U.S. History
The reason why the United States entered the First World War is justifiable. At first, the United States had pledged to be neutral; however, it later changed its stand when German mines destroyed and sunk several American ships that were travelling to Britain. The tension between Germany and the United States arose over Germany’s segregation of the Isles of Britain. Britain was one of the closest trading partners of the United States. In 1915, the Germans declared an unhampered warfare against all vessels and ships, whether neutral or not, that entered the war zones around Britain. What pissed off the Americans was the sinking of an American vessel by a German cruiser. On 7th May, 1915, the Germans torpedoed an ocean liner that was owned by the British, killing 128 Americans and 1070 other passengers. This prompted the United States to demand reparations as well as an end to the attacks that were orchestrated by the Germans. There was no need of attacking merchant and passenger ships that were unarmed.
In November, an Italian liner was sunk, killing 27 Americans. This forced the United States to turn irreversibly against Germany, which was so determined to win its attrition war against the allies of the United States. In February 1917, the Germans resumed its plan of limitless submarine warfare against ships and vessels in the war-zone waters in order to defeat the French and the British. As a result, several American liners were sunk by U-boats belonging to the Germans. In March 1917, a telegram, which promised Mexico a large portion of the Southwestern part of the United States lest they went to war with the latter, was intercepted by British spies. The telegram had been written by Arthur Zimmerman, the Foreign Minister of Germany, to the German ambassador to Mexico. The actions of the Germans drove the United States to war. The United States was determined to crush Germany economically and protect its allies from bankruptcy. For instance, Britain spent a lot of money on supplies and arms.
Someone once said the truth is the first casualty of war. Could the same be said of liberty?
Without a doubt, the truth is the first casualty of war. The same could also be said of liberty. Of all the foes of public liberty, war is the most dreaded. War results in fraud, degeneracy of manners and inequality of fortunes. It is, therefore, impossible for a nation to preserve its freedom amidst continued warfare. An interest in the topic of liberty is always followed by an interest in the topic of war. Apparently, the effects of war oppose liberty interest, unless a country is fighting to defend its freedom or free itself from an aggressor.
Typically, war endangers liberty. Liberty refers to the power that all people have over their own actions and their rights to delight in the fruits of their labor as long as they do not harm the society or its members. Liberty prevents someone from hindering another person from enjoying whatever he himself enjoys. War suspends voluntary, normal and peaceful interactions. During war, the main focus of a government is to defeat the enemy and all resources of its nation are channeled towards the war, resulting in inequality in the distribution of resources thus denying its citizens some rights. War infringes liberty at societal, international and individual levels of development and exchange and denies the citizens of a country some of their most fundamental liberties. War results in restricted rights of assembly and speech, command economic policies, conscription, government propaganda, blackouts, curfews and surveillance of the private citizens. This clearly explains the severe effect of war on liberty. Indeed, liberty is also the first casualty of war.
Do Americans truly believe in the concept of civil liberties or only their own civil liberties?
Americans truly believe in the concept of civil liberties and not only their civil liberties. They promote the longstanding values of fairness and equality both internally and internationally. They oppose those who use the legal system to enshrine and promote intolerance. They believe that the legal system should be used as a shield and sword against bigotry. The United States has passed laws that protect civil liberties. It has, over the years, been determined to eradicate issues that threaten civil liberties. They promote marriage fairness; protect the rights of every citizen; discourage the use of religion to deny other people services and discriminate against them; discourage the pseudo-science that perpetuates the old-fashioned sex segregation and gender stereotypes in the classrooms; remove restrictions to access the ballot box. They also discourage anti-immigrant laws that target the Latinos as well as other races. Americans are determined to ensure that everybody, regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation, ideology, national origin, gender or disability is treated equally. They are also determined to ensure that the legislatures and courts are used to put an end to discrimination in the laws of the United States. They want everyone to enjoy the fruits of their labor as well as rights. This clearly indicates that Americans truly believe in the concept of civil liberties.
Did America’s policy of isolationism play a major role in the rise of the aggressors during the 1920’s and 1930’s?
Undeniably, America’s policy of isolationism played a major role in the rise of the aggressors during the 1920’s and 1930’s. The memory of disastrous losses during the First World War together with the Great Depression drove the United States towards the policy of isolationism. This policy advocated for the non-involvement in Asian and European conflicts as well as non-engagement in international politics. The isolationists included conservatives and progressives, peace activists and business owners. Their ideology triumphed for a long time given that they did not face any organized and consistent opposition from internationalists. President Roosevelt seemed to have accepted the isolationist elements’ strength in Congress till 1937. Meanwhile, the situation in Europe aggravated and the second Sino-Japanese War started in Asia. Since the United States chose not to take part in Asian and European conflicts, aggression rose. Its past international entanglement was mainly in pursuit of peace abroad. Moreover, it was more economically stable and wealthier than other countries. However, it chose complete neutrality by promoting its policy of isolationism. This policy played a key role the continuity of the wars in Europe and Asia. Aggressors rose since the United States did not take part in in the conflicts in Asia and Europe.
Was the U.S. justified in dropping the atomic bombs?
The United States was justified in dropping the atomic bombs at Nagasaki and Hiroshima in Japan in 1945 since the reasons that made it choose to use them were convincing at. The United States chose to drop the atomic bombs in order to end the First World War at the earliest probable moment. Its primary objective was to emerge the victor during the war at the lowest probable cost. According to President Truman and his Administration, using the atomic bombs was the most operative way to quickly end the war. Indeed, other alternatives could have been used to end the war, though many lives of the Americans could have been risked since the war would have lasted longer. Intensifying naval blockade and conventional bombing was not enough to force the Japanese to surrender within a few months with very little risk to the lives of Americans. The United States could have waited for the Soviet Union to go into the war as this would have been helpful to end the war. However, waiting for the Soviets to enter the war would have risked the lives of many Americans since the war would have lasted longer.
According to the United States, another reason why the atomic bombs were used was to respond to the bombing of the Pearl Harbor by the Japanese. They believed that the harbor had a number of atrocities that could be dangerous to the Americans. The U.S. government also believed that there were no incentives not to drop the atomic bombs. Indeed, the U.S. was justified to drop the Atomic bombs in Japan since that was the only way to force the Japanese to surrender quickly and end the war. Despite the fact that the atomic bombs were very disastrous, using them to quickly end the war saved millions of lives in the long run.
