WWII Moral Issue: Japanese Internment and Truman's Authorization of the Atomic Bomb

Student's Name
Instructor's Name
Course Name
Date
World War II Moral Issue
We have experienced several wars within the lifetime of humankind. Some we have witnessed, others we only read about in the history books. Sadly, there is a war between Russia and Ukraine presently. The most talked-about and the worst wars between the twentieth and twenty-first centuries are World War I (1914-1918) and World War II (1939-1945). During such wars, affiliated countries make vital wartime decisions that later result in several questions, including moral, economic, and political issues.
During World War II, the United States made certain wartime decisions based on the moral compass. However, this paper focuses on two moral issues: the Japanese internment and Truman's authorization of the atomic bomb in World War II. Between these two moral issues, which was a more significant moral issue for the United States? Undoubtedly, Truman's authorization of the atomic bomb is a greater moral issue for the United States.
Japanese Internment
On December 7, 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. As a reaction, the FBI marshaled about 1,291 Japanese Americans together with their religious leaders. The 1,291 Japanese Americans were arrested without evidence and their assets frozen (History.com Editors, "Japanese Internment Camps"). Later, on February 19, 1942, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, leading to the establishment of Japanese internment camps. This Order's main aim was to prevent espionage on American shores. However, this wartime decision later turned out to be a moral issue question for the United States.
Though passed in reaction to Pearl Harbor's bombing and the resultant war, the Japanese Americans' incarceration remains one of the appalling 20th-century violations of American civil rights. Between 1942 and 1945, Japanese, including those with United States citizenship, was imprisoned in Japanese internment camps as a policy by the United States government (History.com Editors, "Japanese Internment Camps"). This policy and action by the United States government affected more than 120,000 civilians, among them American citizens. The Japanese internment was not only an atrocious violation of American civil rights but also a significant moral issue.
The incarceration of children, women, the elderly, and men of Japanese descent because of the Japanese government's actions was unlawful, inhumane, and morally unacceptable. Innocent children with no clue what was happening were arrested, some separated from their parents and then incarcerated in Japanese internment camps. Many Japanese were arrested without evidence, had their assets frozen, were denied the...