To What Extent Was the Second World War a ‘good War’ for the Us?

The entrance of the US into the Second World War was delayed, partly because of American popular opinion which was very much against the involvement of the US in European affairs; however looking back many regard the Second World War as a good time for people in America. The term ‘Good War’ was coined as one which benefitted the US, and indeed in comparison to the Great Depression of the 1930s the period of the Second World War can be seen as one of prosperity and increased employment, however whether it benefitted all aspects of society is doubtful.

Politically, the US’ participation in the Second World War can be regarded as ‘good’, as they reinforced their reputation of acting morally. By involving themselves in the war, America was taking a stand against Germany and Japan; countries which had committed atrocities. According to historian Chalmers Johnson, the Japanese slaughtered 30 million Filipinos, Malays, Vietnamese, Cambodians, Indonesians and Burmese, whilst Nazi Germany enslaved and murdered millions in their quest to establish a New Order in Europe. The action of the US involving themselves in the war further enhanced their righteous reputation, something which was persisted with documentaries, films and books. Indeed Professor Bruce Russet writes that ‘whatever criticisms of twentieth-century American policy are put forth, United States participation in World War II remains almost entirely immune’. However, although public opinion may view the US’ involvement as good, it is important to consider the actions they took in the war as well. The total defeat of the Axis powers in 1945 exposed the enormities committed by those regimes, for which the victorious Allied forces instituted war-crime trials. However, many historians suggest that there was scarcely a crime that Nazi Germany or Japan had committed that had not also been committed by one or more of the Allied powers. This was admitted by US Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson who, while serving as the chief American prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials, wrote to President Truman that the Allies ‘have done or are doing some of the very things we are prosecuting the Germans for’. A key example is the US dropping the Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Many believed, and still do, that this was justified due to Japanese atrocities such as the apparently unprovoked attack on Pearl Harbour and the fact that it would end the war a lot more quickly, saving approximately one million American lives. However, the devastating effects of the subsequent radiation poisoning for generations, the direct deaths of 100,000 in the attack, and the arguably unnecessary dropping of the second bomb on Nagasaki makes the US’ involvement and actions in the war questionable. Overall, for the US citizens, it can be politically considered a ‘good war’ as they maintained their moral superiority by intervening, however their actions are equally as bad as those they were fighting