosevelt was the president of the United States during the period in which America was considered a world power. America was using that tactic of Militarism to make the country more predominant globally. Building a military force for purely the reason of intimidating other countries can hardly be considered an honorable decision. Nonetheless, the United States used that method and it succeeded in pushing America into the status of a world power. Theodore Roosevelt along with many respected presidents are required to make choices that can seem questionable, but they make them anyway because it is their responsibility to do whatever is best for America no matter what.
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Progressive Era
The Progressive Era sparked new ideas in an attempt to reform America to better live up to the standards that were set for the U.S. when it was founded. Progressives were trying to destroy political machines in order to restore a true democracy. Just the same as in World War II, during this reformative period of America's history there were choices being made that caused many people to become doubtful of these actions. Citizens wanted to believe what they always had, and changing a person's morals is a difficult task to accomplish. But women and other progressives had their minds made up that they were going to make a change, and this eviction began to alter the way Americans acted and thought. Similarly, towards the end of World War II there were unsettling actions taken, but people of the United States were able to understand because of the rationalizing done by the U.S. government.
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World War I
America entered World War I in much the same fashion that they did in World War II. The United States had claimed that they were going to stay out of the war and remain a neutral country. When the United States declared that they were now a country at war, many citizens were disturbed because they had been reassured that their country would not be participating in the war. War is never a comforting thing, yet the president is obligated to do what they believe will benefit their country the most, and if the option is war then that is what will happen.
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Roaring 20's
The Roaring Twenties was an era that completely reversed the social norms that America had always accepted. Women wanted equal rights, and they wanted them fast, so they decided to make change happen. They went out and partied and drank and danced and cut their hair, and these influential women earned themselves a name - flappers. The things they were doing were considered immoral at the time, but the flappers did not care because they knew that sometimes extreme actions must be taken to see change. These attitudes that women had adopted carried into World War II when women became involved in the work place. Because of the Roaring 20's, women felt confident they could achieve whatever task they set their mind to.
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Great Depression and New Deal
World War II is the event that brought the Great Depression to a close. Franklin D. Roosevelt began many plans and organizations within his New Deal in an attempt to lessen the blow of the Depression, however none of his programs were as effective in boosting the economy as the war was. When the United States joined the war, nobody had thought of the benefits it would bring to the country. Since resources were needed on the warfront, it was necessary for the U.S. to begin production for those materials. Production requires labor, so people were becoming employed again, and this allowed for the business cycle to get back in its natural flow. Many citizens would argue that getting involved in a war is never a moral action to take, but for America entering World War II was a decision that helped by immeasurable quantities. It is what got the country back on http://d243395j6jqdl3.cloudfront.net/.png its feet again and ready to conquer whatever challenges that may have come its way. The war was challenging to be a part of, and there were many actions taken along the way that are easy to look back on and deem unacceptable, yet there is no denying that it was an invaluable source to pull the United States out of its misery.
Even in present day America there are choices that need to be made that can seem dishonorable, yet these challenging decisions are made in an attempt to create a more perfect Union, and to maintain a state of neutrality among the world.
Beginning the War on Terrors was one of the most controversial choices made by a president in the United States history. George W. Bush chose to declare America a country at war because he genuinely believed that this was the best solution to protect the U.S. from future attacks. As there were many questionable actions the United States took during World War II, this was also the case with the War on Terrors. It was not as if these choices were easy to make, and they were not decided on out of malice or desire to harm others. It was rather the contrary, for each decision made during war was carefully selected and thought about to see which action would have brought the war closer to ending.