America's Justification for the Use of the Atomic Bomb Essay

On the 6th and 9th of August, 1945, the United States of America dropped the Atomic Bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The use of these bombs brought a quick end to World War 2, yet caused extensive damage to the two Japanese cities. There have often been disputes as to whether the USA was justified in the dropping of the atomic bombs because of the damage they caused, not only to the cities, but to the people of Japan as well. Many people believe that the USA should not have dropped the bombs because of the damage they caused, and they also claim that Japan was already defeated. However, Japan did not surrender, and prolonging the war was not an option for America, as it believed it would cause even more casualties, not only to American troops, but to Japan as well. Thus the USA was justified in dropping the bombs on Japan.

(Document F)” General Marshall truly believed if the bomb wasn’t dropped it would have cost many lives and Truman agreed with him and made the decision to drop them. A soldier from World War II stated, “... We cried with relief and joy. We were going to live. We were going to grow up to adulthood after all (Document C).” United States soldiers were relieved to hear the news of the bombs being dropped and soon to come after the Japanese surrender because they didn’t give up that easily. They had too much pride it was a huge part of their culture. They’d fight until every man, woman and child are gone before surrendering. Therefore, United States citizens and soldiers feared the worst before the bombs were dropped. When they heard the news of Japan’s surrender the fear disappeared because they were going to live to see another

While this is true, it becomes apparent that every option had its flaws and none seemed as immediate of a solution as dropping single highly destructive bombs on what Stimson (the secretary of war) named as “cities in Japan devoted exclusively to production” (p.287). The first alternative mentioned in the RTAP (page 273) was “continue and intensify the bombing and naval blockade of Japan”. The second option mentioned on the same page was to “wait for the Soviet Union to enter the war with Japan by attacking Manchuria” and the third option mentioned was to “allow the Japanese to retain their emperor with his power reduced to the status of a constitutional monarch”. Each option was unique in its requirements of effect, strategic planning, and man power. However, they all shared the distinct quality of baring absolutely no guarantee of Japanese surrender.

“On August 6, 1945, the world was changed forever with the denotation of an atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima, followed three days later with the use of another bomb over Nagasaki”1. The United States use of atomic weapons on Japan in 1945 was an event that triggered the fear of many individuals because it was during the period of war. The use of atomic weapons by the United States however, was justified because they had to end the war quicker, they intended to do minimal damage, and they had no other alternative.

The United States was justified in dropping the atomic bomb on Hiroshima due to the unwarned attack on civilians and docked naval ships at Pearl Harbor by the Japanese. For example, the bomb displayed the power the U.S wielded when they dropped it on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It showed other countries that the United States had weapons, and would use them. This

In conclusion, the Japanese are a resilient and honor bond people who know when they are beaten. This along with all the other statements mentioned in this paper goes to show that Japan would have surrendered if the bombs were not dropped. Although funding the War would have been much harder to do. Many more Americans and Japanese soldiers would have died as well. But, in the end the bombs didn’t need to be

“Truman stated that his decision to drop the bomb was purely military. Truman believed that the bombs saved Japanese lives as well. Prolonging the war was not an option for the President,” (ushistory.org 1). President Truman and the United States government made a fair decision by dropping the atomic bomb on the Japanese citizens in Hiroshima and Nagasaki during 1945. The bomb allowed the United States to appear more powerful and led to them influencing the rest of the world. The dropping of the atomic bomb was also a just response to the previous atrocities committed by Japan to other countries including the United States. In the long run, the bomb saved more lives that would have been lost in the war, since the bombs caused the

A retired Major, Richard Gordon, was a POW in Japan and said, ?The dropping of the bomb saved the lives of all of us being held in Japan. There wasn?t one prisoner who wasn?t told they were dead if the Americans invaded Japan. We were looking forward to an invasion, but we knew we might not be around to see it.? Another survivor of the Bataan Death March, Grayford C. Payne, was quoted as saying, ?I had not been a prisoner for fifteen minutes before they bayoneted a fifteen-year-old Filipino kid right next to me.? A Japanese directive describes how the prisoners were to be killed: ?mass bombing, or poisonous smoke, poisons, decapitation?. In any case, it is the aim not to allow the escape of a single one, to annihilate them all, and not to leave any traces.? An invasion was the most favored alternative of the allies to force a Japanese surrender, if the bomb was not used. The other alternatives were naval blockades, modification of unconditional surrender terms, conventional bombing, and waiting a little longer to see if the Soviets would enter into the war. The number of Americans and Japanese who would have died if such invasions had occurred would have been astronomically higher than the number who died at Hiroshima. Pentagon planners projected 132,000 American casualties for an invasion of Kyushu, and 90,000 or so for Honshu. Using Okinawa as a model, there would be one American casualty for every four Japanese casualties, and Japan?s

American forces occupied Okinawa and Iwo Jima and were intensely fire bombing Japanese cities. But Japan had an army of 2 million strong stationed in the home islands guarding against invasion.” The United States seemed to show no progression in the war. President Truman knew that there was no progress being made during the war and that we were decreasing in supplies and troops to keep this fight going like this. He then had to look at his remaining option and hope that his decision was the best decision for the

The atomic bomb is the subject of much controversy. Since its first detonation in 1945, the entire world has heard the aftershocks of that blast. Issues concerning Nuclear Weapons sparked the Cold War. We also have the atomic bomb to thank for our relative peace in this time due to the fear of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD). The effects of the atomic bomb might not have been the exact effects that the United States was looking for when they dropped Little Boy and Fat Man on Hiroshima and Nagasaki respectively (Grant, 1998). The original desire of the United States government when they dropped Little Boy and Fat Man on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was not, in fact, the one more commonly known: that the two nuclear devices dropped upon

On the day of the attack, Japan succeeded with their plan of “surprise.” The United States had “ no defenses and many of their guns were not loaded” (Keegan

The atomic bombs were justified and properly used because of the japanese’s hardcore dedication to this war. They were willing to stop at nothing to complete their goal of winning the war. The attack on Pearl Harbor caused many Americans To dislike the Japanese people as a whole, this Led Americans to believe that the Japanese people as a whole were dangerous. In addition to the speculations of the American people, speculations about the Japanese military begin to grow. They learned that the Japanese military was a very powerful force, their Army was estimated to have over 5 million men.

The Atomic Bomb made a very serious statement at a time when the world was in disarray (“Manhattan”). World War II was one of the most destructive times in history causing over 50 million deaths and leaving behind mental and physical casualties of war. (“World War II”) It started in September, 1939 when Germany invaded Poland and continued on a destructive path through Europe. Britain and France declared war on Germany. Two years prior in 1937, the Sino Japanese War was in full swing. Japan wanted to dominate China from a political and military standpoint and benefit from China’s many assets (“Sino”). United States, Britain and France aided China with financial aid through war supply contracts, which

In 1945, America was left with a crucial decision that would change the world forever. The Second World War had just come to an end and the Japanese military was still yet to surrender to allied troops. America was left to decide whether to drop the atomic bombs on Japan or not. America was justified in dropping the atomic bombs on Japan as militarily sustained Japan’s surrender to bring an end to the horrific war and economically saved America millions of dollars. However morally, America’s decision was unprincipled and dishonorable to mankind.

In the months leading up to the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, World War II had