America's Decision to Jump into World War II Was Justified

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Recommended: Criticism of just war theory

Throughout history, many people have debated over the ethics of war and peace which lead to the creation of the just war theory. There have been a number of wars in the past and even in today’s world that have been proven to be unjustified by the means of this theory. Any war in my opinion, is hard to justify due to the violence, destructiveness, the nature of humans doing during war, and the impact it has on humans and the world. However, I have chosen to discuss why America’s decision to jump in to World War II was justified and by proving it by using the just war theory, mainly focusing on jus ad bellum.

To understand and to explain the decision for America to enter World War II in 1941 is to take a few steps back to when the war first broke out and why. War broke out in 1939 when Nazi Germany invaded and successfully took over Poland. It was not until two days later that Britain and France declared war on Germany which turned it into World War II. But before explaining that any further, it is important to know what the leading causes were that lead to World War II. Now let’s take a jump back into time to the year of 1919 when World War I ended. World War I officially ended on June 28, 1919 when the Versailles Treaty was signed.

The details of the Versailles Treaty were negotiated and finalized in Paris, France at the Paris Peace Conference. The debate of the treaty open on January 18, 1919 which was mostly controlled by the numbers from the allied powers that participated while Germany was not even invited. However, it was the “big three” who were the most influential in the conference during the development of the treaty. The group that was dubbed the “big three” consisted of Prime Minister David Lloyd of the United King...

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...en them and America started to get more involved in the war.

On September 27, 1940, the leaders of Germany, Itlay, and Japan met in Berlin to sign the Tripartite Pact. The Tripartite Pact formed an alliance against the Allie Powers which established the Axis Power. Also it was a warning towards the United States to stop helping England and France. The United States then began “Lend-Lease” which allowed President Roosevelt to send anniumation and other war supplies to England and France. From this discussion, the United States was no longer a neutral nation.

Works Cited

"The Avalon Project : The Versailles Treaty June 28, 1919." The Avalon Project : The Versailles Treaty June 28, 1919. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2014

Crossland, David. "Germany Set to Make Final World War I Reparation Payment." ABC News. ABC News Network, 29 Sept. 2010. Web. 31 Mar. 2014

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